Tag: The Weight of Our Sky

Book Recommendations: Historical Fiction About ‘Invisible’ Moments in History

CW @ The Quiet Pond7 Comments

Book Recommendations with Varian: Historical Fiction and invisible histories. Illustration of Varian the toad, dressed up as a 13th Doctor from Doctor Who.

Welcome back to the Pond and welcome to another one of Varian’s recommendation posts! In case you’re new to the Pond’s recommendation posts, the recommendation posts are brought to you by Varian, the Pond’s very own Toadshifter who is knowledgeable in all kinds of magic! One of Varian’s ambitions is to get better at sewing, hence why whenever Varian has shown you their latest costume, they will always recommend a book that inspired that costume.

A genre that I don’t usually talk about – but actually consistently enjoy reading – is historical fiction! I’ve never consider myself a history nerd but there’s something so incredible and amazing when you learn about something that actually happened. (And indeed, one of my favourite things to do after reading historical fiction based on real events is to go and research it extensively and then tell everyone that I know about it.)

Even more special to me, is when I learn about a piece of history that not a lot of people know about. It makes me think: if this author hadn’t written this book and I hadn’t read it, I would never have known about it and others may never have known about it. And I think that can be an exceptionally humbling thought. That’s why, today’s book recommendation post is dedicated to historical fiction books that centre on an ‘invisible’ piece of history.

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BLOG TOUR: The Weight Of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf – A Malay Teen Searches For Her Mother During the Malaysian 1969 Riots (Book Review & Author Interview)

CW @ The Quiet Pond30 Comments

White block reads 'The Weight of Our Sky, Hanna Alkaf, South-east Asian Blog Tour. January 28th - February 8th 2019. On the right is an image of a Malay female teen wearing a blue pinafore over a white tshirt on a moped, driven by a Chinese male teen wearing a white shirt and black slacks, with fire and smoke in the background.

“Friend, friend, friend!”

Xiaolong scurries to you, a bounce in her step and a big smile on her face. “I have some wonderful plans for your visit today!”

You crouch down so you can see her better, and ask her about her plans.

Xiaolong the pink axolotl, wearing an upside down flower hat, holding a staff and gesturing to a floating book, The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf.

“Okay, first!” She raises her staff, magicks a book from midair, and gestures to the book. “This book! It only just released, friend! And it’s such a good book. I couldn’t put it down! I just wanted to keep reading and reading and reading, and then, when I finished it, Gen told me that it was time for dinner.” She shakes her head. “I also learned a lot, friend. I had no idea about the historical events that this book talks about, and I… I learned a lot. And I think it’s really important that I tell you about this book.”

Once you find a comfier spot by the Pond, you settle down and ask Xiaolong about this important book.

“So,” she says, holding the cover out for you to see. “This book is called The Weight of Our Sky…“

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The Pond’s Most Anticipated Reads of 2019, Part II. – Eight(een) Diverse Debuts You and I Can’t Miss in 2019

CW @ The Quiet Pond25 Comments

TEXT: The Pond's Most Anticipated Reads; Eight(een) Diverse Debuts You and I can't miss in 2019. Image: Xiaolong the pink axolotl, reading a book and sitting inside a book tent and fort, surrounded by books.

Welcome back to the second part of our The Pond’s Most Anticipated Reads series, friends! It’s great to see you again and I hope you all are reading some lovely books. 💜

Welcome to Part II of The Pond’s Most Anticipated Reads of ’19

After doing a lot of research on the diverse books releasing in 2019, I had initially planned to write a simple ‘top 8 most anticipated books of 2019’, but after browsing Goodreads for hours, it occurred to me that one post about my top picks for 2019 was impossible and was not worth the pain. Therefore, today’s post is the second post of my week-long event of The Pond’s Most Anticipated Reads of 2019!

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