Good Reads Archives | Page 2 of 3

Currently Reading….

25 January 2010 Ibyang Sanchez 4 Comments Category: Good Reads

“Committed”, the newest book from the author of the phenomenal “Eat Pray Love”, Elizabeth Gilbert, continues to tell her story after her one year travel in order to find herself. In this book, she shares how she found the courage to commit to marriage once again, despite her fears and apprehensions.

I’m only halfway finished and I’m finding the book a good read for those preparing to be married and already married people. This is more serious compared to “Eat Pray Love” but still very insightful.

P.S. I recommend you read “Eat Pray Love” first before reading “Committed”.

Book: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

19 August 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 4 Comments Category: Good Reads

A novel by Audrey Niffenegger, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, will now be seen on the big screen. A love story about a man who time travels and a woman who waits for the love of her life until they are together again in real time.

I’ve been waiting for this movie to be shown since 2007, I’m glad it will finally be shown this year. Playdate here in Australia is on 5 November 2009.

Why I love the book

The plot is something different. When I learned that the main character is someone who time traveled involuntarily, I got very curious on the kind of life a time traveler would have.

The novel is a love story that explored the concept of waiting. I read this during the time when I was experiencing a long distance relationship and I related to how Clare (the female lead character) felt when she longed and worried for Henry (the male lead character) when he was away.

It is a story about marriage. It showcased how a couple can survive thru hardships and challenges in married life, how they were able find humour inspite of their odd situation. It also depicted the suffering they had to go thru in order to have a child.

The story is enchanting, imaginative, funny, and romantic. I can’t put the book down until I finished it. It made me laugh and cry.

My Favorite Quotes from the Book

“It’s hard being left behind. I wait for Henry, not knowing where he is, wondering if he is okay. It’s hard to be the one who stays.” – Clare

“He vanishes unwillingly, without warning. I wait for him. Each moment that I wait feels like a year, an eternity. Each moment is as slow and transparent as glass. Through each moment I can see infinite moments lined up, waiting. Why has he gone where I cannot follow?” – Clare

“I hate to be where she is not, when she is not. And yet, I am always going, and she cannot follow.” – Henry

“Clare, I want to tell you, again, I love you. Our love has been the thread through the labyrinth, the net under the high-wire walker, the only real thing in this strange life of mine that I could ever trust.”- Henry

“Time is nothing.” – Henry

Book: What No One Tells The Bride by Marg Stark

18 May 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Good Reads, Tips

I found this book in the middle of 2006, at a time when i was planning my wedding, psyching myself to becoming a wife and needing some inspiration from i-don’t-know-what.
This was heaven-sent to me, like manna from heaven (hallejuah!). I was in need of answers and comfort, especially that my mom and my support system were in Manila. When i read this book, I immediately felt a certain peace that what I was going thru was normal, that I wasn’t alone, and that almost all women go thru what I’ve gone thru and what I’m going thru right now.

This book became a bible of sorts for me. The author has compiled everything you need to know of women’s experiences before, during and after marriage.

When i read the book before my wedding, I knew it was worth it.

When i got married and was back here in sydney, and was getting confused regarding marriage stuff (read: adjustment period) I had to read some parts of it again, it was doubly worth it. It became my reference book!

This book is definitely a bride’s* bestfriend.

Contents include:

surviving the wedding

sex after the honeymoon

second thoughts

wedding cake freezer burn

becoming your mother

screaming about money

screaming about in-laws

maintaining your identity

being blissfully happy despite it all

*the author’s definition of a bride is an engaged or newly married woman.

Thank you, Amazon!

29 October 2008 Ibyang Sanchez 3 Comments Category: Fashion, Good Reads

Some things I buy via Amazon because either what I want are not sold here and/or it is cheaper to buy online.

Thank God that before the Australian dollars went down three or four weeks ago, I was able to purchase these:

LeSportsac Backpack and Shoulder Bag

I’ve been wanting to buy these LeSportsac bags everytime I make a stopover at Singapore and always, I would forget to buy at least one item from their store. I had about four stopovers in Singapore in the past two years already and the last time I was there, my last stop at the airport was at the cosmetics store. So now that I don’t have plans of having any stopovers there and found out that Sydney doesn’t have LeSportsac stores, I decided to buy via Amazon. I love LeSportsac for their funky and colorful designs.

lovemarks by Kevin Roberts

I discovered this book via Chris’ workmate and found the book very inspiring. The book talks about brand marketing but the concepts Kevin Roberts shared in his book can be useful for those wanting to start a business. It also relates to customer service and could be a tool for improving attitude in the workplace . I love love love it! I saw this book at Kinokuniya sold for AUD$40++ but when I checked Amazon, it’s about 60% less than the price here—and it’s the expanded edition and brand new!

Thank you, Amazon!

On My Love for Reading Books

15 September 2008 Ibyang Sanchez 3 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Good Reads, Memes

I was tagged by Gneth to answer 10 random facts about me and since I’ve done several of this kind of tags already (all you have to do is click on one of my tags called ibyang memes and you’ll find it all there) but I always try to find a way to be creative in giving random facts about me, this time, I will focus on my love for reading books.

Let me also take this opportunity to answer Dave’s question on how I choose a book I plan to read next.

Fact #1

These are the books I have right now within my reach. It so happened that I did my forthnightly sorting-of-stuff-inside-our-room today and made an inventory of all the books lying around our room. The books include:

a. Modern Asian Living – the book that validated the design I want for our future home, this was also my first book on interior design.

b. Photography by Peter Cattrell – given by my husband, my quick reference before I do a shoot or when I’m needing to brush up on photography skills.

c. The Little Prince – one of my favorite books, it was hardbound so I bought it.

d. The Starbucks Experience – supplies me with Marketing and Customer Service ideas.

e. Pugad Baboy 18 and 19 – helps to uplift me when I’m in need of entertainment and humour.

f. We Are All Welcome Here – about a Mom-Daughter relationship.

g. Recipes for a Perfect Marriage – just one of those books on marriage, very funny and had a lot of insights.

h. Love In A Time of Cholera – they say this is one of the best love stories ever written.

i. Brida – I always seem to have one Paulo Coelho book within my reach all the time.

j. Wicked – the latest book I bought and is now the book I read before going to bed.

k. Book of Affirmations and It’s Never Too Late – two books I that inspire me and help with the upkeep of my positive outlook in life.

Fact #2:

Those are just the books within my reach, I still have lots! Most of them are now in storage boxes waiting for a new home. Husband and I are currently looking for a new place to stay and most of our things are now in boxes, ready for transport. I’m also limiting my book acquisition at the moment because I don’t want to do more packing than I should.

Fact #3:

My dream is to have a library inside the house or at least a study room that will house all my books—lots of it–arranged by author’s surname! hehe.

Fact #4:

I read two to three books simultaneously sometimes. May pang-morning train, afternoon train and another one before I retire at night.

Fact #5:

I also read magazines but only because I want entertaining or I just need to be updated with medical breakthroughs, health issues or what’s new in fashion, etc. But I seldom buy them…I just borrow from workmates or sometimes friends give them.

Fact #6:

I haven’t read or finished reading all the books I bought…like two of the books in the photo above: Love in the Time of Cholera and We Are All Welcome Here. I’m finding them boring and both stories are slow for me, but I’d still finish them later.

Fact #7:

My favorite bookstores in the Phils would be: Powerbooks and National Bookstore.

My favorite bookstores in Australia would be: Borders and Kinokuniya.

Fact #8:

On how I choose my next book to read:

a. I don’t judge the book by its cover BUT I sometimes judge the book by its first page: if I find what I’m looking for in the first page, I’d buy it! What do I look for in the first page??? The way an author makes an impact on the first parts of his/her story—I look for IMPACT, if it will make me think or feel something when I read the first page, then it must be good.

b. I crave for books the way I crave for food. With food, you sometimes crave for sweet or sour…with books, it’s the same for me. There are days when I crave for humour, inspiration, marketing strategies, a love story, on marriage, etc. When I enter a bookshop, I sometimes have a feel of what I want and I follow my craving.

c. There are times that I enter a bookshop and have no idea on what book I want. I just let my feet lead the way when that happens.

d. I get recommendations from friends and the net.

Fact #9:

Some of my favorite authors include: Paulo Coelho, Elizabeth Gilbert, Victoria Morgan, Anne Rice, Marg Stark, Audrey Niffenegger and John Grisham.

Fact #10:

If you were to ask what my top 5 books are, these would be it:

1. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

3. Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice

4. The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

5. What No One Tells The Bride by Marg Stark (I’ve written something about it here)