#StorySettings Day 7: #Attic - bought this back in 2021 when we were still doing our #NYRBBookClub with @vivastory

#PoetryMatters Day 6: #Uncertain

#StorySettings Day 6: Our entire conference on reading has #Seaside by the fjords as our setting here in Bodø Norway. First keynote speaker today is rhetorical unparalleled Frank Serafini whose academic work has impacted and informed mine in countless ways.

#StorySettings Day 5: The #River Nile plays a prominent role in the final book of the Daevabad trilogy. Did not bring it with me to Norway because (1) too thick and heavy (2) don‘t want the story to end so thought of prolonging it til I return home next week.

#PoetryMatters Day 4: #Unbind

#PoetryMatters Day 3: #Unbending

#PoetryMatters Day 2: #Unbeaten

#StorySettings Day 4: #Mountain. I appreciated the juxtaposition of the poetic descriptions of each mountain and/or national park. I love how the essence of each place is captured by a few words – just four deceptively-simple lines – that speak of beauty, joy, wonder. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-pC1

#StorySettings Day 3: #AirportOrPlane - posting in advance because will be in an airport and plane (3 in total) tomorrow as we travel Abu Dhabi ➡️ Doha ➡️ Oslo ➡️ Bodø just like tomorrow‘s prompt. Over and above this picturebook providing a detailed description of what to expect in airports, the “diverse” element is a given rather than explicitly articulated or pounded over the head of the reader. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-dfD

#StorySettings Day 2: I hope reading in a #Cafe applies too for today‘s prompt lolsss. 💕

#PoetryMatters Day 1: #Unbearable

#StorySettings Day 1: Reading at the Leland #SkiResort Park in California back in early 2020. One of my great fantasy reads.

#PoetryMatters Day 30: #Unaware

#SpringSkies Day 30: perfect example of #NFIndigenousPpl. There are seven Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people featured in this book – most are fearless freedom fighters, forgotten thinkers, heroes and rebels in the country known now as Australia. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-ovI

#PoetryMatters Day 29: #Unable

#SpringSkies Day 29: My #FavBkOfMarch or #FaveBookOfMarch - our #EuropaCollective pick.

#PoetryMatters Day 28: #Umpire

#SpringSkies Day 28: Here are #2BksWithSimilarTitle ##2BooksWithSimilarTitle - the one I am reading is paired with cheesy seafood tagine - absolutely delish.

#SpringSkies Day 27: There are #Secrets yet to be revealed in this final installment in the Daevabad trilogy. I am sure I will miss the characters once I am done.

#PoetryMatters Day 26: #Umber

#SpringSkies Say 26: Definitely one of the most #Poetic journals out there - just released and naturally I had to have it immediately! 🤗💕🌸🪽🪶

#PoetryMatters Day 25: #Ultra

#SpringSkies Day 25: #BreakInTitle - from my Big Bad Wolf book hunting haul here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-pZ2

#SpringSkies Day 24: Iseult qualifies as #Neurodivergent because of her stutter believed to be unbecoming of a Threadwitch – who is supposed to be calm (stasis), clear, and collected. My review of the novel here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-eGB

#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