#DynamicDs Day 3: #Doorway - more than one here. Received this book as a gift from a doctoral student. 💕

#DynamicDs Day 2: #DoubleLetterTitle and it happens to be DD too! Awesome. I am still disappointed this did not win over James, but c‘est lavie. 💕

#DynamicDs Day 1: In this picturebook, we find out From The Files Of A Hard-Boiled #Detective what really happened to Humpty. The main character of the story is Joe Dumpty, Humpty‘s younger brother who happens to be a #detective. Most naturally, he is keen on cracking the case of his brother, whom he feels has been pushed from that great wall. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-iqi

#CoverStories Day 31: #Prison - Zeba was detained (but more like imprisoned) for the murder of her husband, and awaiting a conviction. All the other incarcerated women committed the crime of fighting back against abusive husbands or family members or accused of having sex outside of marriage – called zina or crimes of immorality – even just a mere suspicion is enough to dishonor a woman and her family. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-ndv

#CoverStories Day 30: #Sea - enjoyed this novel but haven‘t gotten myself the copy of the sequel yet. Is it any good?

#CoverStories Day 29: #Music that transcends borders is what Yo Yo Ma, United Nations Messenger of Peace, creates - and this is a fantastic picturebook biography that shows exactly that. My full review including a video of Yo Yo Ma‘s historic musical performance that took place at the Rio Grande also known as the US-Mexico Border: https://wp.me/pDlzr-quq - A very timely book.

#CoverStories Day 28: #Golden peach indeed. Recent ebook find from Libby.

#CoverStories Day 27: This story definitely reminds me of summers either spent with family in the US or in the Philippines. I especially liked this statement: “We go to a house that‘s not any of ours, near the ocean and a #lake.”
My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-psc

#CoverStories Day 26: Love shared through #Letters is finely wrought in this strange series that is a work of art with the correspondence in handwritten missives found in each page. My review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-coy

#CoverStories Day 25: #Waves - a recent book haul from Big Bad Wolf in Dubai.

#CoverStories Day 24: I thought I better share this Baldwin‘s Book #Barn feature of Erik Weibel of ThisKidReviewsBooks - which has since closed down because he is now an adult. When he was still a child book blogger, I invited him to do a guest post at GatheringBooks - and he shared his book hunting expedition at this gem in Pennsylvania here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-7GD

#CoverStories Day 23: Fats‘s review: “Tim Wadham‘s picturebook tells the captivating story of a little girl whose “make-believe basket” tranforms her into royalty. Adorned with royal crown and #jewelry, Rose becomes the Queen of France. The Queen of France goes around the house and talks to Rose‘s parents.”
Full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-75b

#CoverStories Day 22: I have sort-of #Pastel colored and women-authored books for my birthday month. They all look delicious!

#CoverStories Day 21: 13 #Clock(s) tells the story of an evil duke who has murdered time (all thirteen clocks in the castle had been frozen at the same time, one snowy night, seven years before – thus it was always ten minutes to five in the castle); an enchanted princess; and a Prince disguised as a Minstrel who wishes to save the princess.
My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-iO

#CoverStories Day 20: #Bridge - Fats‘ review:
“TL;DR: A woman was in charge of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Before reading this book, I had no idea who Emily Warren Roebling was. Set during the 1860s, How Emily Saved the Bridge tells the story of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Of course, the story goes beyond that.”

Full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-kTb

#CoverStories Day 19: #River - Alistair Cleary is not a typical would-be-13-year-old boy. In this story, secrets are thrust into him for safe-keeping whether he likes to or not, because people see something in him. There is a sense that he can be trusted, and that he has vision as can be attested by his short story about aliens who visit Earth and pretend to be sixth-graders. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-8mD

#CoverStories Day 18: Central to this tale is the plight of a father and his young son (who was sent a new pair of #shoes by his mother who is working in the United States) as they travel from their home in El Salvador to Guatemala to the US-Mexican border, ostensibly to be reunited with the mother. My review of this timely tale: https://wp.me/pDlzr-gum

#CoverStories Day 17: #Keyhole

#CoverStories Day 16: #Running - as Iphigene wrote in her review: “This book isn‘t for everyone. It is first and foremost for people who know Murakami and who want to understand the man behind the fiction. It is also for runners. I have a feeling that runners could relate to his experiences—the challenges and pleasure in the sport. It is for loners, for those who seek to be understood.” Full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-1Wc

#CoverStories Day 15: #Reflections on consolations. Entire book is all about reflections on meanings of everyday words. Pistachio nutella crepe. 💕

#CoverStories Day 14: #Feather

#CoverStories Day 13: #Chapel

#CoverStories Day 12: Sorta kinda #Tuxedo - not quite but getting there, and hey, it‘s Mr Rogers! Fats shared her book haul including this one here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-ldF

#CoverStories Day 11: #Reptile - While other young girls would ask for cute poodles or a tame goldfish in a glass bowl aquarium, Joan had a pet crocodile instead! She saw something in these reptiles that other people evidently are unable to appreciate. Perfect for Women‘s History Month. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-jGO

#CoverStories Day 10: #Direction of where the world needs to be in order to survive in this planet. Every year, the Emirates Literature Foundation hosts a short story contest for young children around the Emirates with SDG themes; and the winning stories get published in this yearly compendium of an illustrated book. It‘s pretty neat, actually. My friend‘s son is one of the published authors this year - his work seen in the 2024 new book.

#CoverStories Day 9: #Umbrella - Suzy Lee plays with colours here: the drab greys broken with the occasional splash of blue initially, then you can see a slight green peeking through. And as the sun shines, there is a psychedelic burst of colours that is nothing short of magical. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-hfE

#CoverStories Day 8: #Trees - entire premise of this book is intriguing - the way the group of translators hero-worship Irena Ray, their beloved author, is almost cult-like, even their regular gathering with all the rules and their calling each other by their languages was strange. While the other #Tob25 title Colored Television was more of a page-turner, this is still holding my interest, though it is a bit of a struggle finishing it. #LitsyToB25

#CoverStories Day 7: #Stairs - a Libby ebook find. Review is forthcoming. 💕

#CoverStories Day 6: #Clouds - had to pause my reading of this book as I go over the #ToB25 shortlisted titles. Wait for awhile, Fredrik Backman, I will get back to you soonest. 💕

#CoverStories Day 5: #Hammock from classic to contemporary stories. Timeless, indeed.

#CoverStories Day 4: #BodyPart shaped to letters of the alphabet - review is forthcoming.

#CoverStories Day 3: #LargeAnimal - hippo it is, then. 💕

#CoverStories Day 2: #EveningGown - a Big Bad Wolf book haul. 📚

#CoverStories Day 1: #2SimilarCovers sort of - one is an Arabic book gifted to me by a student. 💕

#FeelinTheLove Day 28: Despite the heated-oven ending where the narcissistic [ #Narcissism ] villainess supposedly got her comeuppance, I found no redemption in this tale, the creators had none to give. The reader is left to find scraps of those from the occasional vacuous kindness for the beautiful darknesses to sneer at in its vapid naivete.
My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-akB

#FeelinTheLove Day 27: #BrotherLove between Black and White in what Fats calls in her review “a Disney-esque, neo-punk version of Japan. There is so much violence in Tekkonkinkreet. However, do not let it stop you from reading this book. It talks about brotherhood, faith, courage, the fragility of life, and the co-existence of light and darkness, that one cannot exist without the other.” Her full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-aBx

#FeelinTheLove Day 26: #SisterLove - This shared womanity or sense of girlhood is evident in the tagged book I read for #DecolonizeBookshelves - irrespective of one‘s skin color, to be female is to belong to “the ranks of the wretched.” One of the really great titles I read from the list of “Decolonize Your Bookshelf in 50 Books.” My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-opq

#FeelinTheLove Day 25: It is not unlikely that the merchant of marvels and peddler of dreams also make #LovePotion(s). See my full review of this magical and hard-to-find book here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-6FL

#FeelinTheLove Day 24: the #Lonely Londoners was one of my greatest reads from our decolonize your bookshelf reading theme. Sam Selvon, who published in the 50s couldn‘t care less about pandering to a White audience, and what a liberation it is. My full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-pjL

#FeelinTheLove Day 23: There is #ParentChildLove in this novel that, I feel, tries incredibly hard to be so “woke” and “current” - it comes across (at least to me) as performative and sometimes in poor taste. I am referring especially to their family photo that the author likened to a family in the West Bank. That soured my experience of reading this book. Will still give it a chance though for #ToB25.

#FeelinTheLove Day 21: Heard the poet perform in Dubai and read his poems aloud overlooking the Persian Gulf last December as organized by Emirates Lit Fest. I assume this collection of poetry has #LoveOnTheRocks - maybe not with a lover, but with the larger society, and the universe - as Gomez explores race, violence, and what it‘s like to raise Black children in America.

#FeelinTheLove Day 20: relocating to a small town to heal a #BrokenHeart is the premise, apparently, of these novels. Bought the first three in the series during the big bad wolf book sale in Dubai. Are they binge-worthy? Haven‘t watched the series yet - waiting until I have scoped the books first. Any thoughts about the series?

#FeelinTheLove Day 19: There is #IllicitLoveAffair between Belle Greene and a famous married art historian. That was pretty toxic. Come to think of it, she had several #IllicitLoveAffair(s) with married men. My full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-r26

#FeelinTheLove Day 18: Look at all those #Hearts in this understated book cover. Finished reading this last night. Definitely one of my #ToB25 favorites, thus far. What a delight. Review is forthcoming.

#FeelinTheLove Day 17: #GalentinesDay feels especially during the bridal shower bonding of the women and the revelations that ensued. Nearly finished with this #ToB25 title - why wasn‘t this novel given more love last year? It‘s brilliant!

#FeelinTheLove Day 16: Quite the #LoveHatePairing with this #ToB25 title with Phoebe‘s cheating ex-hubby. I can see this being made into a series. Set against the desert last night as husband and I watched a Chinese concert pianist and Chinese dancers perform with the Jebel Hafeet Mountain (UNESCO heritage site) as the backdrop. Perfect post Valentine and CNY celebration. A good open-air wedding venue too. My sky cashmere shawl matches book cover.

#FeelinTheLove Day 15: #TimelessLove vibes in these interconnected short stories especially the first and last one. Sparse and atmospheric, this #ToB25 title leaves a mark. Review is forthcoming.

#FeelinTheLove Day 14: #ValentinesDay

#FeelinTheLove Day 13: When Llewellyn meets Evelyn, Llewellyn hands her a jar filled with cherry light. Since then, Llewellyn and Evelyn collect things together. One day, Evelyn tells Llewellyn that her family is moving away. What will happen to their friendship? In a Jar is a beautiful reminder that friendship knows no distance. #LongDistanceLove - Fats‘ review here: https://gatheringbooks.org/2020/04/27/monday-reading-bunny-stories-parting/

#FeelinTheLove Day 12: A lot of #LoveLost in these short stories - a #ToB25 title that I finished reading over the weekend. Review is forthcoming. Paired with my non-alcoholic strawberry mojito.