Hot Chocolate on Thursday

The second book in Michiko Aoyama's healing series was published on February 17, 2026. Hot Chocolate on Thursday is a collection of short stories translated into English from Japanese. In each story the characters reappear, usually as a third tier character. Many of the characters were part of the author's Matcha on Monday collection of short stories with the Marble Café also reappearing as a setting.

Synopsis 

Across a bridge in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, a seasonal cherry blossom sits on the river. Nearby is the Marble Cafe, where a woman writes in a notebook and a young waiter prepares her favorite hot drink. Both wonder about each other and about the other lies of the clientele who frequent this charming little cafe behind the trees...

Without even realizing it, we may touch and change someone else's life.

Taking a walk along the river, cooking the best tamagoyaki, ordering hot chocolate, forgetting to remove our nail polish... The small, everyday acts that we do can lead to unexpected encounters and reverberate far beyond your own circle and ultimately make a difference in the world.

Hot Chocolate on Thursday is a tapestry of slice-of-life moments that each open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe. What happens in between will touch and swell your heart, as we connect with a community of untold unfolding lives.

My Thoughts 

Hot Chocolate on Thursday is a light hearted book that is one of the author's healing fiction novels. In these stories the main character learns how to improve his or her self. Each chapter is a new short story. My favorite one is A Saint's Righteous Path. In this story two friends meet for tea at the Marble Café. Risa can't wait to tell her unnamed friend that she is getting married. She confesses that her fiancé is still married but is getting a divorce. Knowing how these relationships never work out the friend cautions Risa. A year or so later she receives a wedding invitation from Risa. The story title is strange. Risa states during their conversation that she has always tried to walk a straight path in her life. I guess Risa is the saint. However, walking straight means not dating married men.

I like that the chapters are short. It is easy to read a chapter before falling asleep at night without having to stay up late to finish. It seemed that the chapters were shorter than those in Matcha on Monday. I noticed that the stories do not give details of the character's internal processing of an event in their lives. In Matcha we read about the character's internal musings concerning something that occurred to them and helped them grow as a person. Both Hot Chocolate and Matcha have twelve stories so I'm not sure why I feel the stories were shorter in Hot Chocolate.

Each story has a title page with a color written on it. I couldn't figure out why the author did this. In an interview in Seattle she explained:

Writing a book is mysterious to me,” she said. “The first and last line come first, so I had the first line of chapter 1 and the last line of chapter 12, connected with 12 colors. I really wanted to finish chapter 12 when I started writing.” 

I was into drawing with pastels when writing this book. The challenge with drawing this way is that when you use different types of material to color on, there are different ways it can come out. One color I used was called “skin color,” though it’s closer to beige. I didn’t use that name for the color because all skin colors are different.

The publisher asked me to do some drawings for the book, so I started drawing something quickly with pastels, but it wasn’t used.

What is healing fiction? I had to google it to find a definition. Healing fiction is a cozy, low stakes literary genre featuring quiet, emotional stories about ordinary people dealing with grief, loneliness  and burnout. The genre originated in Japan and Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic. It always has a humble setting, a little whimsy and low conflict.

I loved the book and highly recommend it! 5 out of 5 stars.

Olive: Lost in Inner Space

Olive is a coming of age story in a graphic novel format. Olive is autistic and frequently escapes to her inner world where she meets an astronaut. Olive then embarks on a real world journey to save him. Of course, no one believes her. Olive was originally published in 2024 in French. The story was translated into English and published in 2026 by Abrams ComicArts. 

Synopsis  

A fantastical coming-of-age graphic novel involving love, loss, and found family, centered around a determined autistic heroine who refuses to make herself fit neatly into other peoples’ space

Wherever she is, Olive has never quite fit in, and living in a dorm room for the first time is no exception. To get away from the bullies, annoying teachers, and her parents, Olive escapes alone into her own vast world of vivid landscapes and fantastical inventions—until she gets an unexpected visit from a mysterious astronaut.

Could the astronaut in her inner world be the same astronaut who recently crash-landed on earth without a trace? Night by night, Olive watches his health fade and becomes more and more certain that she has to take action.

When no one believes that she knows how to save him, she joins forces with her plucky new roommate to unpack the clues from her inner world and venture on a journey to real-life countries she’s never been to before—all to save an astronaut who, as far as she can recall, she’s never met.

My Thoughts 

I enjoyed reading this story. It captivated my imagination and kept me reading until I finished it in just one sitting. I didn't quite understand that Olive was autistic though. It makes alot of sense now that I have finished reading the book. Olive's character was presented as a loner which I readily accepted. My thoughts were that Olive was introverted with a severe social phobia. I should have realized that she was autistic given her inability to be around other people. 

Olive felt the need to escape the pressures of school bullies and daily life so she frequently retreated into her head, which she populated with a rubber duck named Noel and a transparent whale named Rose. I am not autistic but believe that the story realistically shows an autistic person's lived experience. We see Olive retreating daily into herself. When reality overwhelms her, she goes to her safe space, the world she created in her mind. The school Olive attends is located in Paris. The school accommodated her disability by allowing her to live in a room by herself. When Olive’s grades plummet the school forces her to have a roommate. Charlie is the roommate's name. 

The outer space setting was beautiful. It was colored in dreamy bright blues which is not what space actually looks like. The school setting was similarly nice, however, the dorms were untidy. Students tried to fit all the comforts of home into their dorm rooms and consequently they were cluttered. I liked this setting because it was cozy. I can remember my own college dorm looking the same way. 

Parents, there are no sexy drawings or scenes so I can recommend the book for kids as well as adults. It's simply a great story. 5 out of 5 stars.

As I Dream of You

As I Dream of You was recently published on May 5,2026. The graphic novel is somewhat dark as it deals with grief and finding the strength to let go in order to keep on living. I would call it a romantic tragedy.

Synopsis 

Franny and Sam are each other’s entire world. So what do you do when your world ends? Frozen’s Jennifer Lee and Lunar New Year Love Story’s LeUyen Pham deliver a tour de force young adult romance with a supernatural twist.

Falling in love is supposed to hurt. That’s what Franny and Sam, two cynical teenagers raised on tales of heartbreak and loss, have come to understand. Yet when they fall for each other, they find the reality of love is something else entirely: it’s electrifying, all-encompassing, and easy. Theirs is a love that can conquer anything…perhaps even death.

But Franny and Sam’s quest to stay together—no matter the cost—soon blurs the line between reality and fantasy, and their shared dream threatens to turn into a nightmare.

My Thoughts 

My initial thought concerning the book is for parents. There are many sexy scenes and drawings that they may not want their kids exposed to.

Franny and Sam had a romance for the ages. They are high school juniors. Halfway through the story Franny dies in an accident. Sam cannot handle his grief and he descends into darkness where he believes he is meeting Franny in person. He also wants to kill himself so that they can be together again. A new friend talks him through his feelings.

The drawings match the grief Sam feels. I thought they were dark, not pretty at all, but this seems to be a minority opinion among book reviewers. 

While the book has received high praise I did not care for it. The storyline was written well though. It just wasn't my cup of tea. 3 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #56

This weekly meme is hosted by the Wishful Endings blog. The meme spotlights the books that we are excited about but have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released.

This week I am featuring the latest novel by Bonnie Garmus who wrote Lessons in Chemistry. This novel is set in the publishing world of 1980s New York City. It's about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world: the renowned Peck & Peck.

During 1982 in New York City Batter Gray had a skill that no one wants. He has an “ear” for poetry. He is worried about his future. While all of his friends have real jobs, he’s folding T-shirts at the Gap while he waits for the perfect job.

But when Batter gets a dream job at Peck & Peck, the most prestigious poetry quarterly in the world, his life moves into the literary fast lane. Soon Batter is knee-deep in the secret war between the two Editors in Chief, the famous Peck brothers—twins and enemies—as well as being privy to the private affairs of their thirty-nine editors, whose professed mission is the same: Find originality. Reward creativity. Burn the rest.

I am interested in reading the book for two reasons. It was written by Bonnie Garmus but also has a fascinating plot. The book will be published soon, on October 13, 2026.

What book(s) are you anxiously awaiting to read?

Until We Meet Again

Until We Meet Again by Lily Kim Qian is her debut graphic memoir about a young woman's search for identity and belonging as her family moves between Canada and China. The book was recently published on April 21, 2026 and is geared toward kids aged 14 - 18.

Synopsis 

Lily isn't sure where home is anymore. Her family is constantly on the move, resettling in different towns across Canada and, eventually, in Shanghai, China. Her father plays the role of primary caregiver while her mother is absent for long periods of time. When she reappears, her strange behavior turns Lily's life upside down. As Lily enters her college years, she strives to better understand her family and her place in the world. But can she escape the inherited trauma passed down by her immigrant parents?

My Thoughts

Lily did not like living with her mother who had schizophrenia. Her mother was always screaming and created a hostile home environment. After her father filed for divorce there was a custody battle which he won. Lily was thrilled not to have to live with her mom but there still wasn't much stability. Her father was constantly moving them to new cities in Canada. It is easy to see why Lily became accustomed to making friends easily but not really feeling like she belonged anywhere.

Both parents had immigrated to Canada from China. Eventually Lily moved with her father to Shanghai where her mother was living with her parents. She was in the eighth grade at this time. Throughout all of this upheaval Lily found a way to express her thoughts about her life via drawing. She decided to pursue illustration as a career.  Lily eventually created this graphic memoir to confront the trauma and parental abandonment that she experienced.

Lily seemed to adjust well to all of the situations that she was thrown into. She made a stable life for herself but I am sure that she suffered in some way from her childhood. When her grandparents passed Lily wished that she knew them better. She felt a loss here.

Until We Meet Again is a lovely memoir of the author's life. It has beautiful drawings colored with bright colors. The pages contain more drawings than narrative. Most pages just have one sentence. Parents, note that there are no sexy scenes or drawings. I enjoyed reading this graphic memoir and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Eat, Drink and Get Buried

The coffeehouse mysteries by Cleo Coyle is my favorite cozy mystery series. Eat, Drink and Get Buried is the 22nd book in the series and it's a winner. In this installment of the series the Village Blend coffeehouse caters a rooftop party where, of course, a murder occurs when someone is thrown off of the roof.

Synopsis 

Years ago, when master roaster Clare Cosi was a newly divorced mom raising her daughter, Joy, Ava Welsh became Joy's best friend. Now the painfully shy girl next door has grown into a successful New York businesswoman, and Clare is delighted to be catering Ava's coffee-themed party, especially when her boyfriend, Ryan, confides his plan to propose that very night. 

Then a scream shatters the celebration. A woman is thrown off the balcony to her death, and Ryan—who abruptly flees the party—is accused of murder. Clare vows to help Ava clear his name.

Her digging uncovers suspicious connections to a deadly event from which a teenaged Joy and Ava barely escaped with their lives. The stakes rise ever higher as a ruthless killer attempts to keep the ugly truth buried—even if it means sending Clare and her caffeinated crew six feet under. 

My Thoughts

I loved this story. It has all of the elements of a satisfying mystery. There were plenty of twists for Clare to look into. The murder occurred early in the story so that most of the story could be spent investigating the crime.

The characters who helped Clare find the killer were her baristas. Clare's fiance Mike Quinn made a brief appearance as did her daughter Joy and ex-husband Matt. It's unusual for these characters not to be heavily involved in tbe story. Aside from the secondary characters who were killed or were suspects, baristas Esther and Tucker aided Clare in clearing musician Ryan Riggs from the murder charge. Esther has a big personality. She is a colorful woman who loves poetry. Tucker is an actor wannabe who always has a friend who can assist in resolving one clue or another for the group of sleuths. Together with Clare, this circle of friends use all of their resources to find the real killer. All of them believe that Ryan was set up and their method of uncovering the identity of the whodunnit was by asking questions of their acquaintances.

The New York City setting is always prominent in this series. In Eat, Drink and Get Buried the cold misty evenings prevent Clare, Ryan, Esther and Tucker from being able to see details of the vehicles that were trying to run Ryan over or the person driving. The reason Clare is convinced of Ryan's innocence is because she saw a car trying to run him over. In the kerfuffle Ryan's prosthetic leg becomes unattached from his body. I didn't catch why this was so important to the story.

Cozy mystery lovers will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Christmas at the Convent

Christmas at the Convent is a Harriet Gordon mystery. It takes place in Singapore in 1911 and its a novella. It was recently published on September 10, 2026

Synopsis 

Harriet Gordon and her husband are eagerly anticipating their first Christmas together—until a newborn baby is discovered nestled in the nativity scene of the Convent chapel. The infant is unharmed, but the mother is nowhere to be found. What begins as a desperate search to reunite mother and child quickly spirals into something far more sinister.

As Curran delves deeper into the mystery, he uncovers a dark secret buried in the past—one that threatens not only the young mother's life, but her baby's as well. With time running out and danger closing in, Harriet and Curran must untangle a web of lies and long-hidden truths before tragedy strikes. But some secrets were meant to stay buried, and this Christmas may prove deadly for those who dare to uncover them.

My Thoughts

I think this is the first story in the series where Harriet and Curran are married. I expected more domestic background but the mystery to solve began on page one and continued at a fast pace until the end. While the book has only 161 pages, the mystery formula was followed well.

The Singapore setting was less prominent in this novella. There weren't any narratives on the food or weather. Each page propelled forward the resolution of the mystery. It was tightly woven but there isn't much suspense. In fact, it reads more like a police procedural than a historical cozy mystery. 

The author has stated that Christmas at the Convent is the final Harriet Gordon book. However, she has also stated that she is not ready to stop writing about the series protagonists. I love this series and would hate to see it end. This is not the first time Ms. Stuart has said that the series was over. After the 4th book was published she said the series was complete. There are seven books to date. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Taipei Story

I have been anxiously awaiting the publication of this book. It was finally released on September 8, 2026. It is a coming-of-age novel that takes place in Taipei during the summer.

Synopsis 

College freshman Lily Chen is off to spend the summer in Taipei at an intensive language program like so many Chinese American students before her, hoping to connect with the culture she inherited but never fully understood. But a promising start quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate is driving her insane, and a reckless trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon has her classmates viciously gossiping. She feels adrift, a foreigner in a country she thought would feel like home.

Then shocking news arrives: Lily’s grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history. As Lily grieves, she’s drawn into a journey of self-discovery—piecing together memories, stories, and silences over a series of hilarious and devastating attempts at connection.

Taipei Story asks: What if the diaspora fantasy of homecoming never comes true? What if learning a language can’t bring you any closer to the people you’re trying to reach? What if you search for your family’s history, but your family doesn’t want to share? What if you wait too long to ask the right questions? As Lily struggles for answers, her summer becomes a poignant search for understanding—of herself, her family, and the meaning of home.

My Thoughts

I loved this novel but note that it reads like a travelogue. Many people might not be interested in this type of novel. I gained alot of knowledge about the best food experiences, the number of steps to a famous statue and what the malls offer for shoppers. There is even a six story book shop that is open 24/7. This information willl be helpful to me for an upcoming visit to Taiwan.

Lily expected to feel at home upon her arrival in Taipei. She believed that she was more Chinese than American. I was perplexed by this because she grew up in America. Lily is culturally American. She was used to knowing all the Chinese people who lived in her area and was confused when she waved at the Chinese in Taipei and did not receive a wave back. Lily expected them to recognize her.

Lily and her fellow students were warned not to talk about sensitive political issues. However, she becomes involved in a conversation about Taiwan not being safe anymore because the current American president doesn't care about the situation with Mainland China. Everyone taking part of the conversation felt that Taiwan would be invaded China. I have a different viewpoint though and am surprised that the kids didn't know how much commerce there is between Taiwan and China. I believe China is planning on assimilating the Taiwanese people into China through financial deals. When the finances of Taiwan are 100% linked to Mainland China they will have no fear about reunification. Going back to political subjects, Lily had a class called Thought and Society where the class discussed political issues every day.

The descriptions of the classes that Lily took will be of interest to students looking to expand their skills in Chinese. The author described the classes in detail as well showing how the professors teach their subjects. In one class Lily had to read an article on the 2015 Toilet Revolution in China. Xi Jinping led a campaign to upgrade public toilets. I googled toilet revolution and discovered that there was, in fact, a toilet revolution.

I enjoyed the book. Note, though, that I love Asian countries and love to read books written by authors all over Asia. I found the setting fascinating and cannot wait until I can travel to Taipei myself. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Enigmas

Emilia Hart has written a new novel titled The Enigmas. It will be published on April 6, 2027. Hart wrote the award winning Weyward a few years ago. I loved that novel but did not like her second book The Sirens. Net Galley gave me an advanced review copy of The Enigmas in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis 

London 1940: Sandbags line London’s streets, but for Beatrice Bone, WWII feels distant and dull. It doesn’t help that she’s stuck at home while her younger sister Clemmie is away doing secret war work at a mysterious place called The Park.

Everything changes when Clemmie is killed in a fire. Plunged into grief, Beatrice treasures her sister’s last gift: an antique pocket watch, inscribed with the words memento mori: remember death. She soon realizes the watch is more than a memento when it transports her back in time, giving her the chance to save Clemmie. But changing the past causes a ripple effect, and Beatrice is faced with a devastating choice: her sister’s life, or her country’s future?

London, 1915: While her husband is off fighting in the Great War, Alice is breaking new ground as she treats wounded soldiers at Endell Street Hospital, London’s first medical center staffed entirely by female doctors. But the horrors she witnesses awaken long-buried memories of her mother's death―along with strange visions she has spent years trying to forget. Visions which now seem to afflict her eldest daughter, Beatrice . . .

My Thoughts 

The author is back on track. The Enigmas is a fantastic account of two world wars from the perspectives of a mother and daughter. The dual timeline offers the stories of Alice Bone who was a pioneering female surgeon during WWI and Beatrice Bone who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII. Both women appeared to have a brain disorder. Alice's mother had schizophrenia and Alice fears that she inherited the disease. Beatrice had encephalitis when she was young. It's a brain disease that causes high fevers, seizures and psychosis. Alice feared that she gave Bea the disease or even the female hysteria that we now call schizophrenia. Frank and Clemmie Bone round out the family. Frank came home from war with just one leg and  Clemmie is a free spirited lesbian. The reader doesn't know this, though, until at least halfway through the story.

The memories of Alice and Bea are retold several times with different outcomes. Alice is haunted by the birth of Clemmie (Clementine). During her birth Clemmie was delivered breech with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Since Alice had attended medical school she knew how to save Clemmie and barked orders to the midwife. Alice knows inwardly that Clemmie was able to cheat death because of her medical knowledge. Alice also knows that Clemmie will die young because she should have died at birth. Bea is haunted by memories she had during psychotic episodes and has an unusual affinity for death. Bea loves gothic novels, gothic clothing and jewelry. The mental illnesses of both ladies offers the reader a reason for time travel. Ingenious!

The last forty pages offers the denouement. If it hadn't been drawn out I would not have believed the ending. It was a shocker and resulted in re-reading the entire novel. Surely I missed a lot of clues. I didn't. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Amalfi Curse

I have had The Amalfi Curse in my TBR list since the day it was published in April 2025. The story is fantastic so I shouldn't have waited to read it. The story is told in a dual format between 1821 and the modern day.

The publisher's summary:  

Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse…

Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?

As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever…

Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.

OMG! This was such an engaging novel. I was hooked from the first chapter. Both Mari and Haven’s lives were fascinating. They both were at the top of their game. Mari was the top sea witch, that all of the other streghe looked up to. She was also a good mentor to the young girls with the necessary lineage to be a streghe del mare, sea witch. The girls were not allowed to join the group of ladies until they reached the age of seventeen. Even the men in her village respected her. The men knew that their village was never pillaged by pirates because of Mari's incantations. She was responsible for keeping everyone in Positano safe and she did this job well. Mari has a secret though. She is planning to run away with a man named Holmes who she had fallen in live with. Their romance was prominent to the story but there were not any sexy scenes.

Haven is a nautical archaeologist with a plan to search for treasure that her father had found somewhere in the Li Galli area. Li Galli is an archepelago of three tiny islands. Unfortunately, he died of a stroke and never got the chance to return to the area and get the jewels that he found. His last words to Haven encouraged her to find that treasure. Haven was a daddy's girl and took all this to heart. A few months after his death Haven obtains funding to do research in the Li Galli area. She is going to search for the jewels but hasn't told anyone. 

I thought the writing was magnificent. Each chapter ended with suspense, which kept me up all night reading until I finished the book. The chapters alternated between Mari's story and Haven’s story. Both stories are captivating and I hated to have to switch back and forth between their perspectives.

The Amalfi Coast setting was enchanting, although my back hurt every time a character walked up and down the many steps from the sea to the main roads. The beauty of the area was evident throughout the story but especially when Mari and Haven looked out to the sea from a terrace high up in the village. The coast has many caves that were entered by the streghe when they performed their incantations. The incantations were not stated but the physical actions that the streghe used were described. In fact, I didn't know what the incantations were supposed to do until after I finished the book and noticed a description of them at the beginning of the book.

I loved this historical fiction novel and highly recommend it. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

October Armchair Travel

Next month I am traveling to Positano in the Amalfi Coast with The Amalfi Curse. I haven't read any book taking place in Italy for a long time and it's time to return there. I will be in Japan again. I can't get enough of Japanese contemporary fiction. The Traveling Cat Chronicles and Hot Chocolate on Thursday are books I am dying to read. Taiwan is also in my travel plans. Taipei Story by R F. Kuang was just published earlier this month. Singapore is also in my reading plan with A. M. Stuart's Christmas at the Convent. It is a novella from the Harriet Gordon mystery series. If I have time I'm going to read The Masala Chai Mystery Club which takes place in India as well as Snow in Vietnam which takes place, obviously, in Vietnam. Seekers of the Deer Creek also takes place in Vietnam and its at the top of my list to read first. Emilia Hart's The Enigmas occurs in WWII London. 

Usually I have several mysteries in my reading plan but I haven't found any yet to read. I am sure I will find a few later in the month.

Book of the Month: September

Daughters of Shangdong is a compelling story about the wealthy Ang family during the Chinese Civil War.This historical fiction novel is based upon the author's grandmother's experience in China. The story delves into her attempts to escape from China after the Communists won the civil war. 

This story is intense and emotional. Hai, Di and their mother went through so much trauma during these years it's amazing that they were able to forge a life for themselves afterwards. Hai almost died when Mao's guards grabbed her and denounced her among her neighbors. She was struck another of times and spent hours kneeling in the town square. She was an Ang and had to be punished for coming from a privileged family.

I had heard about these events from reading the news but to read about it up close and personal is another thing. These three ladies endured so much pain it was hard to read at times. You can't say the author didn't get the setting right. She most definitely did. If there is one word to describe the story it's anguish. Maybe terror is another good description. 

In any event I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Eve Chung is now a favorite author of mine.

Book Cover of the Month: September

This book cover is what attracted me to the Landing in Place graphic novel. You can tell by the imagery that it's a story about Muslim immigrants. I enjoy this type of book. Myra El Mir is the illustrator who designed the cover. 

I love the color pallette of teal, yellow, pink and blue. It’s striking against the teal background. I also like the informal fonts that were used for the title and author's name. 

Myra designs illustrations for picture books, comics and activist posters.  She was born in Batha, Lebanon and studied fine arts as well as gender studies. Myra co-founded Space 37, an artists' community house in Beirut.