"You, speak Prada? ": Ode.

You know that thing when you see someone cute and he smiles and your heart kind of goes like warm butter sliding down hot toast? Well that's what it's like when I see a store. Only it's better.

Ode.

The thing about me is I never let a good book down (a good book in my taste, anyway).

My "passion", if you could call it that, for reading started when I was in first grade, I think. After school, my Dad(+ ♥) would pick me up and we would either get into a McD's drive-thru and go home, or he would drop me off my Mom's office and get back to his workplace. On occasions when we do the latter, my Mom and I would often go to Glorietta, my favorite Ayala mall ever.
As far as I can remember, we would just stroll around the malls- quite often at Landmark and Rustan's because she loooves looking at shoes, or we would do the groceries.
After that, we would meet up with my Dad and we'd have dinner at either Le Coeur de France or French Baker (I love their brownies and Chicken ala King.. Hmmmm!) or Wendy's (Mommy's a sucker for the do-it-yourself salad).

We would pass by National Bookstore on the way to our usual parking spot so usually we go inside first and my Mom would browse for her favorite novels and I would pester my Dad into buying me stickers and stationaries. Haha! =))

Anyway, I don't exactly remember how it happened but on one of our usual mall-strolling days, I passed by a row of Sweet Valley books by Francine Pascal. The book covers appealed to me and because I wanted to be like a grown up lady buying a book like Mommy does, I asked them to get one for me.

My first SV book, No boys allowed, allowed me to peek inside the Wakefield twins' life. I was hooked simply because they were my age and so I felt like I could "relate" to them! Haha! I specifically liked Jessica and Lila the most because they were the malandi ones! Haha! The books about them were the ones I liked better because it revolved on boys and crushes... Elizabeth-themed books were more on her style for being a tomboy and her geeky school stuff so I found it a bit blahhh. Haha!
(See bata palang ako, I liked Blair Waldorf-esque personalities na! I hate mga feeling goody-goody eh! Nasa loob naman kasi yung kulo! *coughSERENAcough* Haha! Unlike Blair and Jess: What you see, is what you get diba?)
I also liked Steven, their brother. He's so cute and funny!!! I think he might even be the first fictional guy I had a crush on.

As they say, the rest is history. If you look at my room in the Philippines, just beside the door, you'd find my library- a big white shelf full of books. I started my collection with Sweet Valley Kids, which later on turned to Twins.. then the Unicorn club, then Junior High and lastly, University.

(AAAH!!! Just writing about them makes me miss them even more!!!
Makes me think back on my LisaFrankloving-PollyPocketplaying-SpiceGirls/BSBaddict-TenTwenty/ChineseJackstone days.

Hayy, youth! Where art thou? LOL! )

(I also remember the SV series being shown in the Philippines. They dubbed it in Tagalog, which I thought was weird. Haha! Si Jessica, nagtatagalog? Imagine that! =P)

During my SV phase, I was also venturing out to other reads... I enjoyed Archie comics (LOL Jughead! Go Veronica!!!); Goosebumps; Nancy Drew; The Babysitters Club; Love Story paperbacks (It was a collection of different stories from different authors-- One of my good ol' favorites too!); Simon Romantic Comedies; Mates, Dates and ___ by Cathy Hopkins; Gossip Girl series (I prefer the TV series better though: this might be the only time I preferred something motion-wise over something book-wise.); maybe almost all of Nicholas Sparks' novels (AAH!! FAVEEE!!!); Series of Unfortunate Events, Bob Ong books AND OFCOURSE, THE HARRY POTTER SERIES!!!

When I got more "mature"(LOL, mature na to' for my taste!), I started to read less Chic Lit's! I tried re-reading the stuff we had tackled before in CSA like The Diary of Anne Frank, which we had in 7th grade; The Little Prince which we read in 4th year and Tuesdays with Morrie, which we also read in Senior year. Oh, and I also read Memoirs of a Geisha, The Da Vinci Code- only because my ex-"friend" was begging me to read it so we could discuss it daw and I also tried reading some of my Mom's Danielle Steele/Sydney Sheldon books.

I started getting into the Twilight series because I got so curious on who this Edward guy is. On why everyone is talking about him. Truthfully, I liked the concept of how Edward is and he and Bella's triangle with Jacob but the way the story was presented was just so-so for me.
Comme ci, comme Ã§a, kungbaga.
Now don't get me wrong, I think Meyer IS good (there were plenty of Twi quotes/phrases that totally struck me!), it's just her style of writing that I don't like. It's like reading something Shakespeare-an kasi. Like, why go on writing paragraphs and pages when all you wanted to say was Bella's hurting during her pregnancy? Diba? Haha! Di naman halatang I hated Breaking Dawn nyan?

(And I know it's a FICTIONAL book but do you really believe that a vampire can impregnate someone? Diba they don't have blood? Eh as far as I hate remembering, Anatomy and Physiology taught me that we- or, I mean, guys, need blood to rush through their ehems for them to get a hard on? O, how can they get an erection when they don't have blood? Hmm. O, I'm just sharing... no need for wild comments ah! Haha!)

One of the many perks of moving here is being able to read books without actually spending your moolah on it as public libraries are always around the corner. I started getting into Romance/Chic Lit again after reading the TwiSaga. I guess you really always come back to your first love, huh?
I just finished reading P.S. I Love You a couple of moths ago. I've seen the movie before I read the book which was better in a way because the book is oh-so much betterER (as always!). Haha. =P

And for the finale, I want to present to you my MOST FAVORITE AUTHOR OF ALL TIME...

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SOPHIE KINSELLA.

Creator of some of my most favorite fictional characters like Rebecca Bloomwood-Brandon (The Shopaholic series); Samantha Sweeting (Undomestic Goddess); Emma Corrigan (Can You Keep a Secret) and Lexi Smart (Remember Me? --her newest one!).

I've never heard or seen any book review about The Confessions of a Shopaholic before I bought it when I was in Senior year high school. I remember it as it was the day I bought my Mrs. Timberlake bag from People are People because it was the day before I left the Philippines when I was just visiting my Mom here.
I wasn't really supposed to buy a book the day I bought it too. Again, it was the packaging that caught my attention... the cover was pretty, the title was catchy and it was filled with pink so I said, what the hey, I'll get it anyway.
It turned out to be a nice purchase afterall as I enjoyed it and it helped me get through the gruelling 16-hour flight together with F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episodes and the random movies they were showing on the airplane screen.

I love Sophie because her works are full of personality, wit, spunk and style. I love how I could never get to guess how the story would end which makes me glued to it even more. I most especially love the Brit-brit (that's British, not Britney, FYI!) humor she never fails to bring to all her books.

The thing I mostly admire about her is that she gives each one of her characters with dynamic and unique qualities:
Becky, my #1 fave of all, may be an airhead and a ditz but you'll love her for that.
Sam, on the other hand, is the more gutsy, tougher one.
Emma is a chatterbox but she's surely full of optimism.
Lastly, Lexi, the newest addition to the group, is the most-selfless, most charming one. She's only an inch closer to getting tied with Becky as my favorite!
What I like the most about these girls is that as kikay and as babaw as they may be, once they put their mind to something, they save everyone and everything falls perfectly into place-- and they manage to get the hottest guys while they're at it! Haha! =P

I hope Kinsella makes more books! I mean she's still so young (and so pretty!), so I hope she doesn't stop! Please, Sophie!! Please make many-- as many as the weird Stephen King novels so it will last me for a lifetime!!! I will never get tired of your trademark antics, I promise!!! So pleaseee!!! =))

They'll also be releasing the movie adaptation of The Confessions of a Shopaholic on the early part of 2009 but after re-re-re-re-re-re-watching the trailer, I don't think I'll like it very much.

Why?
First of all, the setting. As much as I love you, NY, Becky is still supposed to be in London!!! She's supposed to be a full-fledged English woman which only comes to Manhattan to visit!!!! She's supposed to have a bloody English accent!!!

She's also supposed to be brunette, right? Suze is the blond one!

Now for Isla. She looks good alright, but she isn't the quirky, fun, shopaholic Becky I imagined!! Hmm, so I hope she really steps up.

And the clothes. Okay, the clothes are cute too, but I imagined more designer, more higher branded brands. Haha. Hay.

And don't even get me started on the actor playing Luke!! Hay talaga! Flooop!! Haha! =P
Oh well.

But there were some things I really liked too like the one where she was pretending she knew Finnish. Haha!! LOLOLOLOL!! That was one of my fave scenes in the book too! And the one where she tries to get her credit card in the freezer... and the one where she was strutting on the streets and she goes through her wardrobe pieces in her mind. Eyelove.

Um, overall, I still can't wait for it! If it fails, I'll be really sad- mostly for Kinsella. Hmm. Kawawa kasi si Sophie, hindi nila majujustify yung ganda nung book niya. =(