This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is favorite book covers. While readers don’t usually judge books by their covers, we do pay attention to them. An ugly cover won’t prevent me from reading a book but I’ll definitely comment on how it looks like. On the other hand, a beautiful cover will make me want to own a physical copy of the book – sometimes even if I don’t enjoy reading the story. I don’t usually discuss covers in detail, not like my friend Capillya of That Cover Girl does, but I do take notice of covers that I think are pretty or if they fit the story very well. Here are some of the covers that have stood out for me:

The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta (Aussie edition) – I’ve always loved the Aussie edition of this book, one of my favorite Marchettas because I think it’s a good depiction of Tom. I think the lack of color shows how Tom’s life is so bleak at the start of the book.

Pegasus by Robin McKinley – Such a beautiful artwork for a young girl and her pegasus, I immediately wanted to own a copy as soon as I saw this cover.

The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner – As you call know, I’m a huge fan of this series and it doesn’t hurt that I think the covers match the stories inside. Vince Natale did a great job in these designs, incorporating the common theme of hands and partially-covered faces.

The Lion Hunter and The Empty Kingdom by Elizabeth Wein – Another favorite series that has well-done covers, I like the artist’s style in these drawings because they look like paintings.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (UK edition) – I think this UK edition is much better than the US edition, fits the killer horses better than the other cover design.

Unsticky by Sarra Manning (UK edition) – Love the magazine look of this cover, I think it’s perfect for glamour aspect of the story.

The Chocolate Kiss by Laura Florand – I actually like both the covers for the first two Amour et Chocolat novels but I like this one a little more because I’m a huge fan of macarons. And the dog adds to the overall cuteness.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell – I really like the office setting in this cover and that it shows all three of the major characters in the book. I like the bright and happy color scheme as well, I’m glad I was able to grab this edition.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman – Gorgeous artwork of a dragon flying over a city, here’s another cover that fits the book perfectly.

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge – This cover looks magical, just like the story that it represents. I like the emphasis on the figure in the middle while scenes of craftsmanship are shown at the edges.

As you can see, I tend to have a theme in my favorites: I like covers that don’t actually show people’s faces because it lets my own imagination do the work when it comes to how I want to picture the characters. I really like artwork as well, especially when I feel like it’s a good fit for the story inside. It’s so much fun to look at pretty covers, I wish I could have postcard versions of all of these so I can send them to friends. What about you, what are some of your favorite book covers? Are there covers that you like even if you didn’t enjoy reading the book?

Waiting for the play to start

Here’s the program

We brought food and drinks and sat on mats on the grass. Everyone else did something similar – it was funny how a lot of people brought wine or champagne and they even had their own wine glasses. The casual setting was a good thing because you can move around to get comfortable, which is an advantage when you’re sitting on the ground for several hours. When the play started, I was surprised at the modern attire and stage setting but I liked it once I got used to it. Men were wearing suits instead of robes while the women wore pants. They used guns instead of swords and showed a helicopter instead of a ship.

Look at that crowd!

Thank you, sir, for blocking our view.

I was surprised by how many people turned up for the event. I’ve heard that last year’s production of Twelfth Night wasn’t as crowded so it looks like the event has gained popularity. I would have loved to see Twelfth Night or any of Shakespeare’s comedies – I think I’m more suited to them rather than his tragedies. I remember watching A Midsummer’s Night Dream back in Manila a few years ago and I really enjoyed that. Overall, it was quite an interesting experience and one that I wouldn’t mind repeating.

Have you ever seen a Shakespeare play performed on stage? What did you think of it? I know that Shakespeare in the Park is an international thing so feel free to let me know if you’ve experienced this as well.

I wanted to highlight the brief Twitter conversation that I had with Angie above because it emphasizes the point that bloggers sacrifice time in order to read and blog. I’ve said it before and will most probably repeat it again in the future, both reading and blogging take up time and effort. It might be easier to squeeze in reading during the day because that can be done while traveling, waiting in line for something or basically whenever you have a few minutes to spare. As for blogging, it takes more time to organize thoughts and come up with a coherent post. Sometimes, I just need to sit down and think about what I want to talk about. I envy people who constantly get creative ideas for their blogs and find it easy to just whip up a post.

My point in this is that because book blogging takes time, there is usually something that a blogger has to give up to make way for it. More often than not, it’s sleep that gets sacrificed. I am not a morning person so I have a hard time getting out of bed every day – I end up hitting the snooze button several times and I always sleep in on weekends unless I have to get up to do something. So I keep telling myself that I should try to sleep earlier because getting more sleep would probably mean that I won’t have such a hard time waking up the next morning. But no, I rarely get to sleep early. When I’m reading a good book, I want to get to as many chapters as I can or even finish the whole thing in one go. Sometimes even when I’m reading a book that I’m not into, I just want to get it over with. When I want to put up a blog post, I open my laptop and I get distracted by so many things online – Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and also other blogs. Then I create a draft and edit and work on it until I feel like it’s good enough for me to hit “publish.”

So sleeping is the first thing that gets sacrificed. Next is probably chores. Laundry takes up a chunk of time even if I can read or blog while waiting for the cycle to finish. Dryers aren’t common here in Singapore so I have to hang clothes up after they’ve been washed. Then the next day, I have to take them down, fold and put them away. I try to do laundry every week but sometimes I let it pile up because I’d rather read or blog. Same with vacuuming, although I hope you guys won’t think that my room is a pigsty. I’m also not a fan of ironing so I try to avoid that as often as I can, which is why I don’t get to wear some of my clothes as often as I’d like.

As for everyone else, I’d like to know what you give up so you can have time to read or blog? Do you get fewer hours of sleep because of reading or blogging? Or do you give up other things in your life? Are you lucky enough that you can sneakily write blog posts during office hours when nothing much is going on?

The bloggers behind Chachic’s Book Nook and See Michelle Read chatting about books, thousands of miles apart.

We both love Laura Florand’s writing so for our first Novel Gossip discussion, we decided to read The Chocolate Rose together. This conversation happened in the span of a few days and some spoilery bits have been deleted.

Chachic: I really enjoyed the first few chapters. I wanted to start reading it right away because I curious but I only meant to read maybe a chapter or two and then for our readalong to continue. I read until chapter 8 and it’s a good thing I was able to stop myself from continuing. I like how we dove right into the story and we got to meet the two main characters right away. I found their first meeting hilarious. It’s funny how Gabriel is pretty clueless about women and has no idea how to react around Jolie. I’m really curious how the issue of Jolie’s father copying recipes will be resolved.

Michelle: So far, so good here as well. I agree, I like how the action immediately starts up and that we get into their ‘drama’ from the get go. I’m interested to see how Ms. Florand will handle Gabriel’s overt response to Jolie. If Ms. Florand pushes that too much, I feel like Gabriel might wind up just as another boring alpha male pounding his chest every time Jolie is near. But honestly, I really can’t see the author not giving him some softer parts (he is the one who created that lovely chocolate rose, you know). She always does such a great job making her male heroes multi-layered. And boy, do I ever WANT TO TRY SOME OF HIS FOOD.

Chachic: Yes, exactly. I love how all of Laura Florand’s male characters have softer sides and that aspect of their personality comes out in their creations. Can’t wait to see Gabriel cook for Jolie. I really don’t think we have to worry about Gabriel being and alpha male with no dimensions, I like that some background about him has already been shown – how he worked his butt off for Jolie’s dad but never get any recognition for all his hard work.

Michelle: I’m not really a fan of Jolie’s family at all. Her sisters seem selfish and her father, he doesn’t seem like a nice man either. I wonder too how she’s going to play out their relationship where the lawsuit is concerned.

Chachic: I’m not a fan of Jolie’s family either. Her dad seems like a jerk who only cares about himself and his work. And her sisters aren’t any better. I hope we get to see them in a better light but we’ll see.

Michelle: The back-n-forth dialog between Gabriel and Jolie is definitely my favorite part so far, especially how they keep mistaking each other’s meanings. The double entendres, they are a-plentiful.

Chachic: As always, I’m enjoying the tension between the two characters. It will be fun to see it all play out. I agree that it’s funny how they keep misunderstanding each other.

Michelle: And gee, can we talk about setting?! I feel like I’m walking along the streets of South France and seeing all those lovely flowers in bloom while the old ladies take their evening walk.

Chachic: The setting is lovely too! I love how the town (or city?) has been described so far, with its fountains and flowers. Seems like such a good place to take a vacation and relax. I think it’s great that Laura is highlighting various places in France for her novels. If I can’t go to France, at least I can read about it.

Michelle: I know! One of my favorite parts so far is actually from Chapter One where it is describing the different stages of love.

“In the fresh hope of new lovers clinging to each other, in the easy comfort of lovers of longer standing who lounged in chairs by each other reading, in the old, worn happiness of a white-haired couple walking hand in hand, whose love for each other had been used and worked like fifty-year-old shoes into something so exactly fitted to them that those bright new lovers wouldn’t recognize it in their high-heeled love. But oh, how they would be grateful for it, fifty years on, if they reached that perfect fit, too.”

Michelle: Let’s just say I gave a major le sigh after I read that chapter. I just love her way with words, don’t you?

Chachic: Haha we are such good friends, I highlighted that exact same passage in my Kindle because it stood out for me. I wanted to hug that section of the book. I hope we get more sections like it!

Michelle: I love it that you highlighted it too! I read that and thought “Man, THAT is the type of love I want after 50 years.” She just gets love and relationships and I really like her storytelling abilities.

Chachic: I want that kind of love too! She really just has a way with words. I’m so glad we discovered a new author to love. And that we feel the same way about her writing.

Chachic: Let’s talk about Jolie’s work, I’m glad we’re reading about a character who writes cookbooks for a living. I’ve always seen cookbooks featuring celebrity chefs in bookstores but never realized that a product like that involves collaboration between a chef and a writer. If I was any good at writing recipes, that would be an amazing job. As always, I love how passionate Laura’s characters are about what they do. I find passionate people fascinating, even more so when they’ve found their calling in life.

Michelle: I could totally see you as a cookbook writer! You are always posting great meals and treats you’ve gotten. I too like that Jolie wants to keep that part of her life separate and just for herself because she truly loves it. I find that most of the women in Ms. Florand’s books are quite driven and I appreciate it that they don’t totally freeze their lives for a relationship. Although they do eventually learn to make sacrifices when it counts.

Chachic: Aww seriously, you think I can be a cookbook writer? But I think you have to be a good cook in order to do that, because you’d have to have an idea of how easy or difficult the recipes would be. I’m hopeless in the kitchen. I like that Jolie is independent enough and secure in herself that she can spend time on her own, it fits in perfectly with Gabriel’s busy schedule. Although you’re right, both of them make sacrifices to make things work.

Michelle: I honestly didn’t even think that being a cookbook writer was a ‘thing’ until reading this book and you saying that it would be a cool job. Goes to show how clueless I am! I guess I figured the chefs just wrote down their recipes and that was it but it makes sense that food bloggers/writers would do a great job of making them more accessible to the general public. As for me, I love to cook – especially bake. I’m still waiting for Ms. Florand to write a book about a bakery and all that delicious bread cause that is my weakness. In fact, in between writing you tonight I made four loaves of French bread (this is my kryptonite and why I will never diet)!

Chachic: I found this passage really sweet:

“She might have to revisit her conviction that all the best textures and tastes and scents in the world were in food. His textures – the hard resilience of muscle, the soft cotton of his T-shirt, the smoothness of his skin, the silk of his hair, the whisper of roughness of a jaw shaved that morning – were incredible.”

Michelle: I remember the quote you mentioned and really liked it too. Here are a few I found.

“Maybe no one rose to greatness of any kind without being a narcissist. And no one rose to become a great chef without knowing how to make other people hungry. For more of them.”

Michelle: I think Ms. Florand really gets what it takes for someone to dedicate themselves so totally to something that it completely overshadows the rest of their life. And then conversely, the letdown that occurs when that talent or career is over and the depression that follows. It’s got to be awful. Which leads into this other section I liked, it’s really the only bit of sympathy I feel for her dad.

“Jolie tried to hide the profound sadness that winced through her whenever someone refereed to her father in the past tense, as if he was either no longer alive at all or, at best, he no longer deserved to call himself by his own name. No wonder her father believed the same thing.”

Chachic: I highlighted that quote as well – it’s a good one. I think you’re right, Laura does know what it’s like for a job or career or passion to take up so much space in a person’s life to the point where everything else – including family and friends – get pushed back. I admire people who are passionate but there really is a balance to it.

(TRANSITION)

Michelle: I just finished it — but it’s late here so the only thing I can say before I go crash is — she made a The Lord of the Rings joke!! I knew I loved this woman’s books!! Ha!

Chachic: Loved the LOTR reference as well. I knew you would notice that! That’s the beauty of doing a read along, there’s someone else who will be able to relate to details that you notice.

Michelle: I was a bit curious about the name choice of Jolie — which in French means ‘pretty or attractive’. Most of her books have been pretty accurate but I wonder if that is a common name in France cause it just seemed a funny choice to me — even though I liked it.

Chachic: Really? I had no idea that’s what Jolie meant. What were the meanings of the names of her other heroines? Have you noticed that all of her heroines so far have partly come from the States? I think that’s so the books won’t be too French, if that makes sense.

Michelle: As for the names: Malagie (from The Chocolate Kiss) is pretty French but Cade Corey (The Chocolate Thief) is obviously a play on the Hershey chocolate family (there is an actual town called Hershey, Pennsylvania where that family lives and has their factory), so I think hers is pretty Americanized and even a bit of a joke. Honestly, I’m glad all of Ms. Florand’s females have a bit American in them because the French really are so very different (especially at relationships) so I think it helps people relate to the characters more than when they are so completely foreign. Although it would be a nice change of pace to have the hero American and the heroine French.

Chachic: I figured that Corey was a play on Hershey. I knew there was a place in the US named after the family. Oh really? I had no idea that French dating would be very different compared to American ways. So maybe that’s why Laura makes her female characters grow up in the States. I would love to see a French female and American male as well, that would be a nice change.

Michelle: I don’t know if I ever told you but I studied French all through college and even spent a few weeks there on a study abroad (Paris, Nice and Dijon) so I absolutely love reading about all the varying touristy sites I went to. One place I never got to was Provence so I would love to one day go there as well. Although I do have a confession to make: I’ve never tried a French macaron and I am *dying* to! This book made me think of it again when Jolie talks about using Phillipe’s macaron recipe for her cookbook. I don’t know why I didn’t try one in France (I was prolly too busy eating all the chocolate and bread I could) but I so want to go back just for that almost. I know you like macarons – I should find a good bakery in LA that serves them sometime

Chachic: I never knew that about you! That must have been so cool, studying French and then going abroad to soak up the culture for a couple of weeks. I would have loved to do that. So does that mean you have a special place in your heart for French-themed books? I like reading about them because I’ve always wanted to visit Paris. I can’t believe you’ve never tried a macaron! I love macarons. Several restaurants here in Singapore sell them but not all of them are good. I hope you get to try one soon. Pretty sure macarons are available in LA.

Michelle: One thing that bugged me about this one was the formatting! Did you have issues with the fact that there were no spaces or marks to indicate that it was a new narrator? Sometimes I had to go back just to figure out who was speaking. It’s totally minor but I wish they would have done something to mark the flow for readers so it wasn’t always such an abrupt change. But maybe that’s just me

Chachic: Yes, the formatting bugged me as well! I ignored it the first time it happened and then I kept noticing that there aren’t any breaks in between sections, even when the POV changes. It got a bit confusing. I think it’s just a formatting issue – the extra spaces probably aren’t showing up in the Kindle edition.

Michelle: I’m glad I wasn’t the only one bugged with the formatting. I wasn’t sure if it was due to the fact that it was self-published that there were quirks that would normally have been ironed out by the publisher or what.

Michelle: So did you read the first chapter of The Chocolate Touch at the end of The Chocolate Rose? I’m all aflutter.

Chachic: I’ve read the first chapter of The Chocolate Touch when Laura posted it on her website. I really can’t wait to read it. I hope it goes up in NetGalley soon!

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There you have it, folks, our first Novel Gossip post! In conclusion, it’s pretty obvious that we enjoyed reading The Chocolate Rose, which isn’t surprising since we both loved the other novels in the Amour Et Chocolat series. Can’t wait to read more of Laura Florand’s writing. Stand by for more Novel Gossip discussions, the next one will be posted over at Michelle’s blog. Feel free to let us know what you think of this new feature.

Chachic and Michelle, March 2013 in Los Angeles

Reading order of the Amour et Chocolat books:
All’s Fair in Love and Chocolate
The Chocolate Thief
The Chocolate Kiss
The Chocolate Rose

Want Books? is a weekly meme hosted here at Chachic’s Book Nook and features released books that you want but you can’t have for some reason. It can be because it’s not available in your country, in your library or you don’t have the money for it right now. Everyone is free to join, just grab the image above. Leave a comment with a link to your post so I can do a roundup with each post.

I saw Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt in several posts for Top Ten Tuesday’s topic for this week: light and fun reads. I looked up the premise and it does seem like a contemporary YA novel that I’d enjoy reading. Plus, I really like the UK edition pictured below – the old school feel of the picture goes with the title and premise.

Here’s the summary from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Mallory loves her boyfriend, Jeremy. Or at least likes him more than she’s ever liked any other boy. She’s sure he feels the same way. Until she happens upon his online Authentic Life game and discovers he’s cheating on her …online Mallory’s life is falling apart and technology is the cause. And then she finds a list, written by her grandma when she was Mallory’s age. All her grandma had to worry about was sewing dresses and planning dinner parties. Things were so much simpler in the 1960s. And there’s nothing on the list that Mallory couldn’t do herself. Maybe it’s time for Mallory to go vintage and find the answers to her modern-day problems.

I’m really curious how Mallory will go about giving up technology in her life. It’s funny because as much as I love social media and the convenience of technology, I still appreciate certain things that can be considered vintage nowadays, such as postcards and film cameras.

What about you, what book is at the top of your wishlist? Is there a particular title that has caught your eye recently?

I find it funny that I’ve been blogging for more than three years now and I’m pretty active on several social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram) and yet I only heard of the 1% rule the other day. Basically, the 1% rule or 90-9-1 principle states that in any online community, 1% of the people are creators, 9% are commenters and 99% are lurkers. This means that 1% will actively create content maybe through blog posts, while 9% will comment and react, and the remaining 90% will just lurk and watch what’s going on in their feeds. I found this really interesting because I knew right away that I’m part of the 1% when it comes to the reading community. I mean, come on, I have a book blog! That definitely makes me a creator, right? I wonder if all book bloggers can be considered creators since we do publish our own content such as reviews, discussion posts, guest posts and interviews. Commenters are probably the ones who read book blogs and leave comments from time to time. They’re readers who enjoy interacting with fellow book lovers but don’t feel compelled to write their own reviews or start their own blog. Lurkers are probably readers who just check out reviews to help them decide what to read next. Or they enjoy reading book-related news and discussions but are quite content to just see what’s going on instead of diving in to comment. I’m not sure if these numbers are accurate or if they even apply to the reading community but it kind of makes me feel special to be part of such a small percentage. I also find it funny that I went through all those stages – I was a lurker before then I started commenting once I realized that book bloggers are actually quite friendly. Until finally, I decided to start my own book blog.

Have you heard of the 1% rule before? I tried Googling and some articles say that the 1% rule isn’t applicable anymore as more and more people become digitally engaged. In any case, I thought it would be fun to share this little tidbit of information with all of you since the fact that you’re reading this post in a book blog means that you’re probably a reader who’s aware of the blogosphere and the online reading community.

Here’s the summary from Goodreads:

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. Having missed her flight, she’s stuck at JFK airport and late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s sitting in her row.

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

A draft for this review has been sitting in my dashboard for a while now. I don’t know why I’ve been having a hard time trying to capture how I felt about this book so let me keep it short and concise. I found it a little funny that I was traveling by myself and I was reading a book about a girl who meets a guy while traveling by herself. I mean how likely is that, right? Now that I’m based abroad, I mostly fly on my own whenever I travel and I’ve never had an experience like that. In spite of that, I think this is the perfect book while waiting to board a plane or during the flight itself. It’s a quick and fun read with just enough emotional depth to make things interesting. I liked the family dynamics in story, how complicated Hadley’s life is because her dad is about to marry the woman responsible for her parents’ divorce. Hadley’s reluctance to attend the wedding is understandable. But it’s a good thing she did because one flight becomes a turning point in her life. I really liked this passage about Hadley’s dad giving her books:

“It wasn’t that she was meant to read them all. Maybe someday she would, but for now, it was more the gesture itself. He was giving her the most important thing he could, the only way he knew how. He was a professor, a lover of stories, and he was building her a library in the same way other men might build their daughters houses.”

Every book lover will be able to appreciate the sentiment. Who wouldn’t want to receive books to slowly build a library? And it’s a great feeling to share a mutual love of books with someone that’s a huge part of your life. It’s nice that even though the title, the cover and the premise all suggest that this is a love story, it really is more than that. This is a short and sweet novel, recommended for fans of first loves, meet cutes and family interactions. Looking forward to Jennifer E. Smith’s next novel, This Is What Happy Looks Like.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is such a good one. I love light and fun reads because I feel like they come in handy whenever I feel like a book slump is about to occur. Or when I want to cleanse my reading palate after reading a dense fantasy novel or an emotionally heavy book. I don’t have to be in a certain mood to read books like the ones I’ve included here, I can just pick them up whenever I want to read something that’s easy to get into. In no particular order, here are my top ten light reads:

I Do and At First Sight by Elizabeth Chandler – Bantam’s Love Stories series was the YA series to follow back when I was a teen. These two by Elizabeth Chandler are my favorites. I can’t even remember the number of times I’ve reread these.

Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra – I feel like I’m a broken record because I keep saying this but Mina is my favorite Filipino chick lit author. I could relate to her novels because they’re about young Filipino women and her books are set in the Philippines.

Something About You by Julie James – All of Julie James’ romances are filled with a healthy dose of humor, which is why I enjoy reading them. Something About You is the first in her FBI/US Attorney series and my favorite so far. There’s just something about main characters who keep bickering to hide their attraction.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – Such a swoon-worthy novel set in one of the most romantic cities in the world. Really enjoyed the tension between Anna and Etienne.

The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand – Another novel set in Paris! But adult contemporary romance instead of YA. Couldn’t help but feel good whenever I read Laura Florand’s novels – I’m a fan of how she combines romance with delicious food.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen – This one might not be considered light because the main characters have to deal with some pretty serious issues but there’s something magical about the writing that makes it so much fun to read.

A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson – The first Eva Ibbotson novel that I ever read and it’s still one of my favorites. I love the fairy tale feel of this historical fiction novel.

Silent Blade by Ilona Andrews – I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this since I’m not a sci-fi girl. I didn’t get confused by the details of the sci-fi setting and I really liked the romance

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley – I could relate to Harry’s thirst for adventure and I loved living vicariously through her (and all other strong female characters I admire).

The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner – I know, I know. A book riddled with political intrigue isn’t usually considered light fare but I’ve reread this book so many times that it has just become a comfort read. Plus, Gen is always good for some laughs.

I’ve noticed that most of my picks for light reads are contemporary novels and that ALL of them have some kind of romance in them. It sure looks like I enjoy a well-written love story in my feel good reads. Do you agree with some of my choices? What are some of your own favorite light reads?

Shoot That Book combines my passion for books and my tendency to become trigger happy with a camera. My lack of photography skills is compensated by my enthusiasm. Basically, I like taking pictures of books.

Shoot That Book nail polish edition is back! I always take advantage of cheaper nail salon rates whenever I’m in Manila. Everything is much more expensive in Singapore so I’ve never gotten a haircut or had my nails done here. I went to a nail salon with my friend and she said she was getting a colored French tip and it looked nice so I got the same thing. Incidentally, the colors that I picked matched the cover of a book that I recently received: How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr.

This book reminds me of The Fray song that has the same title. Wonder if it fits the story? My nail polish posts are easy – I just choose a book that has a cover that matches the colors of the nail polish that I have on. I wanted to highlight a blogger who does amazing nail art. Mandee is the girl behind The Bookish Manicurist and she does beautiful artwork with her nails. What’s even better is she matches her nails to the covers of the books that she reads. I love all of the nail art that she’s posted because they all look so pretty and nail art based on books – what’s not to like? You have to drop by her blog to check it out. I wish I was half as good as she is when it comes to painting nails.

Right before I left for my flight to Manila, I saw a package waiting for me in our mailbox. It contained a signed copy of Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork. My blogging buddy Holly is good friends with Francisco and through that connection, I’ve started exchanging emails with him some time ago. He is such a kind and amazing person that it comes as no surprise that I’ve enjoyed talking to him about random things, not just about books and writing. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I’ve never read any of his books. That’s going to change soon! I’ve heard nothing but good things about Marcelo in the Real World so I’m pretty excited to read it. I’d like to thank Francisco for being generous enough to send me a copy of it.

During the weekend, I had dinner with a good friend and she mentioned that she hasn’t given me a gift for my birthday yet and that we should drop by Fully Booked so I can pick something. No arguments from my end!

My favorite branch of Fully Booked – several floors of bookish goodness.

She ended up getting How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr, a washi tape roll featuring sea creatures and plain old scotch tape for me. She couldn’t resist adding the scotch tape to the mix, saying that “it’s a classic” compared to washi tape.

Now this isn’t book-related but most of you seem to enjoy seeing my washi tape rolls so I wanted to show these as well. I asked some of my friends to order washi tape rolls from Hey Kessy and Bee Happy Crafts and we had a washi swap (my friend made the washi-covered clips):

More rolls to add to my collection! Which one is your favorite?

Pretty cute, aren’t they? When I have some free time, I’m going to try and make washi postcards. Moving back to books, I’ve noticed that lately, I’ve been reading more contemporary than fantasy novels so I grabbed these three titles from my own bookshelf to bring back with me to Singapore:

Rebel by R.J. Anderson
Arrow by R.J. Anderson
Elfland by Freda Warrington

I now have way too many unread books in my bookshelf here in the flat. Which is why I only grabbed three books from my bookshelf even though I could have fit more in my luggage. I found it a bit surprising that I didn’t end up buying books even though I visited several bookstores. But then again, I haven’t even read all of the books that I brought from my last trip home.

I got a book in Yosemite for my six-year-old godson and he liked it so much that he gave me a card to thank me:

When I got back to the flat, I also had a Hawaii postcard waiting for me:

What about you, got any interesting books, postcards or washi tape lately? Hope you’re having a good week so far. The great thing about this week is I only have to go to the office for two days. By the way, I’m planning to change my blog header soon so watch out for that.