Dear World,

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3) by Suzanne Collins

(via Amazon.com)

I thoroughly enjoyed all three of The Hunger Games trilogy.  My favorite was the first, then the second, then the third.  The whole story goes through all of them.  I wasn’t expecting how it ended.  If you’ve read the first two you have to read the third!

My rating: 4/5

Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins.

(via Amazon.com)

A great follow-up for an awesome book!

My rating 3/5.

How To Win Friends & Influence People, How To Stop Worrying & Start Living: Combined by Dale Carnegie

(via Amazon.com)

I also read this book for my Dale Carnegie course.  Everything you learn in the course is in this book.  If you read it and apply it, it WILL change your life.  Even in subtle ways.  It talks about human relations, leadership, and winning people to your way of thinking.  However, it is always about the win-win, not a win-lose situation.  It stresses getting to know others and appreciating them genuinely.  It made me a happier and more open person.  Everyone can get value from this book, whether you are an introvert, an extrovert, or anything in between.

My rating: 5/5

Fine Art Wedding Photography: How to Capture Images with Style for the Modern Bride by Jose Villa & Jeff Kent

(via Amazon.com)

I love Jose Villa’s work. I just started my own photography business. I kind of had to read this book. I don’t plan on shooting weddings, but the way he shoots can be applied to anything. I thought the book was really good…simple to understand but really great hints. The pictures are gorgeous! I give it 4/5 stars.

The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie

(via Amazon.com)

For my Dale Carnegie course I have been reading this book since February and just finished it last week. At first it scared me so much! I started the first chapter the first week of the class and started crying. I couldn’t finish the reading because I knew that I would have to try to include the teachings in public speaking! Ugh! I hated public speaking! However, after reading the rest of the book, I have to say that it is amazing! The ideas are so easy to implement. You can even do them during your daily conversations, and you should. I give it 5/5 stars and think that everyone should buy, read, and use for reference forever.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

(via Amazon.com)

The Hunger Games was the second book I finished this year. It is set in the future in a postapocalyptic world. I have always enjoyed books set in this type of a setting, even as a child. FYI: I loved The Giver! This book was great! It was exciting, loving, and extremely well-written. I could not put it down and spent many evenings reading until I fell asleep. I’m currently working on the second in the trilogy and can’t wait to see where it’s going. I give it 5/5 stars and fully recommend it.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel by Aimee Bender

(via Amazon.com)

This was the first book I completed this year.  I saw it on a book club Tumblr and it seemed interesting, so I gave it a try.  I thought the book was ok.  It had some good ideas but some things were a bit too confusing and not well described, in particular the brother’s character.  I did like the mixture of past and present time, which definitely kept the story moving.  However, it was a little sad that it focused so much on negative emotions.  I, also, didn’t feel like the story was ever resolved.  I would have loved to see it go into more of the “gifts.”  I give it 3/5 stars.

Happy New Year!

I didn’t want to do a year review, but 2010 was a fun year. It wasn’t as groundbreaking for me as 2009 was, but I made two huge discoveries and had a great time along the way. I fully decided that I didn’t want to go back to school at this point in my life. I took a course last semester and while I loved thinking about science again, I did not like being in school again. I also finally realized my true friends and I am working on cutting out the rest, or as much as I can. I also took some really fun trips with my sweets. Oh and I fell even more in love with him.

I have a really good feeling about this year. 2011 is a prime number and I love those! I’ve made a few goals for next year mostly relating to my career life and personal growth. I’m extremely happy in my relationship and I can’t think of anything I’d want to change about it. I want to have a happy remedy for when days are not going well to cheer myself up.

The Goals for 2011

1. Complete Dale Carnegie Training completed 5/2/2011
2. Find a career in the sciences
3. Start a photography business completed 4/1/2011 (official launch) and 5/15/2011 (first gig)
4. Go to Disney World completed 2/15/2011
5. Read 12 books
6. Make daily exercise a habit
7. Travel to a new place completed 11/05 - 11/09/2011
8. Cry less completed by 2012
9. Cook a real dinner once a week completed by 2012
10. Make new friends
11. Get 7 hours of sleep every night completed by 2012

New year, new list!