#CharacterCharm Day 9: #FairyElfPixie in this Lisbeth Zwerger collection entitled “Wonderment” - not on Litsy‘s database. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-b71

#CharacterCharm Day 8: Parastoo‘s (which means “swallow bird” in Farsi) mother had to leave to serve as a #nurse during wartime. There is a layer of authenticity to the narrative as it appears the story is culled from Kheiriyeh‘s own experience as she dedicates the book to her own mother who served as a nurse during wartime, & grandfather who used to make nests for the parastoo in his house in Iran. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-r7H

#CharacterCharm Day 7: #Elderly - apparently I am using the wrong prompts 🤦🏽‍♀️Must have been jetlagged when I saw it. Lols.

#BookSpin Day 7: Peter Lerangis, farthest left, is #TheGhostwriter of popular series such as Babysitter‘s Club, Hardy Boys, and Sweet Valley Twins - before becoming a mega-famous author himself of The 39 Clues, Seven Wonders Series among others. This photo of ours was taken in November 2022 when my dear friend (and colleague) and I were in New York. Peter generously treated us out for lunch with his famous wife, Tina DeVaron, a renowned musician.

#BookSpin Day 6: Bertie Badger‘s grandfather, “Gadzooks the Great” was once a “conjurer of note,” a world-famous magician who traveled to Prague, Kathmandu, Antipodes and Timbuktu. One would wonder what the #ConjurersWife was like - see what I did there? My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-idh

#BookSpin Day 5: #TheLover

#BookSpin Day 4: #BrightSideOfDisaster

#BookSpin Day 3: There must be #GoldenHills in an Empire of Gold. Finished reading this fantasy series last year and found it awesome.

#BookSpin Day 2: #SharkHeart A Love Story was prominently on display at Barnes and Noble Florida as among one of their Best Fiction titles when I was there in November of 2023.

#BookSpin Day 1: When a #BrokenCountry brings forth even more genocide in an unending loop of violence in this fantastical realm. Read this for book club a few months back and loved it - prompted me to read the original Ember in the ashes quartet which I just finished devouring. Sabaa Tahir is a genius. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-rnQ

#JulyJazz Day 31: #Freedom of women and tiger girls in particular is curtailed in this chilling dystopian graphic novel with a monsoon tropical vibe written by my Singaporean friend and fellow book club member, Felicia Low-Jimenez. Grateful that I have the #freedom to read outdoors in the wilds of Alki Beach in Seattle. This new graphic novel is still not on Litsy‘s database so tagging the anthology where the story first appeared.

#JulyJazz Day 30: #LoveHorses - now back home in the Emirates with all my new bookses. 📚📚📚

#JulyJazz Day 29: #MoonDay - posting way in advance since traveling on Monday and only arriving in the evening on Tuesday (we lose a day going back) next week.

#JulyJazz Day 28: I #Celebrate visiting three bookstores in two days while here in Seattle: Kinokuniya, The Elliott Bay Book Company, and the tagged bookstore - Left Bank Books Collective. Posting in advance since traveling back home to Dubai on Monday.

#JulyJazz Day 27: #Kittens - posting in advance since we are traveling back to Dubai from Seattle on Monday early morning.

#JulyJazz Day 26: #CheerTheLonely Soul Catcher (Elias) with some dripping mangoes - a scene that made me laugh out loud in this book. Still prolonging my stay here in the world that Sabaa Tahir brilliantly crafted.
Paired with original strawberry cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory at Southcenter Mall in Seattle.

#JulyJazz Day 25: Last year I visited the Philippine booth which proudly showcases the Philippine #Flag during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Husband drove us for 90 minutes (one way) so I can get the book gifted to me by a Filipina American novelist (Ninotchka Rosca) whose books were featured during the fair.

#JulyJazz Day 24: #Patriots - bought during a Kinokuniya warehouse sale. 🥰

#JulyJazz Day 23: #FamilyReunion this summer with our newly minted college graduate from Seattle University and as we spend time with family this July in the Bay Area. Heading back to Seattle today to help our college graduate settle in their new place with housemates- then husband and I fly back to the Emirates on Monday next week. ✈️🧳💺🗺️

#JulyJazz Day 22: #Hammock

#JulyJazz Day 21: #Grace

#JulyJazz Day 20: More than #PlayOutside, I was also able to Read Outside while we were camping last week, and finished this novel that I did not love as much as I expected. My newly minted college graduate kid bailed on it for our summer book club of two - and even called it “corny” at one point and I have to agree that I do see it. Jokes did not land as well as it should. Husband took my photo. 📸

#JulyJazz Day 19: #Bravery

#JulyJazz Day 18: #Listen tells the story of Evelyn Glennie, a deaf musician. With great joy, she was able to demonstrate how there are many forms of hearing that can take place in one‘s being – and that music need not be confined to ears in perfect condition. Rather, hearing music can be a “sea of sound” – an entire sensation within one‘s body. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-oGe

#JulyJazz Day 17: #Grateful for some time spent with nature and family - Last day of our 4-day camping at Coloma in California.

#JulyJazz Day 16: #EPluribusUnum is best captured by this picturebook inspired by the author‘s own cultural background: German mother, Indian father, raised in Pakistan, and currently based in the US. It is a lovely exploration of the cultural pluralities of young people that I am glad is now surfacing in recent stories. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-pCe

#JulyJazz Day 15: #Eagle with poetry by Maria Popova.🥰

#JulyJazz Day 14: For #BastilleDay, some family photos while we were in France last year.

#JulyJazz Day 13: “first #Picnic of summer” as this gorgeous book (now challenged and banned in some states in the US) noted.

#JulyJazz Day 12: #Simplicity in the design of this gorgeous book-loving book. Just the kind of story I like.

#JulyJazz Day 11: #RedWhiteBlueCover #RedWhiteBlueCovr in tagged book included in the Jane Addams children‘s book award in 2024 - which recognizes outstanding books on peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people. Found the image above on social media announcing the winners.

#JulyJazz Day 10: The #Fireworks in Versailles were hands-down spectacular. We were fortunate to witness it when we were in France last year. This is one of the photos I managed to take, along with gorgeous videos.

#JulyJazz Day 9: #Liberty

Finally getting to the last book in our #CampLitsy25, and this one right here, is by far, my favorite of all six books. Nearly halfway through. Bought this at Powell‘s, thus the bookmark. Paired with strawberry shortcake pizookie from BJ‘s.

#JulyJazz Day 8: #Forgiveness - while this poem is technically not in tagged collection, it still is written by Dubai-based Filipina Poet Danabelle Gutierrez whose works I absolutely adore. I featured her works at Global Literature in Libraries Initiative: https://wp.me/p7Q7pO-c4l

#JulyJazz Day 7: #Peaceful

#JulyJazz Day 6: #MentalHealth in this poetry collection that Fats featured here: https://gatheringbooks.org/2019/07/18/poetry-friday-depression-other-magic-trick...

#JulyJazz Day 5: This is a gorgeously-illustrated title that demonstrates our one-ness with everything around us: from the tree to its fruits, from the wind to the bees, from the roots to the sky. It is an ode to nature, and the fact that we are #indivisible from it. It is told in such a lyrical way and the art is absolutely gorgeous.

#JulyJazz Say 4: The Undefeated, Unbowed, Unbending of them #StarsAndStripes. The strength of this poetry lies in its giving space for the “undiscovered” – the amazing people who are yet to come and make a difference in this bright, broken, beautiful world we live in. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-nLY

#JulyJazz Day 3: #Loyalty

#JulyJazz Day 2: #MadeInUS with Frederick Douglass, one of America‘s heroes exhorting the importance of reading for liberation.

#JulyJazz Day 1: #CanadaDay for illustrator Lauren Tamaki who lives partly in Canada. There is so much beauty here, and grief, and also the intangibles of the imperishable. I especially loved reading the Author‘s Note which adds a deeper layer of intersectionality into the narrative. This is a must-read for everyone. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-rjb

#JuneSpecials Day 30: from Fats‘ review: If the story of Firegirl were to be divided into sections, there would be a Before, During, and After Jessica Feeney—mostly applicable to Tom. Prior to her arrival, Tom Bender liked to daydream about the beautiful Courtney Zisky, and had high hopes of riding a Cobra, a 1960s #SportsCar, someday.“ Full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-7yY

#JuneSpecials Day 29: As a young child, Yaffa loved playing and spending time with her friends and also helping out Grandma Alte who was considered to be one of the town‘s photographers, after bringing home a #camera during one of her trips to America. A lovely picturebook biography of how Eishyshok was rebuilt through photographs and memories of precious lives cherished and lived. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-pMY

#JuneSpecials Day 28: Loads of #Foodie references in this novel which I thoroughly enjoyed reading - super want to taste jollof rice now! Finished it for #CampLitsy2025 and very much looking forward to the discussion. Some Dennys goodness while in ‘Murrica with family.

#JuneSpecials Day 27: Me wearing my oversized #Sunglasses and holding on to the edited book where a colleague and I contributed a chapter. This book just recently won the UKLA Academic Book Award 2025. Yay! Title of our book chapter is: “From Mahmoud Darwish to Shakespeare, Naruto to Tintin Comics: Reading Preferences and Identities of Emirati Adolescents from the UAE” 🎉📚📚🙏🏼

#JuneSpecials Day 26: Can stand for #ChocPudding #ChocolatePudding but more like Chilis molten chocolate cake - paired with the third book in the Ember in the Ashes quartet which I simply devoured while in Seattle a week ago. I am not starting Book 4 yet so I can prolong my stay in Sabaa Tahir‘s world. Will get to the #CampLitsy2025 and #EuropaCollective titles first.

#JuneSpecials Day 25: I featured these two #Beatles themed books at one point over the years at GatheringBooks.
See here:
https://wp.me/pDlzr-an6
https://wp.me/pDlzr-bgZ

#JuneSpecials Day 24: #Canada is one of the countries featured in the #ReadTheWorld2025 challenge with @PaperbackPirate ‘s review of tagged book. I have actually posted a half yearly progress round up of participants‘ sharing on GatheringBooks here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-rsI - tagging @BarbaraBB @Kristy_K - everyone is welcome to join us - we still have (barely) half a year left to read more of the world. Let‘s do it! 📚📚📚🌍✈️🚢🚞

#JuneSpecials Day 23: #Pink