Something Borrowed is the first book of Emily Giffin I've ever read. And because I loved it so much, I ended up eventually buying all of her books!

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SOMETHING BORROWED BY EMILY GIFFIN

Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

  

I love Sophie Kinsella. Hence, the moment I found out about her newest creation, I headed to the bookstore and bought it. That was ages ago. I am sad to say that I only got to finish reading it a few days ago and that I didn't like this book that much. True, it's still about Becky Bloomwood and her unending battle with her shopaholic disease, but then that's it. I thought that this time around, it would be more about her little 2 year old daughter, Minnie. Maybe I expected wrong. But what can I say, I really thought there would be less Becky and more Minnie.

One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

Candace Bushnell's One Fifth Avenue is such a fun and witty read! It's the last thing I look forward to reading before I go to bed and my evening rituals have been great since. As soon as 3am would hit the clock, I couldn't wait to get out of my office so I can prepare for bed and read the next adventures of the powerful women of One Fifth Avenue.

On this book, Bushnell tells the intertwining story of five New York women who live in the chicest  New York apartment -- One Fifth. I haven't been in this glorious city but Candace Bushnell, just like with her Sexy and the City novels, has brought me there. I felt like I was one of the girls, or at least wishing I was living that kind of posh, exciting and sophisticated life as well.

Among all the five characters (Mindy Gooch, Enid Merle, Lola Fabrikant, Annnaliss Rice, and Louise Houghton), Annalisa was my favorite. She embodied the kind of class, character, simplicity and wealth that I would like to deserve someday. Yeah, that's my wishful thinking!

Reading about the intricate and interesting stories of these women, with their respective men seemingly starring in their lives but in the end, posed to be mere backdrops in these women's colorful lives, it made me think of my own... Nah, I love my husband too much to be like those women! Haha! It's just interesting though how they got to have it all, without having it all!

Anyway, if you're looking for some summer fun chick lit, One Fifth it is. Kudos to Candace Bushnell for coming up with another bestseller! It would be awesome to see this turned into a film. What do you think? ^_^                   

Paul Chadwick's Concrete: Depths

This interesting graphic novel is one of those books given to me and my hubby as a gift from Gabriel Chee Kee, my cousin-in-law, who's a member of the famous Filipino band, Parokya ni Edgar. Everyone knows that Gab is such a geek when it comes to comic books so I was really surprised when he gave us three books from his collection, one of which is this classic and little-seen stories from the legendary CONCRETE series.  This is Book 1: Depths

Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger

I started reading this when I went on vacation with my husband last November. I wasn't expecting much coz I've been disappointed before with some of Lauren Weisberger's literary works. Surprisingly, reading the first few pages of  Last Night at Chateau Marmont brought back the same level of fun as the time I read The Devil Wears Prada. So I figured, there could be hope with this new book. So I kept reading. Before I knew it, I was so engrossed with the plot that I even imagined myself as Brooke (the lead character whose name is the same as my alter ego's name... yup, my bestfriend calls me Brooke) --- the lucky groupie-who-became-the-wife-of-a-real-rockstar. I laughed, I cried, I sympathized and went crazy as the story progressed. In short, I loved the book!

When success hits you, it hits really hard.

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

Finally, I am done reading The Carrie Diaries. Finally, I was able to meet Carrie  Bradshaw before Sex and the City. For a suburban kid who has lived a normal life, with all the intricacies and delinquencies of teendom, Carrie has indeed come a long, long way. But in spite of having a family with its own delinquencies (whose family doesn't have one anyway?) and being put down several times for following her passion in writing, and going through all those broken friendships and tainted love, Carrie has remained witty, funny, forgiving and generous, pretty much the same Carrie Bradshaw we've known in the hit HBO series and movies Sex and the City 1 & 2.  Candace Bushnell has portrayed young Carrie very well and brought her readers to the inner motivations and aspirations that made Carrie unique out of all the spectacular book characters out there.

My Archie Collection

I remember back in high school, I used to borrow Archie comics from my crush who was also our neighbor in Cagayan de Oro. Since then, I got hooked on Archie comics and on my crush as well. Too bad, my feelings for my crush didn't last long but my love for Archie and his pals lingered. ^_^ So whenever I have spare cash, I'd buy Archie instead of  food. I'm not really a collector, I just love reading Archie stories. So far, here are the Archie comics I have collected. It's not much but they are all so precious to me.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

OMG! This book is ultra fantastic! I mean, I know Sophie Kinsella writes well and most (if not all) of her books are bestsellers! But this one has got to be the most fun and most exciting of all! I bought this book several months ago but it was only last long weekend that I got the chance to read it from start to finish. Every chance I got, I was reading Twenties Girl. From the airport, to the bus, to the boat, while sunbathing by the beach, while enjoying the breeze of a starry, starry night... while I was having breakfast and dinner, while Peter was watching Glee in our hotel room... I was so into it! 

Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella

It only took me less than a day to finish reading Sophie Kinsella's newest novel, "Remember Me?". From the moment I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading Lexie Smart's adventures. How did she lose 3 years worth of memories? One day she's this ugly, sad, chubby & unlucky 25 year old woman, with little money to spare, a pathetic cheating boyfriend, dead end job, a dad who just died, with only her three bestfriends to help keep her sane with their regular friday night outs. 

The next day, she's turned into this 28 year old sexy, non-carb eating, notorious bitch boss from hell with a handsome multimillionaire for a husband, a huge marital loft, designer clothes and accessories, her own personal shopper and assistant and no friends except for a socialite she hasn't even met yet as her bestfriend! She can't even remember attending her dad's funeral where all that mattered as regards her transformation stemmed from.

Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella

Between working 14 hours almost everyday, traveling and shopping on weekends and simply hanging out with hubby and friends, I found it hard to find time to read my books. And when I was about to, I'd always find something else to do, something more pysical like cleaning my stuff, making a couple of designs for the house, exercising while watching TV, etc. So the stack of books I have by my bedside has been there for several months now. And my OC tendencies lately have been driving me to put them all away in my library along with all my other book collection. 

But the thing is, it's the  same OC tendency that hinders me from putting them there. Because the moment I have it by my bed side, I HAVE TO finish reading it first before I can put it away. Sounds complicated? Not really, actually. But I am a complicated woman, so.. last wednesday, I  started reading Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic and Baby. And oh my God! This morning, I finished it! I just couldn't get rid of the book! I even took breaks from working just to keep reading. The story was that fun to read! Becky Bloomwood, the main character, is just so funny in a British kind of way! I keep picturing Renee Zellweger in my head. And for Luke Brandon (the hubby in the story), I keep picturing this semi-bald guy from LOST.  And for Danny Kovitz (the funky designer  and Becky's friend), I keep picturing Christian (the winner of this season's Project Runway). I was just captivated by the whole craziness of Becky's life as a pregnant shopaholic wife! Except for the baby and the squillions (Becky's term) of money they have, I feel like I am her! Hahaha! I found myself crying and laughing at certain parts of the book. And when the bitch Venetia Carter (Becky's celebrity obstetrician) would come into the picture, I found myself hyperventilating with anger too. I was that captivated by the story. The entire plot of non-stop shopping  would seem shallow for some people, but there are several witty turns there that will surprise you.  It came to a point that I did consider having a baby. But MAYBE, just maybe, not in another 3 years. We have to be squillionaires first! Hehehe. 

The Undead Series Books 3, 4 & 5

This is the third, fourth and fifth book of the Undead Series by Mary Janice Davidson. I've already shared with you the first two, Undead and Unemployed & Undead and Unwed, a while back and I keep coming back for more. I collect her works since they're just so surreal and hilarious. Although sometimes, it makes me think that perhaps, there  really are undead people out there living for centuries amongst us. Creepy, huh?

  Undead and Unappreciated

Anyway, in the Undead and Unappreciated, Betsy Taylor has realized that being a vampire queen does not only entail having perks but problems as well. Like Ben Parker said: " With great power comes great responsibility...".  Like, having a half sister who is the daughter of the devil and is destined to rule the world. Goodness! So much for great responsibility huh? Let's see how that works out for her.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

How I wish I could be someone like Samantha Sweeting (maybe in a parallel universe). You see, at twenty-nine, she has a very high-powered career as a top lawyer in London. She has no social life whatsoever; her mom and brother don't even bother to show up on her birthday, thus no home life to speak of; and all she cares about really is to get ahead and become a partner at their firm. 

All this pressure and adrenaline rush finally came to crash down upon her when she made one little mistake that costs the company millions of pounds. Shattered, devastated and in shambles, she boarded a train and found herself lost in a small suburb in London where she was mistaken to be an applicant for a a housekeeper. Imagine?! 

The First Assistant by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare

The First Assistant is one of those books I bought at TRINOMA back in June. It's just now that I finished reading it, thanks to the horrendous traffic earlier at SLEX. The Human Walrus blogged about it and I truly share his sentiments. The novel was a fun read for me. I actually thought of acquiring such a job in Hollywood too (Not here in the Philippines, please! Even if it meant hobnobbing with our local celebs who, in my opinion, are a bunch of snotty pricks in real life...ok, most of them, that is.), in between pages of the main character's whirlwind of a so-called pathetically blessed life. 

Can You Keep A Secret? By Sophie Kinsella

We all have secrets, right? Those deep, dark secrets that we don't dare tell anyone, not even our bestfriend, probably not even our husband or wife! We even try to ignore them sometimes, pretending that we're really not that deranged or crazy for thinking and believing such incredibly awful things!  Like maybe hating a certain person at work, being  sizes bigger than you actually proclaim,  losing your virginity somewhere so inappropriate, etc... So imagine, Emma Corrigan (the novel's main character), during a very turbulent flight,  telling a complete stranger about her personal classified information and soon discovered that this very person turned out to be not only her boss but the owner of the company she's working for?! Pretty soon, all these secrets she divulged are being used against her! Oh my effing God!!! I would've resigned then died if that happened to me!  But Emma handled it way better. There are other amusing subplots as Emma tried to overcome all these things and learned about love along the way. It's so simple yet very catchy. Once you start it, you will not want to put it down. It's such a fun read for me, so perfect for any season. Buy your copy now!

The Undead Series Books 1 & 2

Undead and Unemployed / Undead and Unwed

How would you feel if you were attacked by something so vile that it made you immortal and more gorgeous than ever? The only catch is, it would be so hard for you to keep a 9-5 job since you can only be awake at night?  That's what happened to Betsy whose life (or death?) is about to change forever and for better. Good thing that her friends are always on her side. And on Mary Janice Davidson's second book of this funny vampire series, our protagonist is slowly falling for the most evil of them all, Eric Sinclair, the Vampire King as she herself is now becoming the new Vampire Queen. He's soooo powerful and sooo H-O-T that Brad Pitt/ Tom Cruise/ Tom Welling combined pales in comparison.  But admitting this to herself and her dear friends would be sacrilege in itself. Watch how she conquers her inner  emotional battles on the book's many hilarious twists and turns  while providing fun, adventure and some "kilig" moments for the readers. 

Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

The author of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, Lauren Weisberger, did it again! Set up in New York, Robina “Bette” Robinson is reaching a point in her life where boredom and stress are constantly haunting her. After five years of working for a financial institution, she just had it. Out of the blue, she called it quits! An act that I myself, and most probably a million others would gladly do if only we were brave enough to handle the consequences. Without any sort of backup plan, she gloriously thrusts herself into the realm of the beautiful and unemployed, enjoying each passing day with nothing really special to do except to take her dog, Millington, out for a walk, exchange stories with her best friend Penelope, read Harlequin novels, spend time with her Uncle Will and his partner Simon and explore the city by herself. Although she enjoyed being a bum, she needs to come to her senses soon, primarily because her savings are dwindling, FAST!

The Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella

 

OH-MY-GOD!!! I never knew that Sophie Kinsella’s novels would be such a huge hit! They totally turned my world around in a matter of a few days. And I’ve been happier and more excited about my life ever since. To think that I oftentimes see these colorful books whenever I pass by Powerbooks on my way to meet up with Peter and simply ignore them! I remember dismissing them as shallow books for shallow readers. And now, here I am obsessing about her work. Golly!

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

I transferred my book review to my new blog. Check it out: A JOB A MILLION GIRLS WOULD DIE FOR... (The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger