#SpringSkies Day 23: #LieInTitle - I enjoyed seeing how the book-story diverged from what I have seen on TV. But the female dynamics was strong, the friendships credible, and the self-flagellation and insecurities very real – with a layer that provided a deeper perspective, even while it tried to not take itself too seriously. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-kdE

#PoetryMatters Day 22: #Ulcer

#SpringSkies Day 22: It‘s a #Tragedy to tell stories wrong. Lols. Book presents given to me by my PhD student who came to visit from Sharjah. The absolute sweetest.

#PoetryMatters Day 21: #Ugly

#SpringSkies Day 21: This one is an #AwardWinner - the lotus ice cream cake and the book both which won the Goodreads Choice Award for Fantasy. Loving it so far and I am trying to prolong it as much as I can so that I don‘t get to leave the Daevabad world yet. 😭

#PoetryMatters Day 20: #Tyrant

#SpringSkies Day 20: #2NdChanceRomance #SecondChanceRomance feels with Nahri here, or so I hope. 💕

#SpringSkies Day 19: #Fall in title. My handwritten book log for our #DecolonizeBookshelves2022 reading theme. There were striking themes that fit into the decolonize nature of our reading theme, especially the portrayal of biracial characters who do not seem to fit in anywhere, forever outsiders across their two cultural backgrounds. Full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-ofx

#PoetryMatters Day 18: #Typhoon

#SpringSkies Day 18: #Powerful magic lost in the Daevabad Kingdom. Paired with Artisanal Varzi salami from Pavia given by beloved Italian colleague (who also gave me Leo Lionni‘s Italian version of A fish is a Fish) - plus gouda and brie - and strawberry soju + strawberry mogumogu.

#SpringSkies Day 17: Saying that this book has #MagicalElement would be an understatement. Finished reading it late last night and now starting on book #3. I am so glad I went back to this series especially since I abandoned book 1 last year. This one is much better, I think. Paired it with umm ali, a traditional Egyptian dessert I feel Nahri would love.

#SpringSkies Day 16: This one had a #SurpriseEnding that I did not anticipate. I am so glad I went back to reading this fantasy novel after abandoning it last year. Sooo good. Review is forthcoming.

#SpringSkies Day 15: This is a good fit for #WomenInSports. Kenneth, one of our GatheringBooks contributors reviews this book here: https://gatheringbooks.org/2019/07/12/poetry-friday-women-in-tennis/

#PoetryMatters Day 14: #Twirl

#SpringSkies Day 14: This feels like it #InvolvesHeist sort of. Big Bad Wolf book haul early this year.

#SpringSkies Day 13: #OneWordTitle - part of my Bog Bad Wolf Book haul early this year.

#PoetryMatters Day 12: #Twine

#SpringSkies Day 12: there is a #VillainPOV here with the voices of murderers - who actually believe they are doing a public good - in this chilling journalistic memoir. Perhaps the act of writing this book was to cleanse herself of the toxicity of victims who sing out the praises of their children‘s murderers and call former President Duterte Tatay. My full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-qgX

#PoetryMatters Day 11: #Twin

#SpringSkies Day 11: #CvrWithObscuredFace #CoverWithObscuredFace - hope to get to this book this year 🤞🏽

#PoetryMatters Day 10: #Twill

#PoetryMatters Day 9: #Twilight

#SpringSkies day 9: #SetInSnowIce. While I am not usually a fan of rhyming verse in children‘s books, Pinkney‘s luminous illustrations make me want to reach out and touch the fur on bear‘s back and rabbit‘s belly. I could also sense rabbit‘s impatience, his sense of confinement, and desire to “somersault downhill” and taste the snow on his tongue. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-6Ln

#PoetryMatters Day 8: #Twig

#SpringSkies Day 8: since the title roughly means Not Afraid, then maybe this fits #ChildWithPowers - found in a bookstore in Bologna. See more of my book haul and book hunting expeditions while in Italy here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-qdO

#SpringSkies Day 7: There literally is no #Escape from the tension in the story, palpable to the point of suffocation. I felt the protagonist‘s defiance battling with terror. My full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-qhH

#SpringSkies Day 6: While there are quite a number of sibling-themed books, only a few really explore #Twins. In Hyewon Yum‘s twin series, it appears that she is drawing from her own experience of being a twin, seeing how she dedicated this book to Misun, her twin sister. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-nAk

#SpringSkies Day 5: this one clearly #InvolvesArt - published in Italian and found in the Biglietteria bookshop in Ferrara a few weeks ago. Now, of course, I regret not purchasing this gorgeous title, notwithstanding its being published in a language I cannot read. 💕

#SpringSkies Day 4: Perhaps when one is in the presence of absence, one is essentially #Lost. Paired with non-alcoholic strawberry mojito, just the way I like it. 💕💕💕

#SpringSkies Day 3: This is truly #AnimalPOV, albeit extinct. A lovely book gift from a PhD student who happens to be a fellow bibliophile. 💕

#SpringSkies Day 2: #GloryInTitle - part of my book haul sometime in 2022: https://gatheringbooks.org/2022/10/02/bhe-539/ - looking forward to reading it soonest. 💕

#SpringSkies Day 1: This was our #BkClubRead #BookClubRead for #EuropaCollective for March which I enjoyed tremendously.

#PoetryMatters Day 31: #Tusk

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 31: Reviewed this #GraphicNovel memoir for my guest curation over this March at Global Literature in Libraries Initiative (GLLI). It has elucidated with such compassion and thoughtfulness what intersectionality means; the fluidity of our cultural influences and resulting identities; and the many ways through which our multi-layered identities are challenged by the larger society. My review: https://wp.me/p7Q7pO-cc2

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 30: This one is #WithVacation - bought during my book hunting expeditions in Bologna a few weeks ago. Will be sharing my book haul by tomorrow! 💕

#PoetryMatters Day 29: #Turquoise

#PoetryMatters Day 28: #Turn

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 29: This is a #BkMentionedInBk #BookMentionedInBook kind of novel that I absolutely adored. Took a photo of the page and edited using an app. See my full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-i6R

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 28: #WithWomanFacingAway #WWomanFacingAway

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 27: #SomeoneRunning - another picturebook find while book hunting in Bologna.

#PoetryMatters Day 26: #Turf

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 26: #FoodOnCvr #FoodOnCover - recent Libby find. Review is forthcoming.

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 25: Tagged book is #WithMurder and bought in Bologna along with paired title by Dickens. Apparently the Tom Benjamin series is hugely popular - murder mysteries set in Bologna - with a total of six books now. My book hunting expedition of bookstores visited while in Italy will go live on Sunday. 🇮🇹

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 24: From what I understand, this fulfills the #InsaneProtag criteria - or maybe it is Harrow the Ninth? i have yet to sink my teeth into this series especially since I only have this first book at the moment. 💀☠️

#PoetryMatters Day 23: #Tune

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 23: There are indeed #Superhero(es) in this Tommy Taylor series - very clever and well put together.

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 21: These Elena Ferrante novels are #WithEyes. Found in a bookstore in Bologna.

#PoetryMatters Day 20: #Tuft

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 20: #Rain

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 19: This collection (not the tagged book - this one is not yet on Litsy‘s database) is #WithTwoPlusAuthors - 84 actually. These are all authors, poets, artists invited over the years for the Emirates Literature Festival. Will be featuring this in an upcoming #UAEReads post very soon.