Lost in Beauty - Poem by Nada Adel Sobhi

The wind in my face

The music in my ears

The waves at my feet

And the sun gazing upon us all…

My definition of summer

The tune changes

Loreena McKennit fills my ears

And I know the magic will begin

Its power passing

From my music player

To the wind and water

I close my eyes

As the pen moves of its own accord

She too speaks of the sea

The water flows at my feet                            

Keeping me cool

Against the curious sun

I drop my pen

As my senses become lost

In the beauty before and around me

By: Nada Adel Sobhi

Photography by Nada Adel Sobhi. Location: North Coast, Egypt, KM 87

Nadaness In Motion's To-Be-Read List for 2020

I saw a fellow book blogger (Armed with a Book) write a list of books they have reserved for 2020 and I was inspired to do the same.

There are many books I wanted to squeeze in 2019 but couldn't so including them in my 2020 to-be-read (TBR) list was the logical next step.

Also, having this list would keep me on track on how I was progressing with books I want to read.

With the Cairo International Book Fair launching in late January and with new books being written, published, and discovered, and review requests coming in, this list will probably get larger - the bookworm's dilemma. But for now I'll like to see if I can finish this list in 2020.

So here's the list, including fiction and non-fiction.

1.  No Longer Safe by A.J. Waines

I've had this book and another by Waines on my TBR pile for a while, but I don't want to rush them because they're psychological thrillers and Waines was a psychoanalyst so I want to dive into her books without distractions.

I've previously featured A.J. Waines on my blog through an interview and excerpt of No Place to Hide and another interview about No Longer Safe.

Update: I've read this book and gave it a 3.5-4-star book review.

2.  A Fantasy Writer's Handbook by Richie Billing

Another book I planned to read in 2019; this was a review request that I wanted to dedicate time and energy to. It's about 300 pages long and I wanted to take my time with it as I work on my own fantasy novel(s).

3.  Letters to a Young Novelist by Mario Vargas Llosa

I originally added this book to my TBR pile in 2018, but haven't had a chance to start it. I was told that people studying for their Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) had this Nobel-Prize-winner as part of their syllabi so I figured I'd read it as well. It's short, about 130 pages, and so far the index indicates it would be a good read. Will read it in 2020 and let you know.

4.  Reading Like a Writer, a Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose

Another book that I was told was part of the MFA program and that I included in my TBR pile. The book title is catchy and while I've been critiquing books for some time (You can see that on my Book Reviews page), I'm curious what and how others look at it. 

With these types of books and with book reviews, it is likely there'll be parts I agree with and others that I don't. But I won't pass judgement yet.

5.  Atomic Habits by James Clear

I've heard a great deal about this book and I found that my cousin, whose Kindle account we share, had downloaded it. Atomic Habits moved from my I'm-considering-this-book-but-won't-add-it-yet pile to my ever-growing TBR pile :D

So, will see what the hype is about.

6.  Bound (ADoyle Cozy Mystery) by Kirsten Weiss

I love reading Kirsten Weiss' books, in fact I've already reviewed several of her works. But this one is a paranormal cozy mystery so I couldn't pass the opportunity when I downloaded it free (it was on sale for subscribers to Weiss' newsletter).

I have several other books by Weiss on my TBR pile, but I'll focus on this one first.

Books I've reviewed for Kirsten Weiss include: The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum (Book 1 in a series by the same name), Pressed to Death (Book 2 in The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series), Tales of the Rose Rabbit (a poetry collection that's part of the Doyle Witch series).

Last but not least, I interviewed Kirsten in October 2019. Here's our interview.

7.  Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business by Frances Frei & Anne Morriss

Another book I found on the shared Kindle account but one with a really cool and quirky cover. Also, as I delve into non-fiction, business development, and marketing, I feel this book would be great to read, review, learn from, and perhaps write about.

8.  Achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals

One of the things I've developed an interest in over the course of 2019 was green technology and renewable energy. Something I plan to write and blog more about via LinkedIn (and my upcoming freelancer writer's website).

9.  Magora: The World Beyond by Marc Remus

The last book in the middle-grade Magora series by author and artist Marc Remus, the most-likely-epic conclusion to this amazingly artistic and magical series.

I'm super excited about this. In 2018, I read the first 4 books in the series, this year I read the 5^th and as far as I know the 6^th book will be released in 2020. Remus will tie up all the loose ends, Holly will come face to face with the Duke of Cuspidor and hopefully all the questions from previous books will be answered.

Here are my reviews of the previous books: Magora: The Gallery of Wonders (Book 1), Magora: The Golden maple Tree (Book 2) Magora: The Bridge in the Fog (Book 3), Magora: The Uprising, and Magora: The Woodspeople. I've finished reading book 5, but will provide the review later.

10 and 11.              The Laws of Jartin Books 2 & 3

I picked up the first book in this Arabic paranormal-ish series as 

part of a book club. It's been a while since I've been hooked on an Arabic book. It's not amazing but the writing style is definitely similar to many English books I read. 

I plan to buy books 2 & 3 during the Cairo International book Fair in January and read them during the course of 2020. 

Book review of Book 1 is a work in progress.

12.              Past Deeds by Carolyn Arnold

A thriller that is similar to the series Criminal Minds. This will be the second read for me in this series by Carolyn Arnold. 

The first was On the Count of Three in December 2018.

13.              Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan but for some reason I've been delaying reading Harry Potter and The Cursed Child even though it's been on my kindle for some time (A couple of years?)

No more delaying. When I wrote this list I had actually forgotten about this book/play but decided to add it halfway through 2020, when I started reading it.

And these are just the books I already have planned, aside from the requests that keep coming in and books I pick up as part of a book club I joined. :D

In 2019, I published a post titled Why I Fear Reading Self-Help Books, but since then I've not only overcome this fear but have developed an appetite for non-fiction, seeking as much knowledge as I can.

As much as I can, I'll be publishing book reviews for all of the above-mentioned books. If you've read any of them or plan to read them, let me know, and we can do a short talk or we can compare notes (especially for the non-fiction books).

Don't forget to Check out My Top Books of 2019.

Takhayyal Writing Prompt 103: New Year's Wishes

January, the beginning of the New Year

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, Artists, Poets, Writers, Authors, Dreamers, Friends and Family; Welcome EVERYONE to Nadaness In Motion's MONTHLY picture-prompt writing challenge Takhayyal or Imagine.

January is when we all mull over new beginnings with new aspirations and hopes. So, on that line, I bring you the first writing prompt of 2020.

I think I first saw this image as a mobile background cover but I felt it was the perfect start to the year.

The rules?

Look at the image and let it inspire you.

You can write in any language or form (but comments will be on English and Arabic writing, since those are the languages that I know). You can include lines from other languages like French, German, or Italian but I'll just be guessing ;)

Arabic for Imagine, Takhayyal is a challenge for writers of all ages and genres; a place to spark creativity and explore new genres.

General rules:

• No nudity, violence, and/or abuse.
• Use the image for inspiration and write your piece in the comments below or publish it on your blog and leave the link to it in the comments
• Your piece MUST be inspired in some way or other by the above picture.
• Multiple entries allowed
• It is not required but it is a nice and encouraging gesture to comment on others' pieces.
• Feel free to add your Twitter handle (@....) so I can tag you in my tweets or tag me @NadanessSobhi and I'll retweet you :)

Let's IMAGINE!