Where Imagination Lives

I had always wondered what it would be like to enter a bookstore and have everything I was thinking of burst into life. What if all the stories really did pop out of the pages? What if Peter Pan really did fly off, away from the words that conceived him? I know I’m not alone in thinking that during most of the times I visit a story-laden spot, whether it be a bookstore, a library, or a personal room of reading at home, I think of all the tales and truths between them. The treasures that everyone, not only bookworms appreciate.

And now, entering a Fully Booked store allows me that very pleasure: of having the books come to life, of having a character beside me, of watching the story unveil through another reality. The Fully Booked Imagine App creates an augmented reality in my smartphone (and yours too!), allowing me to see what it would be like if the dragons and cyclopes I had only read about did exist in our world! 

 Now, the dragons dance as if they were real! 

Here are some instructions so you can imagine, too!

1. Download the Fully Booked Imagine application from the iTunes store (for iPad 2, iPod Touch, and iPhone devices). You may search for “Fully Booked Imagine” or simply “Fully Booked” in the App store.
2. When visiting a Fully Booked branch, open the application, and hold it against the book covers featured in the window displays and in-store posters.
3. See the books come to life!
4. You may even snap a screenshot by holding the power button and the home button at the same time. The screenshot will appear in your camera roll.
5. Share the experience! Tweet us your photos (tag us: @_FullyBooked, #fullybookedimagine) or post them on our Facebook wall. We’d love to see what creative screen caps you can come up with. Why not try posing with the characters that come to life?

What do you think the animation will be for The Son of Neptune? :-) 

The most heartfelt of thanks go out to our friends at Bates Manila and Sindikato Productions, without whom the conception and creative execution of this project would never come to be. It was from their imagination that this was conceived, and because they shared it with me, I do the same with you.

Let’s pay the favor forward. Let your own imagination live, too!

Fully Booked Imagine App also features World War Z, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hunger Games and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Special thanks to Random House, HarperCollins, and Scholastic. :-) 

A Teaser

What do you think of when you step into a book store? Or not even a book store, but a library, or your own reading nook at home? What are the things you think of, images you see, and emotions you feel? 


For the most part, I’m excited by the possibilities of all the stories suddenly surrounding me. What new worlds a few words create by simply being written!


What do you imagine when you step into a book store? 

James Jean in Manila 2012

When I first realized I was going to meet James Jean, I first wondered about what to ask him. What images does he have locked up in his mind to come up with his art? Faceless fairies, engulfing waves, dripping fingers, floating figures, creatures I've never seen before, I thought, how does one even think of this? I expected to meet someone I couldn't understand, just as I couldn't grasp his world. Instead, I met one of the most down-to-earth, hardworking, educated, and street smart artists I've ever come to know. 

Seemingly effortless: James Jean's Sketchbook Pages

A world inside a world: James Jean's Sketchbook Pages 

James Jean explaining his work to the students to DLSU-CSB

I very much enjoyed sitting in his Artist's Talks. He not only shed light upon his work and how he conceptualized them, but also how he moves forward with progressing his art. A few points that struck a chord in me when he explained them:

When asked how he avoids repeating what he had done before, he said that it is best to develop the better part of what you've done already and translate that into something new. Just as with his work now, he translates his signature images into different objects, jewelry and scarves. 

An art show in the U.S. 

James Jean's Art on Wine Bottles 

When asked about the effect art school had on his work, he said “art school is what you put into it, not what it puts into you.” He had not started out as the top of his class nor the best at his craft, but he allowed the experience to develop his skill and his taste in aesthetics, and that, in the end, set him apart in his generation.  

James Jean signs books for the students in line. 

 This photo shows the cover of his latest work, Rebus. 

A fan asks James Jean to sketch him! 

And lastly, what I will take forever with me is what he said about goals and success. He was asked in the open forum for what his ultimate goal was in his career. When did he think he was going to consider himself successful? But he noted that success isn't in having a goal and achieving it (though of course, for some people, it is). For him, he achieved his success in having something he believed in, something to do everyday that he loved and thought was worthwhile, and he let that take him somewhere. “The success comes from the diligence,” he said. 

The Artist's Talk in Ateneo, where James explains his influences from classic art.

A sketch that he drew on the spot for an interviewer.

I can't explain what an exhilarating and inspirational three days it was: meeting students and customers who are his fans, showing his books and art to passersby, following the events, even having lunch with him! What a perfect way to begin 2012. Until now, I can't wait to experience the same kind of excitement for the rest of the year. :)


James Jean's titles, Kindling, XOXO, Fables Covers, Rift, and issues of Fables are available online at fullybookedonline.com  For more about his art and work, visit jamesjean.com.

Two More Days!

What goes through the mind of an artist? What floats in shapes and fills the clouds of thoughts that the rest of us do not see? What colors are combined and images brought out when he closes his eyes? Who are the creatures that burst in life and flavor and which ones are those that hide in the dark? These are things I only wonder. These are things I hope to ask.

In two days, I will meet James Jean, and hopefully find out what, in fact, goes through the mind of an artist?

Care to join me? :-)

James Jean Back in Manila, www.fullybookedonline.com/JamesJean. Rebus, his latest work, is also available at www.fullybookedonline.com.