Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony

This is a story told entirely through pictures.

I picked this book up just out of interest and once I got home from the library, I started reading it and finished it within the hour. This was the first time I've ever read a book that was told through pictures, so it was hard to get into at first. Once I got used to it and found a groove, it was really fun to read. I'm surprised about the emotions I felt while reading the book. I felt like I was actually Glory sitting down and looking through an old box of trinkets and flipping through a photo album. The story was easy to understand-something that surprised me since I was expecting it to be difficult-and it was easy to feel Glory's emotions. It was fun to read the newspaper articles and see the paintings. I enjoyed seeing their IM messages and playlists. The ending of the story is basically up for you to decide. That was something I knew from the beginning, and I knew I was going to dislike that part. I'm the type of person that wants to be told what happened. Don't leave it up to me. Tell me what happened. But, surprisingly, I liked the ending. I saw how it ended and even though I wasn't told directly what the ending was, I felt like I was directed in how the ending was.

Overall, this was really fun and easy to read. I loved the pictures and the fact that the people in the book were all good looking. One "negative" thing to say about the book though, is that it's twenty bucks. I personally would recommend checking the book out at the library if you can before spending twenty bucks and basically getting a book of pictures.

Zeus by Kamery Solomon

My sister had read this book a while ago and had been suggesting it to me for a while, so when I saw that it was free on the nook, I went ahead and got it.

I am so glad I got it.

This book was pleasantly surprising and was super fun to read. It didn't wow me when I was first reading it, but by the time I hit a certain point I decided that I loved this book. The book first starts out with Karly moving to Las Vegas which I think is super cool because Las Vegas is my hometown. It was great to read a book that took place in Vegas and I liked the fact that Kamery was able to allow the book to take place in Vegas, but not be about Vegas. Karly was a relateable character for me because she was going to college at UNLV and I'm at that point in my life, so it was nice to be able to be like, 'Hey yeah, I totally know what she means about saving her AC and her car power to save money'. Karly was going though everything that I'm going through in my life right now and I've never had that happen to me while reading a book.

Zeus was an interesting guy. To be honest, I didn't like him in the beginning. I thought it was super weird that after the club he just showed up at Karly's house. And then the thing with the flowers... it made me really uncomfortable about Zeus. But, surprisingly, Zeus turned things around and I ended up loving him. It was cool to see how him and Karly interacted with each other and how Zeus reacted when they talked about Greek things and the weather. I also really like Kamery's take on Zeus. The Zeus I always see in my head is the one from Disney's Hercules, but this Zeus was completely different. And when he came in to save the day with his lighting bolts... hot.

Another thing I liked about the book was that Kamery included Greeks gods that aren't commonly known. We always hear about the major gods like Hera, Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon, but Kamery also featured Nike and Morpheus. The action scenes were great and intense and I really enjoyed them. The book didn't lag for me in anyway and I felt like all the chapters and scenes fit with the book and weren't there just to fill spaces. This was a great book that I'd definitely recommend. I was absorbed in it the whole time and finished it the same day I downloaded it. I've already downloaded the next book in the series and have already started reading. If you get the chance to download this book-do it. You won't be disappointed.

15 Book Confessions

1. I always hated reading until seventh grade when Twilight was being passed around.

2. I have too many books for my bookshelf that the shelves droop down. I also have books scattered around my room.

3. I always finish a book. Even if it is terrible and I absolutely hate it-I will finish it.

4. My bookshelf kind of has an order to it. The top shelf is my favorite books, the second and third shelves are just whatever books fit, but I put my least favorites on the bottom.

5. I treat my books like they are babies. They’re handled with the upmost care.

6. When I’m reading a hardcover I have to take the jacket off. Have to.

7. If I’m not falling for the main guy or hero in the books, I fall for the villain or the hero’s friend.

8. I’ve never been to a book signing, but I have about four or five signed books.

9. I’ve never won an ARC :(

10. I’ve won (so far) four books from entering giveaways.

11. I love to recommend books to people. I always have a list in my head ready to go.

12. I don’t lend my books out to people because I hate to be parted from them and I don’t trust the people to treat them as well as I would.

13. Every year I make a list of books that are coming out that I want to buy.

14. Meg Cabot, Rick Riordan, Ally Carter, and Lacey Weatherford are my favorite authors.

15. Somehow I always end up reading the books AFTER the seeing the movie.

College Textbooks 4.0

Since I am a college student and am required to read textbooks, I figured why not rate and review them? These reviews are taken from my past reviews as the semesters went by, so unfortunately some of them are a sentence long and aren't helpful at all. It's been too long since I'd read them to write a useful and decent review, but here are my textbooks read in Spring 2014:

1.  The Restaurant: From Concept to Operation by John R. Walker

This book was amazing. I'm not a Food and Beverage major, but it was required for my degree (Hotel Management). I was never bored once and I found the chapters were easy to read and understand. It was very organized and I think it's one of the few textbooks that can be considered good and worth reading. (5 Stars)

 

2. Servsafe Manager by National Restaurant Association

 

I had to read this for my Food Sanitation class. The textbook was really quick to read and was easy to understand and helpful. There's pictures to help apply to the words, and it wasn't entirely boring to read. If you have to read this book I recommend buying it and not renting it because there is a lot of writing and exercises ServSafe wants you to do. (5 Stars)   3. Beginning Guitar Book with CD by Eugene Shapiro I really liked this book. It's great for beginning guitarists and I was lucky enough to take the class with the author of the book. If you are picking up a guitar just to learn a few things, I would definitely recommend getting this book. It not only gives you chords and notes, but it tells you how to play those chords and notes. I can't tell you how many books I've looked at that just give you a picture of a chord and expect you to know what to do. This book gives you background information to teach you what you should know so you can understand how and why they work. The CD that comes along with it was great to listen to and play along with. Definitely get this book if you get the chance. (5 Stars)     4. Red Rock Reader by Todd Moffett   As far as English books go, this one was pretty great. Most of the essay's were fun to read, but a few of them made me bored out of my mind. The essay explanations are pretty easy to understand and made good outlines for my essays. (4 Stars)

College Textbooks 3.0

Since I am a college student and am required to read textbooks, I figured why not rate and review them? These reviews are taken from my past reviews as the semesters went by, so unfortunately some of them are a sentence long and aren't helpful at all. It's been too long since I'd read them to write a useful and decent review, but here are my textbooks read in Fall 2013:

1. Marine Biology by Peter Castro

	Really good book. I was never bored and learned a lot. (4 Stars)

 2. Industry Computer Applications for Hospitality and Tourism

 

No textbook.

 

3. Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism by Philip Kotler

 

Enjoyable enough. It was a bit boring at times, but there's a lot of information that's helpful. (4 Stars)

College Textbooks 2.0

Since I am a college student and am required to read textbooks, I figured why not rate and review them? These reviews are taken from my past reviews as the semesters went by, so unfortunately some of them are a sentence long and aren't helpful at all. It's been too long since I'd read them to write a useful and decent review, but here are my textbooks read in Spring 2013:

1. Western Civilization Volume 1: To 1700 by Gavin Lewis

 

Too much information that I felt could be left out. Was a drag to read. (1 Star)

 

2. Hospitality Law: Managing Legal Issues in the Hospitality Industry by Stephen C. Barth

 

	I loved this book. It was enjoyable to read and I wasn't bored while reading it. It wasn't a burden to have to read like some other texts. (5 Stars) 3. Introduction to Management in the Hospitality Industry by Clayton Barrows   Not very interesting. (1 Star)

College Texbooks 1.0

Since I am a college student and am required to read textbooks, I figured why not rate and review them? These reviews are taken from my past reviews as the semesters went by, so unfortunately some of them are a sentence long and aren't helpful at all. It's been too long since I'd read them to write a useful and decent review, but here are my textbooks read in Fall 2012:

1. Professional Management of Housekeeping Operations by Thomas J.A. Jones

Very enjoyable book. I learnt a lot and had a good experience with it and the class. (4 Stars)

2. Tourism: Business of Travel & Goodes World Atlas by Pearson

I loved this book. It held my attention and it was filled with helpful information and maps. (5 Stars)

3. Astronomy Today by Eric Chaisson

I absolutely HATED this book. It was so confusing and hard to read and didn't hold my attention at all. If you're a science major, I'm sure you would love this book, but if you're someone like me who is only taking the class to fulfill a science credit, it will most likely be mind draining. (1 Star)