Category: Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: August 2019

by Zaheerah4 Comments on Monthly Rewind: August 2019
Monthly Rewind: August 2019

B O O K S

During the month of August, I read 3 books.

Since I had family over my house for most of this month, I unfortunately didn’t get to read as much as I wanted. A pro to living by the sea is that it’s often a highlight to my cousins who all live in London. I went to the beach more times in this month than I did in the past year. 😂 I also ended up taking a walk by the Seven Sisters as well which was pretty cool since I haven’t been there since a primary school trip. And, lastly, an ARTBOX café opened up in Brighton and I’M IN LOVE! If you don’t know what ARTBOX is, it’s basically a character café where for a couple of months they focus on one particularly character. And for their opening, it was PUSHEEN! I’ll post some of my highlight pictures from this month below!

Brighton Pier
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Lifestyle, Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: July 2019

by Zaheerah1 Comment on Monthly Rewind: July 2019
Monthly Rewind: July 2019

B O O K S

During the month of July, I read 7 books.

The Ressurrectionist of Caligo | Gods of Jade and Shadow | Aphrodite Made Me Do It | Mooncakes

SLAY | Verify | Turtles All The Way Down

M U S I C

So Am I | Room Shaker | Sunset | We All Lie | Beautiful People | Crown | BROWN SKIN GIRL| Another Place

P O S T S

A feature section to highlight my favourite posts from my fellow bloggers that were posted this month. 

  • Jade War Blog Tour! – I had the pleasure of being accepted into the blog tour for the amazing Jade War by Fonda Lee. I absolutely loved Jade City, and Jade War was a complete smash! Please check out everyone’s amazing contributions to this tour!

That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?

Lifestyle, Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: June 2019

by Zaheerah5 Comments on Monthly Rewind: June 2019
Monthly Rewind: June 2019

B O O K S

During the month of June, I read 10 books. (Edit: I wrote this post after reading Jade War, thinking it was my last book of the month, but I ended up reading two more books 😂)

We Hunt the Flame | Amina’s Voice | All the Things We Never Said | Red, White & Royal Blue | Jade City

The Black Veins | Pan’s Labyrinth | Soul of the Sword | The Battle | Jade War

Late additions to the post: We Set The Dark on Fire & Two Can Keep A Secret

M U S I C

Look what God gave her | The Fifth Season | Chica | Grace | Cheok Cheok | Birthday | Who Do U Love? | Mad Max

P O S T S

A feature section to highlight my favourite posts from my fellow bloggers that were posted this month. 

  • 63 Prompts to Help You Write That Book Review! – Even though I’ve been blogging for a couple of years now, I always struggle to write a review. Some days I can’t force the words out of me and I can’t seem to say what I want about the read I’ve read. The lovely bloggers over at The Quiet Pond have made a huge post with prompts to help get the words rolling. I’ve used this while writing two reviews and I’ve seen the immense boost it has given. I found myself writing a lot more and thinking more deeply about my review in places that I would’ve otherwise missed.
  • The Perks & Pitfalls of Readathons: Are They Worth It? – A Discussion – I personally have a love/hate relationship with readathons. I’m only doing #YearOfTheAsian because it’s quite easy to handle. (Since a lot of authors that are on my TBR are Asian and the rules for the readathon are simple) I love Nyan’s discussion about readathons!
  • There Are No Small Parts in Jeanie Finlay’s ‘The Last Watch’ – A post that reflects on the final season of GOT. Despite whatever thoughts you have about the writing, getting to see the heart of the production was why I particularly loved The Last Watch documentary so much. Daisy, an old school friend who studied film, really summarises her the documentary really well!

That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?

Lifestyle, Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: May 2019

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Monthly Rewind: May 2019
Monthly Rewind: May 2019

B O O K S

During the month of May, I read 7 books and 1 webtoon.

Shadow of the Fox
A fantasy novel based on Japanese mythology which follows Yumeko, a kitsune, who forms an alliance with a mysterious samurai to transport a piece of an ancient scroll that has the power to summon a great dragon. This one took a while to fully appreciate. It was kind of slow in the beginning and since I was also in a book slump, that didn’t help the experience either. But towards the end, I found it so enjoyable and the story and characters were so brilliant.

My So-Called Bollywood Life
Winnie follows her prophecy to the T. Until the boy who is supposed to be her true love cheats on her. Now she’s doing things her way. Honestly, I found this book rather dull and, in the end, it wasn’t really for me. I do see its appeal and I would recommend others to give this book a try.

The Paper & Hearts Society
Out of the other youtuber-turn-author books, it’s pretty decent. My thoughts about this are the same as My So-Called Bollywood Life, I see it’s appeal and how a lot of people are going to love this book and looking back, this isn’t a terrible book but it’s just one of those stories that doesn’t fit my own reading style and taste.  

A Torch Against the Night
I cannot believe it took me so long to read this sequel. Having to rely on my memory all the way from 2015 probably dampened by experience of this book, but I really enjoyed it.

Exit West
Another neutral read. Quick, captivating and interesting.

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Lifestyle, Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: April 2019

by Zaheerah1 Comment on Monthly Rewind: April 2019
Monthly Rewind: April 2019

B O O K S

During the month of April, I read 4 books. (It’s actually 7, but I collapsed Our Dreams at Dusk because it’s in Manga volumes)

Book covers (left to right): Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman, Hate To Want You by Alisha Rai, The Rise and Fall of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain and Our Dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani.

Summer Bird Blue
“It was just so heartfelt and emotional, especially the last quarter had me in tears. A story about a girl exploring her grief, but also a story about family and friendship. A brilliant character-driven novel that really hit all the right notes .” My review

Hate to Want You
Everyone I follow has read this book. It’s a little more steamy than I would’ve liked but the family drama was to die for and I was on edge.

The Fall and Rise of the Amir Sisters
Eh, I’m not too sure about this. I love Nadiya but this book was just so weird. I found the sisters to be so unlikeable at some points. Mae was a disappointment and the attempt to portray her as a teen today really flopped. (Her texting was so irritating and illegible at some points. I don’t want to sound like an adult complaining about teens in fiction but in 2019 are most eighteen-year-olds really texting like this? “Nt doom. Better nt jinx uni. L8ers! Xxxx”)

Our Dreams at Dusk
A short manga about a gay teen who is scared he’s been outed. He meets a mysterious woman and finds himself joining (a sort of) club. The depiction of different LGBT+ characters was honestly so amazing. It’s so short but so impactful. The art is so beautiful.

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Lifestyle, Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: March 2019

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Monthly Rewind: March 2019
Monthly Rewind: March 2019

B O O K S

During the month of March, I managed to read 10 books. How I managed that is beyond me. This month felt like two months.

The Infinite
I completely forgot to write a review for this but I LOVED it. I heard this series was hyped a lot when it was first out, and it’s a shame I missed it all in my early blog days! I really want to see how this series end but this came out in 2015! And I haven’t found anything that suggests the final book any time soon.

Rilakkuma
Super cute, and adorable. Really short. Works well as a great pick-me-up read.

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali
From my review: “The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali is an emotional, page-turning read. It’s personal and bold, with a hopeful and happy ending. Khan is making a splash with her brilliant debut novel that and I can’t wait to read more from her in the future. ”

It’s Not About The Burqa
“A much-needed collection of essays from Muslim women on faith, feminism and sexuality as a Muslim woman.” My short review

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