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? ^_^                   

Thor, Avengers, Archie Marries Graphic Novels

Ever since I watched Thor last weekend, twice --- one in  3D and one on regular cinema, I've really been gaga about him. Perhaps it's because Chris  Hemsworth was really perfect for the role, with his God-like,  uber gorgeous body and those blue eyes to die for. Natalie Portman was an awesome Jane foster too! I didn't at all see her Black Swan character in there (unlike Jennifer Aniston for instance who pretty much acts like Rachel Green of Friends in almost every role she portrays). Even Kat Dennings was awesome. A few hours before I watched Thor in 3D, I watched Charlie Bartlett at home where  Kat Dennings also starred and it's amazing how she transformed into this cute political science sidekick of Jane Foster in the movie as opposed to usually being slutty or flirty in some movies she starred in. 

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.

You Can Draw by Sheila Coulson

I've been an avid customer of Reader's Digest this year. Whenever they'd send me a new catalogue of books I can choose from, I make sure that I browse it to see if anything would interest me. If before I bought books about classic stories, nature, culture and various human civilizations, my last purchase was a practical book on HOW TO DRAW. 

Being a person of many talents (yes, I used to be semi-talented when it comes to drawing and painting when I was around  9-12 years old that my school would send me to drawing competitions), I take pride in being able to learn on my own. Because I no longer have the time to go to a real school for things that I want to learn, I just try to make the most of my situation and buy books that will teach me how to do things instead.

New Graphic Novels - Batman, Superman and Justice Society of America

My husband and I added three more graphic novels to our little collection of DC and Marvel comics at home. I still have yet to read them but my husband, being a geek and all,  has finished reading each one on the day we bought them. Woah!

Every now and then, when I have some time to kill and I need a break from the other books I usually read, I'd pick up one of Peter's graphic novels and just browse at the illustrations. The only ones I've blogged about here were KINGDOM COME and BATMAN YEAR ONE. I hope to go back to the other DC and Marvel graphic novels I've read before so I can write a post about them here.

Well, for now, here are the new ones we have and hopefully I get to read them soon. Do share if you've already read them. How were they? 

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

If there is one book in the Harry Potter series that I would read over and over, it would be this 7th amazing J.K. Rowling masterpiece --- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now I know why all those years of following the young wizard's adventures, I've always had this inkling of love toward Snape... I always had a hunch of what would become  of Hermione and Ron... and why I couldn't believe Dumbledore to be dead. 

The Harry Potter series has just been an amazing, extraordinary, magical ride of unthought of witchcraft and wizardry and ending it with the Deathly Hallows has just been the most perfect way to culminate the ultimate magical tale of this generation.