Mama's Blog

Hello all!

I have someone who is looking for the Dragon Drive series.  If you know anyone willing to part with it, give me a holler and I can get you two in touch!

Yay! I finally got the gift items and gashapon uploaded to the Bookshelf!  There isn't a large selection, but it will be growing! So please browse through our new product category!

This is a short little blurb, I know, but I'll be sure to give more updates in the next week!  HOWEVER, if anyone has a Christmas wishlist they want help with, let me know! ^_~

I knew this would be an easy first pick, no one sent in a wrong answer!  Yes, the Prize Event song clip was indeed from InuYasha: Every Heart, the fourth ending song and performed by BoA.  That is one TALENTED singer! I mean, can YOU sing well in three different languages? Anyway, congratulations to Penny for being the lucky winner randomly pulled out of a hat (a Kyo-from-Fruits-Basket-shaped beanie actually). She wins a $10 e-certificate to MamaManga.

Penny, if your looking for stocking stuffers and can't make it into the store, I promise to have the gift items in the online Bookshelf by December 3rd...

Other news - if you are a newsletter subscriber, be on the lookout for the December 2nd "Tree Lighting Sale."  As I mentioned in my last post, every hour will be a new sale in-store.  There will be a special online sale also, although admittedly not as exciting.

I've been lax about manga-related news, I do apologize for that.  It was easier for me to snag other people's hard-fought scoops, and I was starting to feel bad.  But not so bad that I may just start up again. >.< Research is tough, especially when you have an active elementary-aged child, so please give props to journalists everywhere who get down and dirty to do the research that creates news stories that are interesting (and not those Murdoch tabloid writers, THAT is not journalism).

Alright, November is coming to a close, so I'll see all of you in December!

Yes, I know, I'm terrible with updates.  I have no excuse - although I could use the one about being a one-tigerwoman army and having family obligations and such.  But I won't!

So let's see...first off, the "Name The Series" prize event is up and running and you have until November 27 to email your guess!  The prize is a $10 gift certificate to the shop - and I promise to have the virtual bookshelf updated.  There are a lot of new books to choose from, including Blue Exorcist and Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Adventures. I will also be putting gift items on the website for the holiday gift giving (there's quite a bit of stocking stuffers!).   On December 2, MamaManga will be holding an in-store sales event where there will be a different sale every hour, from $1 books to BOGO sales.  If you are not on my mailing list for a newsletter, please send me an email with "add me" in the body.

The shop will be closed on Thursday, November 24, for Thanksgiving.  While the online store will be available for ordering, any correspondance will be on hold from the 24th to SaturdayNovember 26, and orders will not ship until Monday.

Also, MamaManga will be expanding in the next three months to include regular novels in the sci-fi and fantasy genre.  As the shop grows, I hope to hear from my customers what they want to see more of!

Alright then, I think that is about it for now.

Natsume’s Book of Friends
Creator: Yuki Midorikawa
Rating: Teen
$9.99

Takashi Natsume has a gift of seeing yokai, demons and spirits that normal people do not see.  Because of this gift, inherited from his grandmother, he has never felt like he fit in.  But now in high school and living with kind relatives in a town where his grandmother grew up, Takashi discovers that his grandmother left behind something more troublesome than his gift.

This is a story about loneliness, a desire to fit in, and a need to feel loved.  Takashi has never been with one family long enough to create bonds.  He “sees ghosts” and this marks him as different from others – not “normal.”  As a child, he suffers the pain of being feared and ridiculed and so grows up learning how to keep things to himself as he tries to appear just like everybody else.

But this story is not about wringing a few tears out of the reader.  Takashi is now in high school and has found a family and friends that like being around him.  He hides his secret from them, fearing that this sense of belonging will change in an instant.  But he discovers that friendship does not just come from the world of the living.  Throughout the series, Takashi discovers even yokai need friends.  His interactions and adventures with new-found companions puts him in exciting and even hilarious situations that make it hard not to cheer this young misfit on.

The storylines are simple to follow as they are fairly episodic, so each adventure comes with a beginning and an end.  However, the focus of the story – Takashi’s developing friendships – unfold throughout the series.  He learns, and teaches, that to make friends one must start with a name…

For the month of August, Natsume’s Book of Friends will be Mama’s Book of the Month.  Please enjoy this title and receive a 25% discount until August 31.

Get involved with reading!