Adibah Atiqa is a Malaysian bookstagrammer who handles the Instagram account @persephtiyareads. She started her journey in the bookstagram community in 2018. A reader since she was little, she became more passionate about reading when she was 18. She believes that everyone is a reader and it’s the matter of finding the right choice of books to start reading. Fantasy is her comfort genre and from there, she was able to recognise what she wants to find in the stories she reads. She likes exploring various genres from literary fiction, contemporary and science fiction, and hopes to diversify her reading preference this year.
To get to know Adibah more, check out our interview with her below. And of course, her curated collection, Intriguing World Building, can be found here.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m Adibah Atiqa from Selangor, Malaysia. I just graduated from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) with a Bachelor of Technology (Environment) last year. Other than reading, I enjoy listening to music and watching anime. Oh yes, I listen to music while reading and I create my own book playlist consisting of epic cinematic songs. It’s a game-changer for me as music helps to focus on the reading and definitely intensifies my reading experience.
2. Why/how did you start bookstagramming?
I wanted to have a safe space to share my reading experiences. Before I started bookstagram, I tended to share my reading updates on my personal account. But, having non-reader friends made me feel alone every single time I posted there. So, that’s when I decided to step out of my comfort zone and find the right community for me to share my reading journey. It’s all because I want to meet more people who, in a way, vibe the same frequency.
3. What is your favourite genre, and why?
Fantasy. I love how fantasy is able to reveal the ugliest truth of reality despite being fictional. I especially love a character-driven story because it is easy for me to feel attached to the character written and root for them throughout the story. Sometimes as a reader, we learn and grow up with them. Fantasy is one of the genres that have an amazing cast of characters. I am also the kind of person who loves ‘what if’ and fantasy allows me to dwell on that possibility.
4. What is your desert island book/ favourite book?
My favourite book of all time will be Scythe by Neal Shusterman. It’s the first book in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy and to be real honest, I love each book in the series equally.
5. How did you hear about Thryft?
I heard Thryft from @haneesa.reads when she was involved in curating a collection.
6. Tell us more about your collection topic “Intriguing World Building”.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about world-building is social hierarchy. I love to read about how each social class is treated differently and how the authority system works. Like I mentioned before, fantasy reveals the truth of reality and that’s the reason why I love to ponder upon the insights that I gained through the world-building of a story. In this collection, I highlighted books that had an impact on me. Some left me in awe at how detailed the world-building was, and others had me stop for a while to digest the well written political play.
7. Why did you choose this collection topic?
I choose “Intriguing World Building” because it is the element that I always look forward to in a story. When authors write such a detailed world, it feels like they worked hard in developing the fictional world. In a sense, I find comfort knowing that they created the world with such care. I love to read books that make me cry (well, of course, the characters are the culprit) but I adore books that make me think and one of the shortest routes is through world-building as I will tend to compare what I learned in fiction with reality.
8. What are your top 3 books from the collection, and why?
The first one will be King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. It’s the third book in The Queen’s Thief series. The political play in this series, especially this book, is so well developed. I still remember how I had a ‘Wow, I didn’t see that coming’ moment reading King of Attolia.
The second is A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir. It’s the second book in the Ember Quartet. The world inspired by Ancient Rome is rich with its own history and crafted into a martial empire. It’s such a brutal world and one of the focal points in this book is about slavery.
The third is Cress by Marissa Meyer. It’s the third book in the Lunar Chronicles. I adore how the author managed to make a perfect blend of retelling and science fiction. It’s such an enjoyable world to discover and the possibility of these childhood fairy tale figures like Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White living in the future timeline.
9. What are your experiences with second-hand books, and why would you choose second-hand?
I love second-hand books. I have to admit that I’m not really a fussy buyer so if I can't afford to buy books with their original price, I will find the preloved ones. I also love the sense that this particular book once belonged to another owner and now has been adopted by me.
10. Anything else to add?
Thank you so much, Thryft for reaching out to collaborate on this wonderful project. I am truly honoured. I hope you will find amazing titles in this curated collection of mine and probably discover a new favourite. Happy reading everyone!
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Adibah and the curations of her choice. If you are keen, check out our entire Fiction collection on our website link below!
