Book Review: The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha

Hey there! Have you ever had a day in which you felt really sad or disappointed? And just when you thought that day couldn't get any worse, the universe proves you wrong? We've all had that day. But guess what. Despair could be occasionally there but happiness is always there in its many unique forms. It could be the other side of your pillow at bedtime, or the smell of freshly mowed grass. It could be anything! The only mistake we are doing is that we tend to take these awesome things for granted. But a man named Neil Pasricha was able to gather all these awesome things together for us to recognize and fully appreciate in his undeniably awesome book, The Book of Awesome.

credits to taylormorgan83.blogspot.com

• Title: The Book of Awesome
• Author: Neil Pasricha
• Genre: nonfiction, humor
• Pages: 393 pages
• Published: 15 April 2010

"Based on the award-winning 10-million-plus-hit blog 1000awesomethings.com, The Book of Awesome is a high five for humanity and a big celebration of life's little moments:

• Popping Bubble Wrap
• Wearing underwear just out of the dryer
• Fixing electronics by smacking them
• Getting called up to the dinner buffet first at a wedding
• Watching The Price Is Right when you're home sick
• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
• Waking up and realizing it's Saturday

Sometimes it's easy to forget the things that make us smile. With a 24/7 news cycle reporting that the polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes are swirling in the seas, wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze, it's tempting to feel that the world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us-sometimes we just need someone to point them out.

The Book of Awesome reminds us that the best things in life are free (yes, your grandma was right). With laugh-out-loud observations from award- winning comedy writer Neil Pasricha, The Book of Awesome is filled with smile-inducing moments on every page that make you feel like a kid looking at the world for the first time. Read it and you'll remember all the things there are to feel good about. 

The Book of Awesome reminds us of all the little things that we often overlook but that make us smile. With touching, warm, and funny observations, each entry ends with the big booming feeling you'll get when you read through them: AWESOME!"

Sorry for the month-long book review hiatus by the way! After that overly optimistic intro, let us now go through my reading experience with The Book of Awesome. I thought Pasricha was clever, yet at the same time he was too consistent. Clever because he was able to write about small joys in such a way that you could really, really relate to it. Too consistent because he kept writing in a style that entertains you at first but becomes predictable as you flip another page and ultimately becomes boring. Well not boring boring but happy-but-getting-tired-of-it boring. Pasricha explained all these awesome things one-by-one in this book. He has this writing style that I could compare to a speaker at a seminar. His words are to explain, yet he mixes up fun ways to make his explaining entertaining and enthusiastic. But honestly, I ultimately got tired of the way he always ends a page with the phrase "Awesome!". But I thought this book was a whiff of fresh air from all the emotions other books have given me. This one is just filled with much humor and happiness and positive vibes. 

Update is Done!

Hooooooow's it going, everyone! 

I am very happy and proud to present to you (*drumroll*) ......... Jude Reads! 

New concept, new name, new look, et cetera! After days of tinkering with my blog's design, template, and codes (which I have to admit were less than I expected for me to accomplish), I have finally achieved letting my blog evolve from the unstable Judeaism  to the new and improved Jude Reads! You might have a couple of questions about this new concept so I took the opportunity of answering them for you. 

So what can we expect from the new and improved Jude Reads?

As my current tagline suggests, I aim to make my blog "typically unique". My mindset for this book blog is to be more than just a book blog. Aside from literary stuff, I will also be writing about topics which aren't quite that bookish. You see, I love writing, and I thought writing about more than just books will help me reach out to more people. 

What exactly did you change/What are the new things about your blog?

I actually changed only a few things which are:

• My blog's look, of course! From boring old black and gray, I thought I'd liven things up with cool blue! Aside from color themes, I have also changed the blog's format and template. No more boring old slider (Let's face it, no one actually clicked that boring thing anyway).
• A new name! Honestly, I thought Judeaism was a really good blog name, until I realized that people were having a hard time pronouncing it and that it kind of disrespects the real Judaism religion. I thought it would be a good pun and would really give a theme of being me but boy, was I wrong! Sorry about that. Now with Jude Reads, I once again decided to use my name for authenticity and I thought it would be a pun of the website all bookworms know about: Goodreads. (geddit, Jude Reads, Goodreads, *ba dum tss*)
• Review policy and system.  A book blog isn't complete without these. So to all publishers and authors out there, I am now accepting books to review! Visit my Review Policy & Review System pages for more details. From now on, I am going to use a star-based review system which can be found on my review system page. 

And there you have it! I hope you like what I've done with my blog :) I am still open for suggestions regarding my blog, though. Sorry for the slight book review hiatus by the way. I am currently reading The Book of Awesome and it is really not a quick read. Every page is a different topic (literally!) but I'm 85% done. I could finish it within this week. And also, what has two thumbs and is celebrating his birthday on Thursday? THIS GUY!!! (proceeds to point thumbs to self in a rhythmic fashion). Haha.

Cover Reveal: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

credits to hypable.com

The cover of the final book of the Heroes of Olympus Series was finally revealed last May 14.

I know I am 2 days late but COME ON! This is the final book of the Heroes of Olympus Series! We could see a pretty bad-ass looking trio in this cover. Hazel, Leo, and Frank seem to be featured in this cover fighting some monstrous creatures. How exciting is that! But seeing the trio on this cover made me think that the Roman demigods are the main characters of the series after all. I mean, it's the final book! Why not put all of them on the cover? Right? This cover just disappointed me.

The Blood of Olympus will hit bookstores on October 7. That's approximately 5 months worth the wait! By the way, here's the official synopsis of The Blood of Olympus:

"Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them, and they’re stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake. The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance

Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it might be able to stop a war between the two camps. The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea’s army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over."

What are your thoughts about the cover? I am inviting you to comment your thoughts below! 

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire!

Calling all Pokémon fans! OKAY. WHO IS NOT STOKED ABOUT THIS NEWS?! Finally. After years of waiting, we have remakes of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire! Or in other words, we finally have remakes of the HOENN REGION!!! 

Just look at those extreme-looking Groudon and Kyogre! AWESOME. And this is really a coincidence for me, You see, my friend and I was just talking about remakes of Hoenn yesterday. I told her (yes, her) that I wanted to play Pokémon X and Y so badly but I don't have a Nintendo 3DS XL yet, and I jokingly told her that I'll only buy one when Hoenn remakes come out. I guess that's not a joke anymore. Haha. Touche, Nintendo. 

Judeaism is Currently Updating

Hi! First, thank you for stopping by! I have nothing to review about for this post. Sorry. :> But I do have a few important things to say. It regards the future of this blog (cue dramatic orchestra music). Haha. It's not that important. Well, it is. Sort of. 

Here's the stitch. I haven't been able to blog for a while because I have been thinking. After a long time of weighing things and brainstorming with my colleagues (Me, Myself, and I), I have decided that Judeaism needs to update from being a Beta version to a more defined blog. What I mean is that I am giving Judeaism a genre or category or whatever it's called. After countless arguments with myself (the good kind, not the "Rhodora X" kind), I have decided that it is time to turn Judeaism into a book blog. "But what about babbles that are not book-related?" Don't fret. I am still going to blog about non book-related stuff (like product reviews). The blog will only be more book-themed. With the review policies and everything hihi. But blogging has no boundaries so I will still blog about non book-related stuff when I can. So in light of this decision, I hope you can bear with me as I put Judeaism under construction (but the blog will still be active during this time, although you may experience some gadgets and widgets appearing and disappearing unexpectedly). I hope to achieve this goal in time for my very first blog-versary in June. 

A new name is still being visualized by my marketing department (Jude Gerona, Senior Manager), but is not yet being green-lit. Meaning I am not yet sure if I will push through with it. You'll probably know in June, together with the release of Judeaism's new look. And also to make my very first blog-versary special, I am planning something very special. Hopefully if things will go as planned, I will have a blog-versary GIVEAWAY! Woohoo, my first giveaway! (*wink**wink* Digits Trading*wink**wink*). Haha. 

That's it for now. 'Til next time!