Ruby Loves Adventure

This book is a pictorial of the first 6 years of Take That, from 1990-1996. Aptly named Take One [from the first time that they were around], it was a nice look back to some older, never-before-seen photos of the band.

I was not really a fan of them the first time around, so it was quite funny to see most of the photos from when they were *ahem* a spandex, leather-wearing boy band, who appealed to some gays, and other teenagers. I particularly never liked the songs they had back then, until Back For Good came out, which was monumental.

Anyway, I loved the commentaries provided by the band - they were not as many as from Take Two, but nevertheless it gave me an idea of what the lads were thinking of and a brief story at the time that the photos had been taken.

It is a must-have for the TT fans - I initially had second thoughts about getting this book, seeing as I already have Take Two, but I couldn't pass the chance! A little background though - the book was sold out at the Book Depository so I asked a friend of mine from Dubai to get a copy of it. Good thing it was still available there ;)

I would have loved to post some of my favourite photos here but sadly, my computer is acting up. Some of them included photos of Jason reading a fan letter, and uh.. some other photos of Jason. Isn't it obvious he's my favourite? :)

Don't expect too much from this book though. It's not a biography of sorts about the band - if you need an insight of what is going on within TT, read Gary Barlow's My Take book [if you could grab a copy of it as well]

Available From: Amazon.
Publisher: Penguin books/Michael Joseph
Book was: bought from Dubai
Rating: Excellent photo book - esp if you're a fan of the band[5/5]

This is my best read of 2011. Hands down. No other book could possibly top this. Yes, it seems I'm very biased considering that I'm such a HUGE effing fan of this band.

And so, this is my long thought-of review of Take That - Take Two. The picture on the side was taken when I saw the book on my bed [after the package was so conveniently opened by a member of the family]. I actually squealed when I saw this book on my bed, and made numerous blog entries about thinking of getting this book, from the Book Depository experience, to an In My Mailbox post, to the time I bought the book, and an On My Wishlist post. I really can't beleive I'm reviewing this book, and I own it. I really can't.

So, what's the book about? It's a photo book filled with photos of the band from the time they had reunited in 2005, and following their success until 2009. Why's it called Take Two? Because it's their second time to come back, I guess.
There are numerous photos in there, and some photos have captions that have been written [or provided, I dunno] by certain members of the band. My favourite quote though: "Ten Years On and Howard still does it. Bastard. - Jason" That cracked me up. Well, if you could see the photo that accompanied the quote or if you're a huge fan of the band then maybe you'll get what I'm saying as well. :)

My favourite photos from the book:

And is it obvious that I am a huge fan of Jason? The other two photos I am featuring here are of him!


Available From: Amazon.
Publisher: Penguin books/Michael Joseph
Book was: bought from the Book Depository
Rating: Best.Book.Ever. [5/5]

Living in Asia and away from England sure has its downsides, and hence, when I first went to England, I went back home to Manila with an additional suitcase filled to the brim with toys, books, and magazines that either a) are not available in Manila, or b) cost an arm and a leg to get or c) out of stock and would probably not be available anytime soon.

Anyway, thanks to the Book Depository, they have now opened up my world to England a bit more! This is a post of my purchase of a very limited edition book that I wanted to add to my collection.

If you know me and maybe if you're a follower of my blog, you probably know that I <3 Take That and that they're like, one of two of my favourite bands. [The other favourite band is Boyzone, but hey, that's an entirely different story].

So, woe is me, a book I wanted came out in England last 2009, and I'm too shy to ask some of my co-workers to get it for me from England and ship it to Manila [not to mention it would cost an arm and a leg to do so]. But thank goodness that Book Depository then decided to ship to the Philippines. And shipping is free!!

So, I got the book "Take That - Take Two" for $29 [approx], last December 14th as an early Christmas gift to myself. I promised myself I would then buy "Take That - Take One" once I receive the packet from Book Depository. 


I am a very, very impatient person. And you could just imagine that I check the website every day to see if my order has been dispatched,  all the while imagining "what it if's sold out? It's a rare book!"  My order was finally dispatched on December 20th, 2010, and finally arrived in Manila last January 21st, 2011.

It took a month for the book to arrive, but granted, there's Christmas and New Year breaks to consider, and of course, like an excited fan girl, I was waiting for the book to arrive in my house for days, and days and days.

I pored through the book last night [review coming up] and literally finished it in one sitting.
I went online today, and found that my worst fear has been realized: Take One is already out of stock. :(

I immediately placed my email address in the notification list, in hopes that if the book DOES get restocked that I would be notified, and I could then purchase the book.

Anyway, I'm more than happy with the book depository service. It brings a whole load of British books available to me, who is living on the other side of the world. The prices are quite reasonable considering that they provide free shipping, but it is definitely more expensive compared to just buying the book to other UK retailers, and if you live in the UK [Amazon.co.uk and Play.co.uk provide free ground shipping to UK addresses].

I love that Book Depository has a wide array of titles as well that you could select from.

Note to self, I need to get the following books:
1. Take That - Take One [HELP me find this book!!! I've already emailed a friend of mine who goes back and forth to Dubai to try and help me locate this one]
2. Shane Lynch - The Chancer [what kind of Boyzone fan am I if i don't get this book?]
3. Stephen Gately - The Tree of Seasons [again, the Boyzone fan in me is screaming to get this]
4. The Saturdays - Our Story
5. Cheryl Cole - Through My Eyes
6. The Wanted - The Wanted.

As you can see, my wallet will eventually be drained by the Book Depository. Ha ha.

Note also to others: If you want something really bad, just get it! This is the nth time this has happened to me: pondering over and over if I should get something or not, and when I finally decide to get it, it's now out of stock. Sadness!

This morning, I was searching through http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/ and saw that my well-wished for book is still available on stock.

After watching their youtube video performance of Never Forget with Robbie at Children in Need, I went out of my mind and pondered if I would really, really, really want to get a copy of this book.

And I did, BUT after I consulted a few websites.

Checked http://www.amazon.co.uk/ and the book is out of stock, checked http://www.asda.co.uk/ and its also out of stock - http://www.play.co.uk/ is also out of stock. Oh.My.Gosh. I definitely, definitely should get this book now!!!


And then I filled myself with thoughts and explanations on why I would get the book:
1. It's sold out in all the UK websites I'm expecting it to- I need this book NOW!
2. It's a collectors item
3. It's a book about one of my favourite bands, enough said!
4. Maybe one day I'll get the band members to sign the book when I stalk them somewhere
5. It's a book.

For those of you who read my blog before or know me personally, it is no secret that I LOVE boybands. One of my top two favourite bands is Take That! [I said top two because they're tied with Boyzone!]

Anyhow, since the DVD is not currently available in my country here in the far east, I downloaded a copy of this before I get a physical copy. [although I've no idea when I'll get my physical copy of this]

Let me just rate it outright: it deserves a 10 out of 5. Yes. It's that good! It's double than what I had expected!

Let me warn you first..... the below contains SPOILERS!

The theatrical quality of their show brought me to tears in the first part, the circus performers, the wonderful costumes of all the performers [and the boys], the elephant during "The Garden" [my favourite part so far], the rain effects during "Back For Good", the fireworks at the end, the band performing their songs whilst playing instruments during "Up All Night", "Wooden Boat", "How Did It Come to This", the guys in unicycles, painting their faces like mimes during "What Is Love", them singing my second favourite song "Said It All" [although a bit disappointed they didn't sing my ultimate fave TT song, "Reach Out". Another favourite part? "Hello!" Cute cute cute song! And also for "Hold Up A Light"


If you're a fan of the band [like me!], you must definitely get a copy of this DVD!! I was soooo gutted I wasn't able to see them live during this performance [and well, EVER], but with this DVD as well as the previous ones [Beautiful World Live and the Ultimate Tour], I'm able to catch a glimpse of how the band treats their shows. Go buy it and then watch it! :)

Okay, I'm sounding like a complete fangirl in here but I am a fangirl! Lol.

Last Monday, I got myself the remaining three books of the Twilight Series: "New Moon", "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn."

I am a recovering shopaholic/hoarder and I find myself buying all three books at once.

I have a million other books that I haven't read yet and here I am, shopping again. Argh.

Anyway..... soooo freaking happy! Boyzone just released their Greatest Hits DVD last Monday & a new alb as well. Then Take That released a new single on the radio.

I have never been soooo happy :) I love those two bands and I'm soo excited whenever I look at those updates and see those.

Later.. =)