In light of Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year) this week, I decided to feature a book with a Chinese protagonist. While I’ve not read Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok yet, the synopsis sounds very fitting for this week’s theme.

I will never forget my 13th birthday. That year, my best friend gave me the most memorable gift: the gift of books. She hauled a huge tote bag with about 20 or so books to my family’s apartment. Then she declared that she had taken the books that were most dear to her and decided to loan them to me to read. We were only children after all, so we couldn’t afford to actually buy each other presents.

Sometimes waiting for a highly anticipated book feels like being left out in the rain. (Made You Up by Francesca Zappia will be published May 19, 2015.) Still, if there’s one thing I love, it’s rainy nights. The air is fresh and cool as I sit by my window and curl up in bed to read. When I’m, done reading, the rain becomes a lullaby that rocks me to sleep.

When I was younger, my mother would often scold that I read too much. She claimed that if I kept it up, I’d have to wear glasses. Since my younger sister got glasses much earlier than me, I didn’t listen to my mother. Yet true enough, the week I turned 13, my optometrist told me I had to get a pair of glasses too.

Imagine my delight when Georgie asked me if I was up for some collaborative posts this year involving photography! Of course I agreed to it and thus Mise-en-scène has come to be. We would like to challenge ourselves creatively in book photography and welcome anyone who would like to join us in our endeavour.