From the celebrated author of As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow comes a poignant novel about a Syrian American girl who uses a magical sketchbook to turn her grief into art, painting miraculous murals of her mother’s life in Syria. 🦇
Woah. Okay. takes a deep breath Wow. If I can convince you to read ONE book this year, just one, this is it. I read it in one sitting, cried twice (alongside my sleeping gf and cat -- this is the second time this year I've cried in bed due to a book, desperate not to wake them), and I'm still reeling. Let's break it down. 🦇
This was such a gift to read during Ramadan (which also occurs in the book). Though I'm Palestinian, not Syrian, I recognized every dish. Thank goodness I read this after sunset! 🦇
I wish the Islamophobia Jihad experiences were over-exaggerated, but it's so realistic that it sucker punched me to read it secondhand. I've lived those moments. The snide comments. The quiet, subtle racism that chips away at you bit by bit. The microaggressions that make you question yourself. And yes, boys grabbing, people shoving, adults doing NOTHING. The black eye, holding your head up high, living through it. Jihad's experience isn't unique -- it's real, raw, painful, and you need to know that it's a reality for too many people. 🦇
The friendship between Jihad and Jamie is everything. I adored his care with her, but also the story's care with this relationship. Jihad draws lines she won't cross (explicitly explains that they're not dating, that she wouldn't touch him) and Jamie respects those boundaries. Nothing haram occurs, but I also adored the fact that the relationship can be what it is, without forcing romantic intentions for the sake of book sales (I've seen it too often). 🦇
I hope a talented Bookstagram artist reads this and turns every single one of Jihad's murals into real pieces. 🦇
Recommended to fans of Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, The Skin and Its Girl, and Evil Eye. 🦇
The Vibes ✨
Magical Realism
Muslim / Hijabi FMC
Islamophobia
Young Adult
Syrian-American FMC
Grief
Poetic Prose
Artistry
Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #TheOceanWouldPaintMeBlue 🦇
Quotes 💬
Many words from my language have been co-opted out of their beautiful, resonant meanings and made to be weapons of fear.
Our words, our meanings, my name, my meaning— all crushed under the boot of racism.
I’m the odd one out. My colors are bleached. They’re a whirlwind of gray when once they were the deepest blue.
Ignorance is not an excuse anymore.
When I drew and painted, it was a blessing, making things that weren’t there appear. Making the colors dance.
Gh’erbe, I think. غِرْبِة No word in English comes close to the true meaning of the word in Arabic. The root word of it meaning “to withdraw.” From it comes many words with the same meaning. The sunset. The absence of light. At its essence, it’s being a stranger in a strange country.
For people like Mason, I have to stand out to be embraced. I have to cure cancer, be a heavyweight champion, establish myself as an essential human being who has contributed greatness to the world in order for my other “less attractive” aspects to be accepted.
"Nothing happens when people who look like me speak up.”
“You’ll meet so many people with preconceived ideas of how they expect you to act,” I tell Jamie, even though I know this is more of a reality for me as a hijabi than it will be for him. My whole image screams Muslim, while he has the privilege of ambiguity. Not that he wouldn’t face discrimination. But it wouldn’t be the way I face it. “And when you shatter those ideas, they will pat you on the back for not being the stereotype. Because fundamentally they think the stereotype is what’s normal. This happens with everyone. Even with allies.” I breathe in deeply, hold the air in my lungs before letting it go. “You will spend so much time trying to convince people you’re just a human being.”
Good afternoon, book lovers and bookish bats! As many of you know, I've already done a "What to Read After Watching Ted Lasso" book guide (which you can find in my Watch + Read" highlight), which primarily featured soccer romance books. I've also done multiple sports romance book guides, including a queer sports romance book guide, earlier this year. ⚽
Given that, I wanted to make sure this version of my What to Read After Watching Ted Lasso book guide was a bit different. Though these books may seem like random recommendations, I tried to choose a mix of sports romance books, queer soccer books, and, perhaps most predominately, books of hope and kindness. I hope you find a new favorite among them! ⚽
As a reminder, this is one of only a FEW woman's soccer team adaptations you'll see on your screen! Cleat Cute was announced for an adaptation years ago, and I'm sure my fellow sapphic book lovers are eager to see it's adaptation. These stories represent and communicate far more than you realize. Woman's sports teams are underfunded. They're not given even half the time, attention, support, or funding as men's teams. Ted Lasso is doing an amazing job at addressing these problems (the second episode is INCREDIBLE), even as the show itself is belittled for focusing on women (the irony). ⚽
It's not only a commentary on sexism. Ted Lasso had always prioritized how mental health is stigmatized among athletes and coaches. Mental health plays an important role in Cleat Cute's story as well. I'm excited to see how both shows approach this topic when focused on female athletes, who are already judged for so much. ⚽
Are you watching the new season of Ted Lasso (featuring a woman's soccer team)?❓
Recently reread "This is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone with my online book club, so I created a flippable illustration featuring Red and Blue for fun. ❤️💙
Early Access - Steal a Sneak Peek at My ARC Approvals 🔖
What's the last ARC you downloaded?❓
Good afternoon, book lovers and bookish bats! I'm SO excited about the books, namely the ARC approvals, I have on my TBR. This is only the first six ARCs awaiting me; stay tuned for the rest. 🦇
I'm currently reading and loving Victorious, and it's glorious; like stepping back in time or hearing from an old friend. I'm both excited and terrified to reach The End. 🦇
In other news, Saturday is a Batty About Book Club meeting and Romance Bookshop Day. What's your favorite indie bookstore?❓
Have a wonderful day, book lovers and bookish bats, and happy reading! 🦇
Good afternoon, book lovers and bookish bats! As many of you know, I've already done a "What to Read After Watching Ted Lasso" book guide (which you can find in my Watch + Read" highlight), which primarily featured soccer romance books. I've also done multiple sports romance book guides, including a queer sports romance book guide, earlier this year. ⚽
Given that, I wanted to make sure this version of my What to Read After Watching Ted Lasso book guide was a bit different. Though these books may seem like random recommendations, I tried to choose a mix of sports romance books, queer soccer books, and, perhaps most predominately, books of hope and kindness. I hope you find a new favorite among them! ⚽
As a reminder, this is one of only a FEW woman's soccer team adaptations you'll see on your screen! Cleat Cute was announced for an adaptation years ago, and I'm sure my fellow sapphic book lovers are eager to see it's adaptation. These stories represent and communicate far more than you realize. Woman's sports teams are underfunded. They're not given even half the time, attention, support, or funding as men's teams. Ted Lasso is doing an amazing job at addressing these problems (the second episode is INCREDIBLE), even as the show itself is belittled for focusing on women (the irony). ⚽
It's not only a commentary on sexism. Ted Lasso had always prioritized how mental health is stigmatized among athletes and coaches. Mental health plays an important role in Cleat Cute's story as well. I'm excited to see how both shows approach this topic when focused on female athletes, who are already judged for so much. ⚽
Are you watching the new season of Ted Lasso (featuring a woman's soccer team)?❓
Good afternoon, book lovers and bookish bats! I hope you've had an amazing summer full of beloved books. Personally, I'm an autumn, but that doesn't stop me from diving into a stack of amazing sapphic summer reads every year. Here are a few sapphic summer books recs for your ever-growing tbr. Did I miss any of your favorites?
What's your favorite sapphic book for summer?❓
(For my autumn girls who are desperate to cool down and cozy up, check out the fantasy slide at the end! Remember to read queer all year!)
Happy International Cat Day, book lovers and bookish bats!
To celebrate International Cat Day, here are a few books I think would belong on Luna and Cleo's tbr. Based on their personalities, which books would you add?
Do you have a cat? If so, what's their name? What are they like? And would books would you put on their tbr?
Fun fact: International Cat Day first came to be in 2002. It was started by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and managed by International Cat Care to focus on global feline welfare, safety, and adoption awareness.
Now, some sadder cat facts:
About 1/3 of the US shelter population is comprised of black cats
Black cats take 24% longer to get adopted (namely because of superstition and stigma, which can also lead to cruelty and abuse)
Black cats are the least likely to get adopted
This may shock a few of you, but I was never a cat person growing up. My family had two tiny, yippy Maltese Yorkie mixes (Maxie and Lucky, who we've both said goodbye to this past year), but they were more my sisters' dogs than mine.
Bae, however, was so eager to get a cat. The year before I moved in with her, I caved and agreed. Over the span of months, she met over a dozen cats waiting to be adopted, searching for the right fit, but none seemed right.
One day, while she played with six cats in a tiny room, I stepped out (my allergies couldn't handle it). There were two carrier cases on a table outside the room--both pitch black and therefore seemingly empty. Until, through the shadows, two golden eyes blinked back at me. The kitty foster mom told me that this little black cat, Clove, didn't play well with others and had to be excluded from the meet and greet room.
Obviously, I convinced bae to take her home right away. And so Luna Pancake Clove came into our lives.
While we found Luna (sweet baby Lu), CleoCatra found US. She was a tiny little stray, caught in a ditch, found by bae's sister's dogs--and the sneaky little soot gremlin convinced them to take her home. She was presented to me as a birthday gift, and so we took home our second black cat, CleoCatra HaBeastie King.
Both cats were named after cartoon kitties (can you recognize which two? I'm holding out for a Russian Blue as our third, to name her Yzma). Each one is like a familiar to our witchy spirits (Luna, who is very much like me, is bae's familiar, while Cleo, who is so much like bae, is mine). Both have turned our little Owl House, full of weirdos, into a home.
amandla
2087
turnnoffyourmind
titsay
dailybridgerton
stormborns
theartofmadeline
