Postcard Love: The Hobbit, Narnia and Les Miserables

Wow, I didn’t even realize that my last Postcard Love post was way back in October last year. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, then you’re aware that I enjoy sending and receiving postcards from all over the world. Some of my postcard buddies are fellow book bloggers. I think it’s always nice to get a little something in the mail. Lately, I seem to be collecting more and more postcard sets because so many stores in Singapore sell nice ones. Since I bought several postcard sets during the weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to show them here. Back in December, my flatmates gave me this:

Here’s another shot of the postcards:

I was delighted to receive this set and told them that I would love to see the store where they got it because I wanted to get another set. Sometimes, I get duplicates of certain postcard sets because I keep one for myself and the postcards in the other set will be sent out to friends. Kind of like having more than one copy of your favorite book, one to keep in your bookshelf while other copies can be borrowed by other people. So they took me to Popcorn Pop, a store that sells movie memorabilia and I went a little crazy trying to decide which postcards to get. It shouldn’t be surprising that I ended up getting book-related movie postcards. I couldn’t resist another set of The Hobbit postcards:

And here’s a little Richard Armitage appreciation shot:

One of my favorite book series while growing up was The Chronicles of Narnia so I had to get this postcard set of the movie adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

A closer view at my favorites from the Narnia set:

Last but not the least is this beautiful Les Misérables movie postcard set:

Aren’t they all gorgeous? They’re the kind of postcards that I’d love to have framed and displayed if I had my own place. What do you think of these postcards? Have you come across any nice ones recently?

Postcard Love: Sending Postcards from Singapore

It’s so much easier to send postcards here in Singapore than back home in Manila. In the Philippines, I had to swing by the post office to buy stamps and drop off postcards. Over here, I can buy postage labels from conveniently located SingPost machines like this one:

I just wish I could choose different label designs because using the same one gets boring. I haven’t had a chance to buy philatelic stamps from the post office yet. To send off the postcard, I can just drop them in mailboxes all over Singapore:

Pretty easy, right? I’ve also mentioned that there are so many quirky stalls and stores that sell cute postcards. Here are some that I’ve picked up since I got here:

illustrated postcard set and stamp stickers

Alphabet animal postcards from an indie bookstore

Huge postcards from the Singapore Art Museum

Another illustrated postcard set, mostly featuring girls and cats

What’s the procedure like for sending postcards in your country? I know the system is pretty similar in the US and Singapore – from what I’ve experienced so far, those two countries are the most convenient places to send postcards from. Also, feel free to share pictures if you’ve come across any nice postcards lately.

Postcard Love: Free Ad Postcards

I find it funny that I haven’t done a Postcard Love post in a while even though I’ve been actively buying and sending postcards ever since I got here in Singapore. There are so many stalls and stores that sell pretty postcards and I’m always tempted to buy whenever I see nice ones. I can’t even remember the number of postcards that I’ve bought here. I should do a better job of posting about them here on the blog. To start things off, I thought I’d show you guys some of the free ad postcards that I’ve picked up all over Singapore. I’m amazed at how nice most of them are and I’ve already started sending them to friends. Here’s the first batch that I grabbed:

I think the romantic rainy scene on the upper right looks like a cover of a YA novel. Here’s another batch which I got near the office, love the artsy pet paintings:

Here’s a postcard sent by my pen pal Steph of Steph Su Reads, it’s a free ad card from Shanghai:

Isn’t it great that all of these postcards are free? I think it’s a good way of encouraging people to share and send postcards more often. Yay for snail mail!

Stamp Pendants

Book blogger Leila of Bookshelves of Doom has a lovely Etsy shop. She combines two of my favorite things by making pendants from book-themed stamps. For someone who loves books, postcards and stamps as much as I do, you’d think that I would have bought something from her shop a long time ago. I kept resisting because I’ve never tried buying from Etsy before and I’m always a bit hesitant to try shopping from a new-to-me online store. Finally gave in and ordered a few weeks ago. A package was waiting for me when I got to the flat today:

Curious about what’s inside? Check them out:

One stamp has a section of a map of Middle-earth from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The other stamp shows bookworm Matilda, as illustrated by Quentin Blake, from Roald Dahl’s novel of the same name. I would have been thrilled to receive postcards with stamps like these but they’re even better as pendants because now I get to show them off.

What do you think of these stamp pendants?

Book Haul: An ARC, Ebooks and Postcards

Time for another Book Haul post! It’s been raining the past couple of days here in Manila so the weather’s perfect for curling up in bed with a good book. I was pretty bummed when I requested Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass over at NetGalley and got denied because I kept hearing good things about it. Luckily, my good friend Janice volunteered to send her extra review copy:

I was pleasantly surprised that the package arrived after only two weeks. Thank you so much for sending it, Janice! And for the pretty For Darkness Shows the Stars bookmark – that’s another book that I’m planning to read soon. I’m also looking forward to reading these ebooks:

Easy by Tammara Webber
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Adorkable by Sarra Manning
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

I also received a couple of postcards this week so I thought I might as well include them here instead of coming up with another post. Here’s the first stash:

The grumpy kid in the upper left is from fellow Filipino book blogger Chris of Ficsation, she sent it from Japan. The Miss Saigon postcard is from Vietnam, a friend sent it while on vacation. The one at the bottom is from my postcard pen pal Steph from Korea. These postcards are making me want to visit the countries where they came from! Would love to go to Japan, Vietnam and Korea someday.

These two are from author Elizabeth Fama and they’re related to her upcoming novel, Monstrous Beauty:

Thank you for the lovely postcards, ladies! What about you, got any books or postcards recently?

Book Haul: Hazel Osmond

I got home yesterday and there were two postcards and a package waiting for me:

The postcard on the left is from a fellow Postcrosser, she said she chose that design for me because she couldn’t get philatelic stamps. The postcard on the right is from a friend of mine from Hangzhou, China. Wondering what’s inside the package? Check it out:

It’s a copy of The First Time I Saw Your Face by Hazel Osmond! I thoroughly enjoyed Hazel Osmond’s debut novel, Who’s Afraid of Mr. Wolfe, and I’m really looking forward to reading this one. And look, it’s a signed copy:

Thank you, Hazel, for sending a copy of your latest novel. What about the rest of you, got any snail mail lately?

Postcard Love: FSCC Postal Heritage Walking Tour

Every third Sunday of the month, Filipinas Stamp Collectors’ Club hosts a free Postal Heritage Walking Tour. My friend and I decided to check it out today because we’re both interested in collecting postcards.

Tour guide is Mr. Lawrence Chan:

The tour started in Liwasang Bonifacio, across from the Manila Post Office.

Here are pictures of one of the most beautiful buildings in Manila – the Manila Post Office (no, this isn’t where I pick up the packages that I receive):

Some old Philippine stamps that I picked up:

I have no idea why I ended up buying these when I’m not even really a stamp collector. I got sucked in by how pretty they looked. I used to have a small collection when I was a kid but I’m not even sure where my old stamp album is right now. Snippets of the lecture, vintage Philippine stamps and postcards:

Postcard Love: Hong Kong Edition

I’m back from Hong Kong! I was so excited for this trip because it’s my first out of the country trip this year and the first stamps on my shiny new passport (I got it renewed late last year). Also, it’s my first time in Hong Kong. I haven’t done a Postcard Love post in a while and I thought it would be nice to do one about my trip. Let’s start with these free ad postcards from our hostel, I included a map of Hong Kong in the picture:

Here are a bunch of touristy postcards that I bought and sent while I was there:

We went to Hong Kong Disneyland and it was a lot of fun! Wish we got to spend more than a day there because we weren’t even able to explore the whole place. I wanted to get a lot of souvenirs but they were expensive so I only ended up getting a postcard set and some of those coin press souvenirs. Also, I thought it was great that visitors could send postcards inside Disneyland – too bad they didn’t have special edition Disney stamps to match the postcards.

Here’s a closer look at the coins:

And the Disney postcards inside the set:

When I got back from the trip, I found these lovely postcards waiting for me at home:

One from my friend when she traveled to Cambodia, one from Australia care of my good friend Nomes of Inkcrush and two from Scotland! Here are the stamps:

Guess who sent the Scottish postcards? They’re from one of my favorite authors ever, Elizabeth Wein! I think this is the first time that I’ve received a postcard from an author. Yay, I now have her signature:

Maybe I should insert these postcards in my copies of her books? I also dropped by a bookstore on our last day in Hong Kong but I thought I’d come up with a separate post for that. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you’ve received any snail mail recently.

Book Haul: Bitterblue, Borrowed Books and Snail Mail

This week’s book haul post includes one of my most anticipated titles in 2012: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. I loved both Graceling and Fire so I feel like I’ve been waiting for YEARS for this beauty to be released. And it is beautiful, I’m planning to take pictures of the illustrations included inside so I can post them here. I was also able to borrow two books from my good friend Celina: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand and Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard. This reminds me that I need to post a review of Unearthly soon.

I also picked up a little package from the post office today, check it out:

Yes, my lovelies, that IS mail from the Queen of Aussie YA: Melina Marchetta. Remember when I organized Marchetta Madness back in March? This post briefly mentions a soundtrack for The Piper’s Son. Well, the soundtrack that I received is a playlist for my two favorite Marchetta novels: Jellicoe Road and The Piper’s Son. I think the picture shows the list of songs clearly but here’s a list:

Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors by Editors
Samson by Regina Spektor
How to Make Gravy by Paul Kelly
Here If You Want by The Waifs
London Still by The Waifs
The Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice
Flame Trees by Cold Chisel
Your Ex-Lover is Dead by Stars
One Crowded Hour by Augie March
Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel
Flame Trees by Sarah Blasko
Better Days by Pete Murray
Am I Not Pretty Enough by Casey Chamber
Crazy Train by The Waifs
Opportunity by Pete Murray

I love it! Currently listening to it right now and I suspect I’ll discover some favorites in this soundtrack. Thank you so much, MM. You can also check out my friend Jo’s post about Mackee’s Music over at Wear the Old Coat. She talks about the same soundtrack and includes more details about the songs.

Last but not the least, I got some lovely postcards the past few days. The pretty Penguin postcard in the middle is from my pen pal Capillya of That Cover Girl. One is from my officemate when he traveled to Milan and the rest are from Postcrossing.

What about the rest of you, did you get any books recently? What about postcards?

Postcard Love: Postcards from Ladybird

After I ordered the Postcards from Puffin set from Book Depository, I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied with just that so I went ahead and included the Postcards from Ladybird set in my next order. I loved reading Ladybird books when I was a kid. Most of my own copies have already been passed on to my godson and he’s enjoying them now. For this Postcard Love update, I thought it would be a good idea to show you some of the Ladybird postcards. I’m a bit sad that my favorite Ladybird book, The Enormous Turnip, doesn’t have a postcard version.

Some fairy tales:

Four seasons postcards:

People at work series:

How it works series:

Some animals:

Some plants, birds and butterflies:

Random cards I liked:

All of these book-themed postcards are so cute, it’s hard to let go of them. I think I might use the Ladybird cards more often though because I’m more familiar with the Puffin ones. I already sent off a bunch of these to some real life friends and here’s a picture of one of them: