But of all the books I’ve read, this so far is the first that I have gone from Page One to eleven (now) then i stopped.  It is in my humble opinion, at this point at just a page above 10, is a satire (for I am having difficulty finding the right word) of Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie-Jennifer Aniston triangle.

In all fairness, the cover is very artistic, the words are very much SEP… BUT the distraction that is coming into my mind while reading this, and I can’t help it, keeps matching whatever words, description, and a lot more to the actual lives (or what the press has been showing us) of BranJenLina… And the brain exercise is proving to be tiring. To consciously remove the unconscious matching that my brain has been doing, instead of pleasure or entertainment, reading this has become a chore.

With much love for SEP books, I hope to finish “What I Did For Love” in this lifetime without so much prejudice to the characters of “What I Did for Love” — Lance, Georgie, Jade, Bram, and Trevor (so far they were the ones mentioned till Page 11).  SEP has a proven talent in creating lovable and unforgettable characters. With this book, I’m quite sure she is able to deliver in her own way.

Grace “Ace” Kincaid is a tennis superstar in every sense of the word.  The looks, fame, money.  Suddenly the flash of whatever superstardom can offer has faded. The Ace has thrown the towel and has chosen to be a normal teen.  She has chosen to end a multimillion dollar career because she is lost and doesn’t know the girl looking back from the mirror.

With the support of her mom and aunt, Grace went to Alaska, where she will live a life different from “Ace”, now as Emily.  In a place with only more than 800 in population, Emily tries to fit in. There, she is just the normal teen she wanted to be.  The simple life that this place has offer had opened Grace (or Emily) to her heart’s desires and eventually found her old self.  Part of it is finding Teague who accepted her as Emily.  Now what happens when he discovers that Emily is not really Emily but Grace Kincaid, the lost superstar?

As Grace has come into terms of finding her old self and realizing what is important to her, she decided to go back into tennis at her own terms.  She is playing with  renewed heart, for the love of the game, and only  for the stardom that comes with the package. Realizing that with the given opportunity, she can do more in her capacity to inspire and financially help a lot of people, she went back to being Grace “Ace” Kincaid.

In this time when young achievers had more opportunities to shine from their hobbies and interests from sports to other talents such as singing, acting, dancing, and a lot more, this book give a glimpse of what happens in the mind of such achiever. Some international young stars as we see in the spotlight eventually get drowned in  their fame that their rebellious or sometimes uncharacteristic acts are published in news with the same instant hit. 

The birth of young adults fiction from Harry Potter to Twilight show that the influence of adolescent life to any stage of life has a great impact to what can happen in the future.  Particularly for the book, Amazing Grace, this is another young adult book that delivers the kind of lessons that need to be learned early on.  Simply, we’ve heard so many time, “much is given, much is expected…”

Author: Megan Shull 

Publisher: Hyperion 

Fiction, Young Adult

ISBN 0-7868-5690-2 (tr.)

ISBN 0-7868-5691-2 (pbk.)

This is a fascinating book that outlines 48 Laws of Power. A “How To List” of getting, using, and sustaining power in your hands written in the modern way. It has excerpts from the great thinkers of the past and chunks of historical events linked to modern day politics. 

As part of sharing my insights here in Page One about the books I’ve been reading, my opinion is that this bestseller from Robert Greene should be used as a historical reference. In the inside cover it says,

  ”… is the definitive guide to modern manipulation. It could be one the most entertaining and most useful books you will ever buy. “

Yes, I was entertained. It is amazing to see how time has changed yet the thirst for power is just the same from then and now. The idea of ‘scheming’ and ‘manipulating’ others to get ahead has not changed. Only the way it was written and said from Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, Leonardo da Vinci, emperors, statesmen, politicians, to the most basic units of external society such as schools and offices.

It was not once that I have caught myself shaking my head while thinking of the scenario we see today. Politicians bickering yesterday had kissed and made up just earlier in the day; geeks in kinder schools versus bullies; even Daniella crushing Betty in Betty la Fea (a Colombian telenovela).

For people who do not intend to deliberately be bitchy and master the art of getting power by any means, this books can be an eye opener on how to prevent ouselves from being manipulated.  Having the wisdom to know and prevent from being used by such despicable, selfish species of human kind is power in itself.

 The Chicago Stars is a professional US football team where the heroes of this series are part of either as players or in its management. In this series the heroes, being professional football players, are well paid, popular, and have a picture of physical strength and endurance.  The heroines despite their frail physique have strong characters to match the hard headed jocks.

The common characteristic that I found among the jocks is that they are very strong and stubborn with dark or suppressed pasts that when love hits them, they were either too afraid or proud to admit it.  Despite having all the luxuries in life brought by financially rewarding careers where women come in swarms, the Chicago Stars jocks found love in the most unexpected places, time, and type of woman.

The first book in this series that I read was Natural Born Charmer where from Page One it had me laughing, literally. Before this, I was not aware of Susan Elizabeth Phillips (SEP) as I was not very much into romance novels. Now I have become a “believer” of SEP… An SEP convert if I may say.  Her novel’s plot are so uncomplicated and realistic that anybody can easily relate to.

More than anything, reading her work had brought me to laughter, tears, and myriad of emotions as the characters come alive in every page. The experience was what I wanted in the first place, to be entertained. With every book a reader will definitely feel in love and love the men and women of Chicago Stars series.

For booklovers like me, Fully Booked is not just a bookstore, it is a home away from home. The cozy ambiance and the wide selection of books from Humanities, Children, Design, Lifestyle, and Professional is housed in it’s falgship branch in Bonifacio High Street. The fusion of arts, taste, music, books, and technology allows a person to enter into a different world.  This is like Neverland to Peter Pan and Wonderland to Alice. The place is like a dream yet it’s very real.  Sometimes I still feel like this place is too good to be true. In the end, am still happy to know that it is indeed true.

The place offers not just books, they also have impressive collections of music and videos at the 4th level.

A treasure of comics and graphic novels can be found at the ground level. I tell you, every “boy” I know drools at the sight of the treasures in this part of the building. Nowhere have I seen such a sight in this country that offers such variety of available superheros and villains in colored glossy paper.  

For launches, get togethers, exhibits, book clubs and private functions, these can be held in their facilities such as U-view, The Deck, Forum, Top Shelf, and what else, the ever popular Starbucks (right inside Fully Booked).

If I haven’t said enough, it’s for you to bibliophiles and audiophiles to find out and experience for yourself the haven that is Fully Booked. They currently have eight stores nationwide Rockwell (Makati), Promenade- Greenhills (San Juan), Gateway Mall (QC), SM Mall of Asia (Pasay), SM North- The Block (QC), Bonifacio High Street (Taguig), Shangri-la and Ayala Center (Cebu). Two more that are soon to open in Greenbelt 5 (Makati) and Trinoma (QC)