#the henna wars

[lunaathorne]

every sapphic book i love → the henna wars by adiba jaigirdar

of course muslims can be gay. how can anyone think otherwise? The two aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m living, breathing proof.

#mimimakes #meme: fsb #litedit #dailylit #wlwedit #yalitedit #diversenet #booksociety #the henna wars #adiba jaigirdar #wlw #lesbian #sapphic #desiblr #storyseekers #chaptersnet #usernickie #usersaima #usercossette #usermansi #useraish #books #my WHOLE heart

[augustraine]

Does anyone have good wlw book recs?? Specifically with one of them at least being masc? I'm so sick of going on tiktok looking for books where it's just two fem white women. 😭 I want more then the same 5 books yk??

#lesbians #lesbian #wlw #books #like i already have #one last stop #the priory of the orange tree #Cinderella is dead #the henna wars #last night at the telegraph club #jasmin throne #I JUST WANT TO READ ABOUT MASC WOMEN PLEASE. #and also sex #queer stuff #queer #sapphic #two women yk

[queer-book-character-tournament]

#Nishat #The Henna Wars #adiba jaigirdar #Eric Bittle #check please #ngozi ukazu #Aline Penhallow #The Shadowhunter Chronicles #cassandra clare #Fletcher Lane #The Rowan Harbor Cycle #Sam burns #polls #lgbt books

[kazbrekkerskane]

for the record: feel free to vote even if you are not a lesbian

obligatory I know it's 'wlw' or whatever but I'm calling it lesbian. shut up

if you haven't read any of these I strongly encourage you to do so!!!

rb and share for a larger sample size pls :)

#gideon the ninth #the locked tomb #the 7 husbands of evelyn hugo #criers war #wilder girls #honey girl #one last stop #cinderella is dead #the henna wars #the lumberjanes #last night at the telegraph club #lesbians #sapphic #wlw #gay women #radblr #radical feminists do interact #radical feminist safe #lesbian radfem

[poetlcs]

books read in 2023. the henna wars by adiba jaigirdar

“What I want more than anything else in the world is to feel like being myself isn’t something that should be hidden and a secret.”

#litedit #wlw lit #sapphic lit #the henna wars #adiba jaigirdar #mine #read23

[glowingmushroom0]

Top Ten TBR for August

1. The Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (currently reading)

Back in December, I was re-watching a bunch of Zhao’s videos on YouTube and in one of them she was promoting her novel Iron Widow. While I’ve never been too into mecha-novels in sci-fi, I decided to give this one a try! I’ve been finding the mechanics of the mechs really interesting, and I find Zetian a very engaging character. It also helps that Zhao explains some of the history of the real-life Wu Zetian in two of her YouTube videos. I still haven’t finished the book, but I am pretty close to finishing it.

2. Epithet Erased: Prison of Plastic by Brendan Blaber (currently re-reading)

This novel is a part of the Epithet Erased series on JelloApocalypse’s YouTube channel, which also includes several trailers for this novel and a part of chapter 1 of the novel’s audiobook. I remember seeing the original show on YouTube when it was coming out and it’s a really fun series! This part of the novel focuses on the story of Molly Blyndeff, a twelve-year-old with an epithet, a power that depends on whatever word the epithet is based off of. The story focuses on Molly’s relationship with her older sister Lorelai, and how her friends support her and try to help her as she tries to stop her sister from expanding her dream world within their family’s toy store. I’m actually listening to the audiobook while writing this post! I really recommend the audiobook version of this novel, the voice actors did an excellent job!

3. Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austen

I actually was recommended this book a couple of years ago by an aunt and a cousin of mine. I had gone to a Catholic school and they both knew I was pan (I still haven’t come out to them as agender though, but that’s because I don’t see or talk to them very often). However, what actually convinced me to try the book was an old friend group that started a book club, and this was their first book. I still haven’t read it because I didn’t end up making it to the meetings, but I am interested in reading it.

4. The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

This novel I was interested in more from the author than the subject matter, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested at all. I first read Jaigirdar’s Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to read more of her works! That’s when I learned that this was her debut novel, and I wanted to compare the two. Plus, I will always find some joy from learning about different art forms through writing in novels. The most I know about henna so far is from a friend of mine who had another friend who wanted to practice henna on them. Because of that, I’d like to learn more about how Jaigirdar depicts henna artists.

5. A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation by Jacoby Ballard

I actually found this book at a book exchange that was at an LGBTQ+ friendly event. My friend and I are both interested in this book because we’re both into learning about different kinds of religion and how to express different kinds of spirituality. From what I’ve looked over with the book it talks about how queer people create their own spaces within Buddhism and yoga.

6. So This is Ever After by F. T. Lukens

I’ll go more in-depth with this particular choice in the next book, however the main reasons why I was interested in this novel is because I had already gotten a book from this author that I was pretty interested in. And after looking through another book of Lukens’s (or Lukens’), they also seemed to be really interested in fantasy, especially magic. I also thought it was an interesting idea that the story takes place after the typical “ever after” of defeating an evil king.

7. In Deeper Waters by F. T. Lukens

Now this is the novel that I originally found F.T. Lukens from, and the main reason why I was interested in reading this novel is because I love pirates. I also found myself hooked from just the summary of the novel. When people say a character is mysterious, I don’t really know if they’re going to be mysterious until they appear in the story. However, the summary does show how mysterious Athlen can be, considering he’s introduced as a prisoner on a burning ship. So, I’m interested in learning more about Athlen just from the summary.

8. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This novel has a bit more controversial reason for why I want to read it. I originally got this book because it was popular, and I was vaguely interested, but then I started hearing about debates on whether this is good MLM (men-loving-men, not multi-level-marketing) representation. However, I then had another friend that’s a part of the queer community that read the book and he liked it. So I wanted to read the book to figure out my own opinion on the novel. Plus I thought it would be a good time to read it since the novel’s getting it’s own show soon. 

9. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Brynn Tannehill

This book is less for me and more for family reasons. I’m not going to go into too much detail for privacy reasons, but a lot of my family still don’t quite understand much about what it exactly means to be transgender, especially not someone who’s under the non-binary umbrella. So I wanted to read this book and see if it’d be a good fit for some of my family members who do read.

10. Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know about Narrative Techniques by Evan Skolnick

This book is more for my own learning and future career. My specific dream job is to create a video game story, which would go into scriptwriting. However, most of the creative writing advice and tips I’ve gotten were either for fiction in general, or for short stories and poetry. This book might be able to teach more about scriptwriting, but also how to develop scripts for video games.

#tbr list #tbr #fiction #bookish #bookblr #book blog #nonfiction #lgbtq #lgbt literature #epithet erased #iron widow #everyone in this room will someday be dead #the henna wars #a queer dharma #so this is ever after #in deeper waters #red white and royal blue #everything you ever wanted to know about trans #video game storytelling

[theresnothinglikethis]

nobody asked for this, but i wanted to share it regardless! here are the 22 books i read in 2022, it was a tough year but a good book was always there to pick me right up! so, here we go!

started of the year strong with some sapphic readings

and around this time the heartstopper tv show was coming out, so everyone could feel the hype !!!

i tried following the osemanverse but i was having a hard time focusing, so a good rwrb re-read helped clear my head. also read boyfriend material, surprisingly funny! i was really excited for the sequel

i'm not a big fan of reading in spanish, but una perfecta confusión (originally on wattpad, of all places) was actually pretty decent and cute, at times i cringed but the overall message and community built by the author are so wholesome<3

as you can see, i discovered tj klune's magnificent storytelling... and following a five-star reading with a disappointing sequel left me pretty bummed... leading to a reader's block

but then BANG, i picked up i wish you all the best, a book i DNFed back when it just came out (hah). i gave it another go and immediately fell in love with it. and the rwrb collector's edition came out and OBVIOUSLY i just HAD TO REREAD IT. i finished off the year with homefield advantage, i was loving the first half but then the second half.. one of the mc frustrated me SO. MUCH. she was a walking red flag and i just wanted to bridecarry jack (the other mc) out of the book and into a better story...

but it was a good reading year after all! AND NOW... 🥁🥁🥁

my beloved top 3!!!!! god, these books are so fucking good and i can't put into words how much i love them. special mention to under the whispering door, which made me BAWL MY EYES OUT

if you reached the end of this long post, thanks for reading and i wish you all the best (hah) in 2023!

#bookblr #heartstopper #red white and royal blue #rwrb #the seven husbands of evelyn hugo #the henna wars #hani and ishu's guide to fake dating #her royal highness #the extraordinaries #under the whispering door #the house in the cerulean sea #i wish you all the best #i kissed shara wheeler #osemanverse #nick and charlie #wlw #books #ya lgbt books #ya lit

[sapphic-book-tournament]

Part 1 of Round 1 starts tomorrow. I hope everyone is excited as I am. It's a bit much but I wanted to include all the recommendations that I got to make everyone happy.

#sapphic #lesbian books #bisexual #sapphic book tournament #sapphic books #criers war #delilah green doesn't care #girl serpent thorn #girls of paper and fire #hani and ishu's guide to fake dating #the henna wars #the unbroken #last night at the telegraph club #malice duology #lesbian #one last stop #these witches don't burn #paper girls #girls of fate and fury #the jasmine throne #fireheart tiger #she gets the girl #honey girl #the miseducation of cameron post #some girls do #something to talk about #the price of salt #we set the dark on fire #i kissed shara wheeler #hayley kiyoko

[slaughter-books]

Day 16: JOMPBPC: Favourite Genre

I love contemporaries and I love rainbow book stacks! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩷

#justonemorepage #jompbpc #favourite genre #contemporary #rainbow book stack #❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩷 #the henna wars #we didn't think it through #ophelia after all #nate plus one #forever ends on friday #on the come up #fake dates and mooncakes #spin me right round #aristotle and dante dive into the waters of the world #love in winter wonderland #the prom #you should see me in a crown #solitaire #unfairly c #highly suspicious and unfairly cute #beautiful books #amazing authors #lgbt+ #i love books

[poetic-gays]

January Wrap-Up

- Alone With You in the Ether: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- 10 Things That Never Happened: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- The Atlas Complex: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- The Ghostkeeper: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Gwen & Art Are Not In Love: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Every Time You Hear That Song: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- The Only Girl in Town: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- The Henna Wars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Playing For Keeps: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#book #books #january #january reads #january wrap up #alone with you in the ether #10 things that never happened #pride and prejudice and pittsburgh #the atlas complex #don’t want you like a best friend #gwen & art are not in love #the only girl in town #the henna wars #olivie blake #adiba jaigirdar

[the-final-sentence]

But because it’s the kind of moment I could never have dreamed of having in a million years.

Adiba Jaigirdar, from The Henna Wars

#adiba jaigirdar #the henna wars

[pridepages]

‘Muslims aren’t gay,’ she whispers, like this is a hard and fast rule…I would laugh if this weren’t such a ridiculous claim. Because of course Muslims can be gay. How can anyone think otherwise? The two aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m living, breathing proof.--Nishat, The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

#the henna wars #adiba jaigirdar #wlw #sapphic #lesbian #bisexual #lgbt reads #queer lit

[wlwsuperheroine]

If you’re a fan of sapphic kamala khan I can recommend to you 2 books that I’m %98 sure you’ll love

#kamala khan #ms marvel #the henna wars #hani and ishu's guide to fake dating #adiba jaigirdar #book recommendation

[valeovalairs]

Every book I read this year

I was feeling really bored so I made this.

#please ask me my opinions or thoughts on any of these books I’d love to talk about books #this is the most I’ve read in years #oh if anyone has any book recs I’ll gladly take them #the handmaid's tale #margaret atwood #the penelopiad #the song of achilles #circe #madeline miller #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #rick riordan #the heroes of olympus #the trials of apollo #the sun and the star #magnus chase and the gods of asgard #good omens #this is how you lose the time war #the seven husbands of evelyn hugo #the henna wars #the stone rose #the giver quartet #book reviews #reading

[pickledandjarred]

book recs for aapi heritage month 🕺🕺

a bit late, but happy aapi heritage month! i’ve been getting back into reading this past year after my pandemic slump, so here’s some books that i really enjoyed by aapi authors 

the poppy war trilogy by rf kuang - this series is a fantasy based on 19th-20th century china. it’s hilariously written with some of my favorite characters of all time, and deals with some really heavy topics like colonialism, the effects of warfare, and classism in a brutally honest fashion. i have so much to say about it but that’s for a much longer post-

babel: an arcane history by rf kuang - at this point i will read this woman’s grocery list, she is such a skilled writer and genius storyteller. babel is set in an alternate 1800s oxford university, in a world which the british empire’s power is built upon magic silver. babel unpacks the intrinsic ties between academia and empire from the perspective of someone on the inside and the concept of resistance. it also really hits home to the feeling of disconnect from your native language as a bilingual/third culture kid- overall just brilliant book imo. the magic system is also really interesting (as is that of rf kuang’s other work)- she builds upon the real world to create a fantasy that is engaging, but also very representative of the motifs of her work?? idk how to explain it but 🙏rebecca🙏

you’re the only one i’ve told: the stories behind abortion by meera shah - you’re the only one i’ve told is a collection of stories about abortion entrusted to shah, a medical practitioner who works as an abortion provider. the book humanizes these people and their experiences from a variety of different backgrounds and circumstances, and is a really compelling read. 

we have always been here: a queer muslim memoir by samra habib - we have always been here is a memoir about  habib’s experience growing up as an ahmadi muslim in pakistan, coming to canada as refugees in their teenage years, and grappling with queer identity within an environment where their body and personhood was thought to have been needed to be controlled. habib discusses faith, sexuality, and love through a lens of self discovery and finding community that you didn’t know existed. 

the henna wars by adiba jaigirdar - this book is set in dublin, and follows a young bangladeshi girl named nishat. nishat has fallen for an estranged childhood friend, flávia, who just so happens to be her rival in an upcoming school business competition. and by some luck, they both have chosen to create the same business; henna tattoos. i’m a sucker for fluff so this book got me, but it also deals with appropriation and queer romance (particularly from a 3rd culture experience) quite delicately. nishat’s relationship with her sister was also so well written, and i think was one of the most compelling bonds in this book!

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar - okay i’m still in the process of finishing this book, but it has been so good so far! this is a story about two rival agents moving through a war that stretches across time, fighting tooth and nail for their own victory in a vaguely apocalyptic world. they begin a correspondence that spills into something that could change the course of time extremely literally. the writing style and descriptions are gorgeous, and the fragmented format of letters jumping across thousands of years is a really interesting reading experience. very cool book!

on earth we’re briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong - god this man is such a talent- everything good you’ve heard about his work is true and you should go read it rn. on earth we’re briefly gorgeous is written in the form of a letter from a son to his illiterate mother, and tells a story that crosses over 3 generations with it’s epicenter rooted in vietnam. the narrator unpacks how the effects of warfare, immigration and generational trauma have shaped his relationship with his mother and his own life. i’m not doing it justice (not for any of these rlly i cannot elevator pitch books), but vuong’s writing is so beautiful and intimate yet quiet? 💃💃🙏🫶👍🙏👌💃

that’s all i have for now, if you have any recs pls do tell!! to my fellow asian/pacific islander americans, your voices and stories deserve to be uplifted and celebrated without being fetishized, appropriated or pigeonholed. have a great may! 

#book recommendations #books #literature #bookblr #rf kuang #ocean vuong #babel #tpw #on earth we're briefly gorgeous #samra habib #adiba jaigirdar #the henna wars #amal el mohtar #aapihm #aapi authors #aapi books #holy shit that was a lot of tags #hi my favorite person if you read through this #love my internet corner where i post to exactly one person #aapi

[tinyjudeworld]

#lgbtq #sapphic #wlw #sapphic books #polls #the unbroken #the priory of the orange tree #the locked tomb #the deep #gearbreakers #the henna wars