Nique | Literary Curator & Brand Storyteller

Ahhh Siquijor I simply cannot get enough of you!! ☀️ Ft. My favourite food!!! 😭♥️✨ Places featured: —Marrelle’s Seashell Museum & Restaurant —Coco Grove Beach Resort —Dolce Amore ❣️save this post as reference for your next trip to the Philippines 🥰 #siquijor #slowliving #islandliving #islandlife #travelphilippines

What I mean is ✨cry myself to sleep with✨ because these beloved books broke me and healed me at the same time 😭💖 What You are Looking for is in the Library, Michiko Aoyama The Second Chance Convenience Store, Ho-Yeon Kim Marigold Mind Laundry, Jungeun Yun With Love from the Morisaki Bookshop, Satoshi Yagisawa Almond, Won-Pyung Sohn Traveling Cat Chronicles & The Goodbye Cat, Hiro Arikawa Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Mizuki Tsujimura Sweet Bean Paste, Durian Sukegawa The Chibineko Kitchen, Yuta Takahashi Lantern of Lost Memories, Sanaka Hiiragi The Healing Season of Pottery, Yeon Somin Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, Hwang Bo-reum ❣️have you read any of these beautiful books? Are some of them on your tbr? ❤️‍🔥save this post for reference and follow me @chroniqled for more asian literature & bookish content❤️‍🔥 🔖 #reelsofbookstagram #bookstaexplore #japaneseliterature #asianliterature #bookrec [bookish, bibliophile, booklover, cozy reads, book stack, book reviews, book recommendations, aesthetic reads, classic literature, comfy, slow living, cozy lifestyle, mindful reading, bookstagram, book review, book reviewer, book recs, asian literature, Japanese literature, everyday reading life]

✨Your favourite Studio Ghibli movies as Haruki Murakami novels✨ If you’re a fan of Ghibli movies, and have been wanting to get into Haruki Murakami’s books but just don’t know where to start, then this post is for you 👏🏼 Here are my recommendations: If you love… → then read… Spirited Away → After Dark Ocean Waves → Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage Howl’s Moving Castle → 1Q84 Princess Mononoke → Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World When Marnie was There → Sputnik Sweetheart Only Yesterday → South of the Border, West of the Sun The Boy and the Heron → The Strange Library I have read all of Murakami’s books except Killing Commendatore & The City and Its Uncertain Walls; I have also seen all the Ghibli movies— and I cannot help but make connections between them. There are so many metaphors, symbolisms, and mysteries you’re not meant to solve. There’s this loneliness to the characters as well, and stories are often emotional, rather than logical. You’re forced to feel, rather than just look for meaning. I think this is why I’m forever drawn to stories like these, and I’ll continue to draw connections in my next posts!! ♥️ So, do you agree with my pairings? 🥰 This is part two of my four-part Ghibli x Murakami series!! See my previous post on Murakami’s big three on my profile 💖 ❤️‍🔥save this post & follow me @chroniqled for more bookish content❤️‍🔥 #bookstaexplore #harukimurakami #ghibli #studioghibli #murakami [bookish, bibliophile, booklover, cozy reads, book stack, book reviews, book recommendations, aesthetic reads, classic literature, comfy, slow living, cozy lifestyle, mindful reading, bookstagram, book review, book reviewer, book recs, asian literature, Japanese literature, everyday reading life]

Sunday mornings & breakfasts at the beach ☀️ #siquijor #slowliving #islandliving #islandlife #travelphilippines

✨Haruki Murakami’s Big Three as Studio Ghibli movies✨ part one from my four-part Murakami x Ghibli series!! 🥰 Norwegian Wood - Only Yesterday There’s something achingly beautiful about the way both stories tenderly showcase how memories of the past tend to linger, and then shape us into who we are —in quiet, intangible ways. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - Princess Mononoke There’s this dark undercurrent running beneath both stories—raw, unsettling, and impossible to look away from. They explore violence and loss— how our actions can affect the world around us. They remind us that understanding often comes from facing our inner conflicts, and recognizing our mistakes in order to make them right. Kafka on the Shore - The Boy and the Heron Both feel like stepping into a dream you do not fully understand but somehow feel familiar— with stories that move through alternate realities, where logic fades and meaning becomes subjective. At their core, they’re quiet journeys of solitude and self-discovery —reminding us that sometimes, getting lost is the only way we find ourselves. I have read all of Murakami’s books except Killing Commendatore & The City and Its Uncertain Walls; I have also seen all Ghibli movies— and I cannot help but make connections between them. There are so many metaphors, symbolisms, and mysteries you’re not meant to solve. There’s this loneliness to the characters as well, and stories are often emotional, rather than logical. You’re forced to feel, rather than just look for meaning. I think this is why I’m forever drawn to stories like these, and I’ll continue to draw connections in my next posts!! ♥️ So, do you agree with my pairings? 🥰 ❤️‍🔥save this post & follow me @chroniqled for more bookish content❤️‍🔥 #bookstaexplore #harukimurakami #ghibli #studioghibli #murakami [bookish, bibliophile, booklover, cozy reads, book stack, book reviews, book recommendations, aesthetic reads, classic literature, comfy, slow living, cozy lifestyle, mindful reading, bookstagram, book review, book reviewer, book recs, asian literature, Japanese literature, everyday reading life]

✨ MY FILIPINIANA MASTER LIST ✨ Hello hello everyone! I’d like to recommend you must-read Philippine literature titles 🥰 I don’t see much of Filipiniana around here on bookstagram, so I hope you’ll add these to your tbr ♥️✨ ❣️required reading, the ultimate Filipino classics Noli Me Tangere & El Filibusterismo by Jose Rizal ♥️ ❣️more classics Luha ng Buwaya/Crocodile’s Tears & Mga Ibong Mandaragit/The Preying Birds, Amado V. Hernandez Dugo sa Bukang-Liwayway, Rogelio Sicat Dapitan Schoolboy, Patricia Laurel (not a classic in terms of when it was written, but a classic because it’s about Jose Rizal) ❣️graphic novels Lucia Dreaming, Lucia Asul Josefina, Russel L. Molina & Ace C. Enriquez ❣️nonfiction Some People Need Killing, Patricia Evangelista How to Stand Up to a Dictator, Maria Ressa Tikim, Doreen C. Fernandez Far from My Hospital Bed, Teresita Cruz del Rosario ❣️short stories Monstress, Lysley Tenorio The Heart of Summer, Danton Remoto Voyager and other stories, Jose Dalisay Love Potion and other stories, Alvin Yapan Vile Creatures, Exie Abola ❣️crime fiction The Collaborators, Katrina Tuvera The Quiet Ones, Glenn Diaz Stray Cats, Irene Sarmiento Multo, Cindy Fazzi ❣️contemporary fiction State of War, Ninotchka Rosca Meant to Be in Manila, Mica de Leon My Lola’s Love Letters, Ines Bautista-Yao What It Means to Be Malaya, Emmily Magtalas Rhodes The Age of Umbrage, Jessica Zafra ❣️poetry Amigo Warfare, Eric Gamalinda Moving with Moonrise, Ma. Milagros T. Dumdum If I Write You This Poem, Will You Make It Fly, Simeon Dumdum Jr. Sightseer in This Killing City, Eugene Gloria What Passes for Answers, Mikael de Lara Co Waking Up to the Pattern Left by a Snail Overnight, Jim Pascual Agustin This is How to Mean No Harm, Martin Villanueva Now is a New No, Vincent Serrano Any faves from this list? 🤗 I know i still have a lot to read from our beloved genre, so PLEASE give me your recommendations below 🥰♥️✨ ❤️‍🔥 save this post & follow me @chroniqled for more books & slow living content ❤️‍🔥 🔖 #bookstagramph #bookstaexplore #filipiniana #filipinoculture

✨April in books✨ I read nine books this month! It should have been ten, but I could not finish one 😅 this month was a little slow for me, so i ended up rereading two favourite poetry collections for comfort 🥹 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Magnolia, Nina Mingya Powles* Devotions, Mary Oliver —both were rereads, and I just needed comfort from poetry this month🕊️ 🌟🌟🌟🌟 She Who Remains, Rene Karabash* Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter, Atelier Sento Daughter of the Sun, Rachel Spence Days at the Torunka Cafe, Satoshi Yagisawa 🌟🌟🌟 People with No Charisma, Jente Posthuma Of Dogs and Walls, Yuko Tsushima* 🌟🌟 Weasels in the Attic, Hiroko Oyamada* DNF The Wax Child, Olga Ravn (I got to 50% of this before I gave up) **read these as ebooks ❣️some notes: —reread Devotions and Magnolia for comfort 🥰 —I read Days at the Torunka Cafe for my book club this month. I chose this as our first read because in my previous book club, our first read was Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, also by the same author! 💖 —I totally understand why She Who Remains was shortlisted for the 2026 International booker prize. It is a harrowing, necessary read. 💔 —in contrast, I get why The Wax Child was long listed, but it just was not for me. The prose took getting used to, and the way it was written was confusing for me. I had a hard time following the story— but then again, maybe that’s just me. Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? —I really enjoyed Onibi! If only it was longer, or it was a manga series! I would love to read more from Atelier Sento ♥️ ❣️what was your favorite read from April? 🥰 ❤️‍🔥save this post for and follow me @chroniqled for more slow island living & bookish content❤️‍🔥 🔖 #bookstaexplore #japaneseliterature #bookstacks #annotatedbooks #annotations [bookish, bibliophile, booklover, cozy reads, book stack, book reviews, book recommendations, aesthetic reads, classic literature, comfy, slow living, cozy lifestyle, mindful reading, bookstagram, book review, book reviewer, book recs, asian literature, Japanese literature, everyday reading life, slow living, island living, island girl, island life, bookshop, bookstore, book cafe]

✨first quarter reading stats! I did not set a reading goal for myself this year because I did not want to feel pressured, plus I am spending more of my time now on other hobbies as well, especially working out and trying out new recipes! I’m a baby home cook so I am still learning the ropes but I am enjoying it a lot. So far so good, and I’ve been baking treats too, so that saves me trips to dessert shops 🤣 Overall I think I did pretty good? I read 35 books from January to March, and these were my favourites: ✨ fiction: Shoko’s Smile, Choi Eunyoung On Earth As It is Beneath & Of Cattle and Men, Ana Paula Maia Diary of a Murderer, Kim Young-ha Apothecary Diaries Manga, Natsu Hyuuga ✨ nonfiction: Things in Nature Merely Grow, Yiyun Li Japanese Haiku for Cat Lovers, an anthology Sketch Your World, Kimiko Sekimoto ❣️here are some reading stats!! —22 were asian literature —16 were japanese literature —11 were nonfiction reads —6 were poetry collections —only 2 rereads: Where Reasons End & 100 Tula ni Bela (which I used for Baybayin scriptwriting practice) —30 were from my physical tbr (I’m slowly working my way through my 200+ physical tbr pile 🤣) —only 5 were ebooks, all read on my boox palma 🥰 —7 disappointed me and didn’t meet my expectations 🥲 ❣️what other stats would you like to know about? These were just from the top of my head so if you’re curious for more, don’t be shy to ask in the comments! 💖 ❤️‍🔥save this post for and follow me @chroniqled for more slow island living & bookish content❤️‍🔥 🔖 #bookstaexplore #japaneseliterature #bookstacks #annotatedbooks #annotations [bookish, bibliophile, booklover, cozy reads, book stack, book reviews, book recommendations, aesthetic reads, classic literature, comfy, slow living, cozy lifestyle, mindful reading, bookstagram, book review, book reviewer, book recs, asian literature, Japanese literature, everyday reading life, slow living, island living, island girl, island life, bookshop, bookstore, book cafe]

This book cafe is one of my favorite places in the world 💖 isn’t it just every bookworm’s dream to spend all day in a place like this?! 😍 I also hope to have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves someday filled with all the books I’ve ever read and loved 🥰 ❤️‍🔥save this post for and follow me @chroniqled for more slow island living & bookish content❤️‍🔥 🔖 #bookstaexplore #slowliving #islandliving #siquijor #dumaguete [bookish, bibliophile, booklover, cozy reads, book stack, book reviews, book recommendations, aesthetic reads, classic literature, comfy, slow living, cozy lifestyle, mindful reading, bookstagram, book review, book reviewer, book recs, asian literature, Japanese literature, everyday reading life, slow living, island living, island girl, island life, bookshop, bookstore, book cafe]

journalling at the beach 📝 I just loooove spending my mornings at the beach enjoying a good breakfast with my love and then writing in my journal 🥰 makes me feel all magical and reflective ✨ ❣️do you also bring a journal with you on vacation? 😌✨ ❤️‍🔥save this post for and follow me @chroniqled for more slow island living & bookish content❤️‍🔥 🔖 #bookstaexplore #slowliving #islandliving #siquijor #dumaguete [bookish, bibliophile, booklover, cozy reads, book stack, book reviews, book recommendations, aesthetic reads, classic literature, comfy, slow living, cozy lifestyle, mindful reading, bookstagram, book review, book reviewer, book recs, asian literature, Japanese literature, everyday reading life, slow living, island living, island girl, island life, luxury resort, luxury travel, luxury stay]

My book club’s May read, perfect for spring season: The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop 🌸 Join The Reading Nook (link in bio) to participate in our exclusive group chat, and have access to fun book club content like discussion questions & live reading updates, along with other bonus content as well 💖 Who knows… maybe we’ll even have a monthly group call for our online book discussion when there’s enough people who are interested and will make time for it 👀 ❣️is this book on your tbr as well? 🤗 ❤️‍🔥save this post for reference and follow me @chroniqled for more asian literature & bookish content❤️‍🔥 🔖 #bookstagramph #bookstaexplore #cherryblossomseason #asianliterature #japaneseliterature [bookish, bibliophile, booklover, cozy reads, book stack, book reviews, book recommendations, aesthetic reads, classic literature, comfy, slow living, cozy lifestyle, mindful reading, bookstagram, book review, book reviewer, book recs, asian literature, Japanese literature, cherry blossoms, spring season, spring reads, Korean literature, everyday reading life]

✨Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata✨ Let me tell you that I have a thing for convenience stores. To me, they’re comfort places in the midst of a busy world. It goes like this: I step in, the bell tinkles, and store workers greet me (like they are actually glad that I am there) as I am warmly enveloped in a cocoon of bright light. Muted conversations and the hum of the air conditioner in the background; the beep of the scanner as items are being checked at the counter; the smell of freshly microwaved food wafting in the air. All these sensations conveniently wrapped in one whole experience to make me feel comforted on bad days. I usually pop into the store to either get myself Siopao (a Filipino rice ball with a luscious meatball in the middle) from a hot box, or go directly to the dessert shelves to choose a treat I would be in the mood for. On roadtrips especially, convenience stores have saved me from hunger pains countless times. They are also a kind of refuge when you’re traveling— especially when in an asian country. You never know when you’re going to need a quick bite between all the exploring. Hands down, our stores here are top tier (especially Japanese konbinis) 😌✨ Oh yeah— and on rainy days? Just fill in cup noodles with hot water that’s readily available, and then pair it with your go-to coffee just to warm your insides during the cold weather. Not to mention feeling like an actual main character as you contemplate your life while watching raindrops splatter onto and trickle down the clear glass walls. This book gave me that feeling of, once again, pleasurably strolling through the aisles, seeing all the shelves containing many things I can conveniently buy to instantly comfort me. I give it 🌟🌟🌟🌟 #niquereviews This book is filled with so many of my annotations— if you want to see ALL of them, head on over to my Patreon and join Booked & Annotated where I feature all my annotations from a book every month! 🥰 A longer review will also be up on my Patreon, where I dive deeper into the book’s social commentary and how Murata, as always, challenges societal norms while seamlessly weaving these ideas into her satirical narrative.