One for Tita Cory

coryI have more than 20 books lined up for reviews for this blog, but tonight they’ll have to take a back seat to this one — Cory: An Intimate Portrait, edited by Margie Penson-Juico.

To my readers from outside the Philippines, you may (or may not) have heard of the recent passing of former Philippine president Corazon “Cory ” Aquino, the first female president in Asia and the icon of the famous People Power Revolution,  a peaceful movement that toppled a dictatorship in 1986.

I purposely bumped up this review to join a nation that is mourning for a beloved president, who has touched many lives in her journey from a plain housewife to the bereaved widow of the slain opposition leader (against dictator Ferdinand Marcos) Ninoy Aquino to the president of the country and the symbol for national democracy.

(On the other hand, and on a lighter note, I also bumped up this review because the featured book is actually my boss’ copy and I have to get my own :) ) Continue reading “One for Tita Cory”

My Deathly Hallows Giveaway!

9780747595830Finally, the third part of this year’s Harry Potter celebration!

I’ve blogged about the Harry Birthday Party my cousin and I threw a couple of years ago, and I’ve shared my Harry Potter Book Collection with you guys too.

Today I’m giving away my extra hardcover copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bloomsbury (UK) Kids Edition.

This book is special because Dianne bought it for me in Hong Kong thinking I didn’t have a copy yet.

I’m giving it away because I do have a copy already, and I’d love to give it to a fellow Harry Potter fan, or even someone who hasn’t read it yet.

Here are the mechanics for joining:

Continue reading “My Deathly Hallows Giveaway!”

Missy picks a winner! (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats giveaway)

kitty

A couple of weeks ago, I put up my very first giveaway: a copy of Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.

I enjoyed the book immensely both as a cat lover and a reader, so I decided to give my extra copy away.

And now, read about the rigorous drawing process (haha!) and the results!

Continue reading “Missy picks a winner! (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats giveaway)”

The Harry Potter Obsession… er, Collection

hp
Finally, this is the much-awaited post about my growing Harry Potter book collection, the second blog entry in this year’s HP Series, in celebration of Harry Potter’s birthday.

I’ve always been fascinated with the different editions of Harry Potter, but I only started collecting them last year. Today I have over 80 books already, and a bunch more on the way. Most of the books were acquired through BookMooch, thanks to the kindness of people from all over the world.

I’ve been wanting to do this post for a long time, but it required me to rearrange my Harry Potter shelf (top shelf of one of my bookcases, now nearly reaching the ceiling — see cover photo) and take photos of the books (took me three hours!). 

So here it is. I hope you enjoy the collection, and I hope I get more HP books to share with you in the future!

Continue reading “The Harry Potter Obsession… er, Collection”

July 31st — Harry Birthday!

snitch-cake2

Tomorrow (in our time zone at least) marks Harry Potter’s 29th birthday so I’m starting off the celebration by reliving the Harry Birthday party my cousin Dianne and I threw a couple of years ago, shortly after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I’ve a million other things to do tonight, so I’m posting an article I wrote for Manila Bulletin (dated 13 August 2007) after the legendary Harry Birthday Party! :)

Warning: extreme fandom alert. Hahaha, I think this is the first time my Harry Potter obsession will actually appear in this blog, so to my newfound book blogger friends, I hope you enjoy reading this!

Continue reading “July 31st — Harry Birthday!”