Aicha Amano

Hello everyone! I've been gone for some time. I'd blame being busy with work, but that's unimaginative. And partly untrue. I blame new hobbies. I also blame the old. In any case, July was welcomed with a happy trip to Manila. Being from Davao, the sights and sounds of this metropolitan city is both familiar and foreign. Like coming home to your idyllic childhood home only to find blinding solar panels at the roof and a lot of metal furniture in the once-cozy living room. Davao is urban but with a countryside feel, but Manila is one of those perfect urban jungles. All those cars and all those expressways and high-rises! I was glad for this vacation, it gave me a lot of walking! *huff~ and a lot of food trips! And since reading this news feature from The Philippine Daily Inquirer about a Reading Club in Manila that gives out free books , I swore to visit it no matter what! After dropping by Cafe Noriter in DSLU, I committed to a whole lot of walking just to get...

Over the course of the week I received two packages with a lot of books in them. Don't we just love receiving books in the mail? Well, you and me both! I had the honor of receiving books from Andy Batangantang and Iyadls who are totally generous and without compare. From Iyadls I received John Fuller's The Memoirs of Laetitia Horsepole and Nedjma's The Almond: The Sexual Awakening of a Muslim Woman both of which I really love! I especially am looking forward to start reading The Almond, because it has been a year since I started to look for it. A couple of days after the previous book parcel, I was surprised it was followed up with a bigger one! I almost rolled around in complete glee. Andy gave me David Borgenicht's Worst-Case Scenario Almanac , Kim Edwards' The Memory Keeper's Daughter , Nicole Galland's Revenge of the Rose and finally Brenda Rickman Vantrease's The Illuminator . I added all the books I received in my to-be-read pile. As you...

The Lady and the Unicorn , tells the story of a set of wall tapestries and the engaging story behind its creation. The novel presents an artist, Nicolas des Innocents, who designed the tapestries through a commission by a high-ranking person. Though Claude is a brilliant visionary and artist he is known in his city as a man with a propensity for chasing anything with a skirt. When this artist meets his employer's wife and daughter, he is immediately drawn to them, most especially the young girl named Claude. Thus he began courting for her affection. His seductive ways land him in bed with any girl he meets. One to love a whirlwind romance, he seeks out more and more. The tapestry links all the characters in complex weave of silk threads and beautiful patterns, showing off a tapestry that is an allegory of desire and love. I'm really happy I had the luck to find this in Booksale yesterday! They're having a huge sale and I bought this for only P20! Sure, the book's not in...

Lucky Find! I was at a loss for words when I unearthed The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery today in Booksale (yet again --This shop is decimating my budget daily ; ;) I only went there because I had nothing to do at home after I finished watching Antique Bakery [Trailer] [Info] and to think I swore to myself I wasn't going to buy anything! It was just sitting there, in a lonesome pile... waiting for me I guess. This book has been in my Wishlist since December 2007! I kind of can't believe I have this now. It feels surreal I'm getting the books I almost thought I can never acquire. The Teahouse Fire "Set in late nineteenth century Japan, The Teahouse Fire is the story of Aurelia, a young French-American girl who, after the death of her mother and her missionary uncle, finds herself lost and alone and in need of a new family. Knowing only a few words of Japanese she hides in a Japanese tea house and is adopted by the family who own it: gradually falling in love ...

Told you I'd buy it! :D hah, goodbye budget! Booksale: P125

One of the novels that got me hooked to reading novels about England and Old Royals is the book "I am Mary Tudor" by Hilda Lewis, which in my opinion is one of the strongest Mary Tudor novels to date. I still remember it being written with a clear and concise voice, and the historical facts well-researched and thorough. These kinds of books fed my curiosity about life in general inside the royal court. It's the intrigues, the devious strategies and the abominable going-ons of that era that I love reading about. Just last night I went out to Booksale . Lo and behold, a hardbound copy of The Queen of Subtleties by Suzannah Dunn was staring at me from the highest level in the bookshelf! I love how I lunged at the book, almost toppling the entire tower of books above it. I couldn't reach it, so good thing there was a nearby tall guy who I barked orders at. "Get it for me!" I screamed, like a crazy person. I got it before this small girl, who was also walking ...