#Falling Day 14: #Cider - I have yet to read the novel and see the film - am I missing out? Look at baby Charlize Theron.

#Falling Day 13: #Leaves - Mary Oliver has been providing me with a great deal of comfort lately.

#Falling Day 12: #GoldOnCover

#Falling Day 11: #Sweater

#Falling Day 10: #CoffeeAndABook - not just any coffee but pistachio affogatto with chopped pistachios - there is absolutely nothing like it anywhere in the world. The book is harrowing and has made me quit Facebook altogether. Review is forthcoming.

#Falling Day 9: In this story, each of the #neighbor‘s doors reveal something about their personality or what they do or their predilections, and the young girl takes the readers along for the ride. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-mNC

#Falling Day 8: #DearDiary made me want to share photos of my new bullet journal - little acts of creation, labor of love with colors and customizable grids with these stencils and stickers. Super stress reliever.

#Falling Day 7: #Boots

#Falling Day 6: #Barn - found this in the internets. 50 shades of hay indeed.

#Falling Day 5: #Apples - I need to read this book soonest.

#Falling Day 4: #LibraryFun in this ode to libraries by Nikki Giovanni. The Afterword adds another layer of complexity to the narrative as Nikki Giovanni paid tribute to Mrs. Long, the very first librarian who made sure to nourish her young poet‘s soul with delicious words – during the time of segregation. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-r4g

#Falling Day 3: #WhatsForDinner - Ramen! Yum. I love the fact that this is a father-and-son spending their time in the kitchen, crafting dishes that their family (mother and sister) would enjoy. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-ri3

#Falling Day 2: #Football

#Falling Day 1: A different kind of #Wildlife in these Clarice Lispector novels.

#CharacterCharm Day 31: #Witch - a fantastic curation in a local bookstore here in Dubai, Magrudy‘s - one of the longest standing bookstores in the country. Founder of this place is also the founder of Emirates Literature Festival. 🥰 Here is Iphigene‘s review of tagged book: https://wp.me/pDlzr-2fO

#CharacterCharm Day 30: Augusta Baker educated herself and became the first Black person to earn a degree from SUNY Albany in library sciences and information studies. As the first Black #Librarian, she curated the James Weldon Johnson Memorial collection in 1944 to find uplifting stories about people of color. More here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-r3d

#CharacterCharm Day 29: I have been reading more of the works of #Poet Mary Oliver now that I have quit social media (Facebook, X, Instagram) over the past months. Poetry seems infinitely better for the soul.

#CharacterCharm Day 28: Stories as #Healer - both these texts allude to that singular fact.

#CharacterCharm Day 27: It was a pleasure serving as Chief #Judge for the Hedwig Anuar Children‘s Book Award last year in Singapore. 🥰

#CharacterCharm Day 26: #Author - I shared our #CampLitsy25 discussions for the month of July here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-rGS as hosted by @Megabooks

#CharacterCharm Day 25: #Survivor - one of the books I bought during the NYRB Sitewide Summer Sale. See here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-rDE

#CharacterCharm Day 24: Not exactly a sanctuary for #Voyager(s). Looking forward to reading this one soon.

My latest article published in a top 1% journal co-authored with longtime collaborator and friend from UCL, a PhD Candidate (who translated our Abstract into Arabic), and three undergraduate students. Only the first 50 eprints are free which you can find here: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/SZ3XWDHDH4ACHBCKDGQU/full?target=10.1080/0143... - message me if this is of interest to you. 🌷💕

#CharacterCharm Day 23: #Maid - even if “old maids.” 😂🤣

#CharacterCharm Day 22: A new picturebook biography of award-winning #Musician Tori Amos. I adored Tori in my early 20s and devoured all her haunting poetry-music.

#CharacterCharm Day 21: Fats featured this story of Clementine Haas who woke up in an Irish hospital as an #Amnesiac - her rating of this book plus four other YA novels here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-hSJ

#CharacterCharm Day 20: Torrent and Tranquil definitely strike me as borderline #Psychotic - one more than the other, ummm, sort-of. A #CampLitsy25 winner, no doubt. Looking forward to the final discussion this weekend hosted by the ever fab @BarbaraBB

#CharacterCharm Day 19: #Legend - these are titles gifted to our new college graduate.

#CharacterCharm Day 18: #Guest

#CharacterCharm Day 17: #Artist

#CharacterCharm Day 16: #Vigilante death squads sanctioned by former president Rodrigo Duterte had been portrayed so chillingly in this journalistic nonfiction memoir of Patricia Evangelista. Thankfully, he is now awaiting trial in The Hague. My review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-qgX

#CharacterCharm Day 15: #Prophet - I have yet to read this “prophetic” propulsive novel.

#CharacterCharm Day 14: #Murderer(s) in this gritty, fast-paced novel that was just what I needed when I read it last month. Bought all the other SA Cosby novels I can find while book hunting and trawling the bookstores in Seattle and the Bay Area. Looking forward to the upcoming #CampLitsy25 discussions.

#CharacterCharm Day 13: #TimeSpaceTraveler - i think being stuck in just one particular day in time qualifies. Still don‘t know how i feel about this little book. Qualifies too for #ReadTheWorld2025 - Denmark - translated from Danish.

#CharacterCharm Day 12: #Wounded

#CharacterCharm Day 11: There is a book #Thief in town - and Fats wrote a lovely review of this Snatchabook here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-gjd As she noted: “It‘s perfect for book lovers and anyone who has enjoyed being read to when they were younger.”

#CharacterCharm Day 10: #Widow

#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.