Location: United States
Member Since:
Oct. 03, 2015
Jash Kol-Ze
Biography
I was born and raised in Florida. In college I pursued my love of writing by getting a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Specialization in Creative Writing. When not working on my e-books, I work on my blog and take care of my three parakeets. I am currently happily engaged and can't wait to marry my fiance.
Smashwords Interview
Where to find Jash Kol-Ze online
Series
The Christmas Penguin
by Jash Kol-Ze
The Christmas Penguin: Leaving Antarctica
Joe the Emperor Penguin, George the Rock Hopper Penguin, and Huffing Puffing the Puffin go around the world trying to spread Christmas cheer.
At least that is Joe's goal...
The Christmas Penguin: Leaving Antarctica
Price:
$1.00 USD.
Books
The Christmas Penguin: Leaving Antarctica
by Jash Kol-Ze
Series: The Christmas Penguin.
Price:
$1.00 USD.
Words: 3,440.
Language:
English.
Published: January 14, 2017
.
Categories:
Fiction » Holiday » Christmas, Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Joe gets furious when he is thrown out of a bar because he's ruining Christmas. He decides to search for two others to help him prove to his flock that he is the true spirit of Christmas.
Jash Kol-Ze's tag cloud
Smashwords book reviews by Jash Kol-Ze
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Instant Eyesight - How to Improve Eyesight Instantly!
on Oct. 04, 2015
I have had poor eyesight ever since sixth grade. I actually tried to hide that I couldn't rid the board, but that was quickly figured out. So finding a book that proclaims to improve eyesight was a big draw for me. There are some instances in which wearing glasses doesn't work for me such as taking a shower or anytime I am sleeping and get up to go to the bathroom during the night. The book focuses on the benefits of improving your eyesight for instances such as I described. Plus there are just some times when something happens and you just can't get to your contacts or glasses. There are some good exercises to be found. Each exercise is categorized into different sections. This is extremely helpful so you aren't looking all around to find the exercise you want to do. Plus before and after each exercise is listed the benefits of each one. So if you're uncertain if you found the correct one, those bits of information should be enough to tell you if you're looking at the correct exercise. When dieting was mentioned I liked that not only was the types of food mentioned, but also the reasons why they would help your eyesight. I read this book on a KIndle Paperwhite which wasn't good for some exercises due to the fact that it doesn't show color. I would keep this in mind if you also have a Paperwhite and want to read this book. I do think that to get the best experience you do need a format that shows colors. I applaud the book on reminding readers to always see a specialist and that this isn't some cure for all eyesight problems. The book, at the end of the day, is just a backup. A safety measure to make sure your eyesight doesn't get worse. But you'll still need to spend money on doctors and glasses (or contacts) to be in good health.
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Jack of All Trades - How to Master All Sorts of Skills in Short Amount of Time and Be a Modern Renaissance Person
on Nov. 01, 2015
This book deals with becoming a polymath, a Renaissance Man in other words. As someone who blogs so much that it's like a career, I have learned that I need to know multiple skills to keep my blog afloat. I can't just focus on recording videos and writing, I also need to know other things. Such as basic coding (line breaks and links mainly) and knowing how to use social media. So I was glad to see a book that dealt with the topic. To see how someone dealt with telling others that learning multiple skills was a good thing. Even if you're not running a blog, being a polymath is a very useful thing. The book starts off explaining that you should use your time wisely as us humans don't have an infinite amount of time. It mentions GenEd courses being a good thing. As one of the few who knew what major she wanted before and during college, they tended to be a waste of time and money for me. If you're wondering, it's usual for students to switch majors at least once or twice. And, yes, you do need to be self-driven to be a polymath. The book brings up a need to explore and better mankind as ample reason. But to also keep up with your field is another good reason as new inventions constantly shift the technological landscape. As well as sometimes certain fields become less necessary with new technological developments and you should have a backup plan in case that happens. As always, there are exercises for you to do to better improve yourself over time. Finally, Jack of All Trades mentions money and that you shouldn't go above your budget for education. I agree with this as college is very hard on your wallet and some degrees don't need that institution. Writing is much more about practice than it is about classes. And about getting knowledge, there are many sources to get the facts. Other degrees, such as one for a surgeon, are a completely different matter. All in all, Jack of All Trades was a very worthwhile read.
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Gardening Express: Know How to Start a Garden Outdoor and Indoor
on May 13, 2016
Gardening has never been my strong point. That doesn't mean, though, that I don't look at gardens and feel a little envious of what others have done. I've just never figured out how to do it on my own before. So when I found Gardening Express I decided that maybe it could help me with my problem. The book has an extremely comforting atmosphere which made me feel like I could do what it said. That no matter how nervous I felt, I could do this. I think that is important in self-help books to make the reader feel encouraged. More than likely a person is picking up the book because they don't think they can do something. One of the useful tips was that you need to plan things out ahead of time. Even giving tips on how to do so including applications (apps) to use. One of the things to help plan was telling the reader what types of gardens did what. So when planning you could go over things like how much space it would take up. I don't have a large yard and I know a lot of people don't either. So planning for space is really important. I didn't really consider having an inside garden before reading the book. When mentions of herb gardens came around I noticed something missing. It wasn't enough to make a future gardener not able to garden, but it was more along my system of beliefs. Yes I do believe in a world not just in the physical and so when certain uses for herbs wasn't mentioned, I just filled in the blanks myself. This book is for gardening, not for making any kind of statement on religion. Though some people do seem to take gardening to spiritual levels it seems. At the end of the book there was a little 'personality quiz' to make sure you will be able to remember the book's instructions once you put it down. No matter what choices you pick, the answers state the benefits of doing whatever you want. I found this extremely useful as it helped me sort of quiz myself. After reading the book, I am a little excited to try my hands at gardening. I have never been good, but with a good basis of what to do I think I can make a decent attempt. If you're afraid that you won't be able to garden, I think this book will give you a boost of enthusiasm for the task.
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Detox Cleanse Express: Know How to Detox and Cleanse Your Body Naturally
on May 18, 2016
I'm one of the many people that, well, doesn't always keep my body in the best condition. I don't tend to drink water and, instead, drink coffee or milk depending on the time of day. I do want to improve myself as I plan to live a long and fulfilling life, so I checked out Detox Cleanse Express. The title made me a little bit weary that the book would do more harm than good, but I decided to at least read it once to see if my suspicions were true or not. It starts off with explaining what the author means by detoxing and how it helps the body. This part helped ease me into accepting the rest of the book as I didn't feel like the book was just using me. The book does a good job with explaining how to detox different parts of your body as well as talking about why each part of the body needs to be kept healthy. The quiz near the beginning makes it so that you don't need to read the whole book and, instead, focus on what kind of detxoing is actually needed for you. If detoxing is needed at all. I do enjoy when self-help books mention to see a doctor. Such as when massages were suggested as it reminded me of a friend who can't have them due to an implant. Let's just say that being freaked out the first time I heard about this is a huge understatement. So while reading the book I made sure that I could do everything the book was telling me to without harming myself. While I am fairly certain I won't incur any injuries in my future detoxing endeavors, I'm still going to have my doctor go over some things. All in all this was a good book and opened me to a way that maybe I can be healthy for once. I'm on the thin side of things, but there are health problems that I have faced. It was actually amusing to have the book tell me to drink more water and exercise as multiple doctors have told me that.
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Con Artistry: How to Spot and Deal with a Con Artist to Avoid the Different Types of Scams
on June 16, 2017
Con Artistry deals with a topic that is important no matter who you are. It is a good book to look at if you're wondering how to spot a con. While the book does talk about cons that you should be aware of, remember that new cons and new variations of cons are popping up all the time. That being said, this book provides enough examples that new cons shouldn't be a problem for you. One thing mentioned in the book is that people have a tendency to want to please which helps some con artists. Sometimes a need to not admit you've been scammed allows the conartist to not get caught. The book helpfully points out that if you don't report the scammer you will allow them to continue. This means even more people could lose a large amount of money. I liked reading about past con artists and how their scams worked. Especially how selling the Eiffel Tower could work. Every story ended with them being caught. Each story about a famous con artist is also followed with lessons you can learn from them. Such as Charles Ponzi reminds you to not get greedy and to remain honest. The one person's lesson I got confused about is Frank Abagnale as that seemed to paint the con artist in too good of a light. It's one thing to admire someone but another thing to want to imitate them. I've used a dating site in the past, a smaller one that doesn't have many commercials on tv, and it's good this book covers cons on that kind of site. Dating websites aren't looked at as they were years ago. Yeah, there was a time when you'd be laughed at for saying you were using a site like e-harmony. So today more people will probably be dating via a dating site. Something that wasn't brought up in this section is you need to always meet a new person in public. Though that's really more about safety than scams. So I can understand why it was left out, but it still feels odd that it isn't there. Where I live there is a couple that pretends to be homeless. The wife and husband going to the same place but on different days. I loathe this type of con as it's extremely harmful for those that are actually homeless and in need of help. All in all this book is a good read to make sure you're aware of cons. Some of these I knew while others I was unsure of how they worked. This is a good starting point as, again, cons evolve to fit the times. This book brings up the fact that it doesn't have enough space to talk about every con. However, it does a great job at preparing you for facing any con and not being fooled. So even if you don't know the exacts of a particular con, you'll stand a good chance at not being fooled by it.
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Critical Thinking Junkie: How to Develop Critical Thinking
on June 18, 2017
Critical Thinking Junkie: How to Develop Critical Thinking helped me with my own critical thinking skills. The book sets it up so that it both talks about the subject and shows you practice exercises. I liked that it gave me examples on what it wanted me to do. One of my favorite exercises it talks about is 'Kid Therapy'. I had to chuckle while reading that part as kids are sometimes impossible to talk with. One of the reasons, of course, is that they are just learning about the world. And the world is a very confusing place. I don't have kids of my own but I have friends that do. It's always a pleasure talking with them and engaging them in this exercise. The whole Batman or Superman debate tends to boil down to which one is cooler. I've made mistakes in my life and wasted opportunities. The trick is to not be ashamed and to see how to improve. The book brings this lesson up for one of its exercises. It talks about how the exercise in the book is just supposed to be a thought experiment. What it isn't meant to do is make you feel even more regret for past actions. Part of me can't help but feel regret when doing this exercise. I've just had a lot of missed opportunities in my life. But I'm slowly getting better at this exercise. A thing mentioned in this book is that logic is subjective. On the surface that sounds insane as there has to be only one right way of thinking about the world. There has to be only one right way to approach things. But, nope, there are many different ways to approach things. I find this useful as I'm no longer trying to think how others do, but in a way that works for me. Embracing this concept has made me feel a little better about how I do things. It has also made things much easier. This book mentions questioning the status quo. I've always asked about why certain things are done the way they are. So this comes a little easy to me. Though I still need practice. For me it's not always about wanting to change things but just understanding where I live. Questioning the status quo does help with critical thinking as it has you thinking in new directions. Seeing the world in a different way is always fun. The book ends with a list of other books on critical thinking. I find this helpful as it doesn't leave readers to search for themselves. Yes, a simple Google search can help but sometimes finding what you want can be tricky. I'm pretty good at using search engines but it's always helpful to have search time cut down. Especially when the goal is to learn about a topic and not how to search for it. All in all, I found this book extremely useful. Critical thinking isn't something that you learn in a day. It's something that is used throughout your life. I'm glad to have bought this book to help me along my own journey.
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Excel Mexican Cooking: Get into the Art of Mexican Cooking
on June 28, 2017
I don't usually like cooking books, but my love of Mexican food made me get Excel Mexican Cooking. I wanted to learn how to make some of my favorite Mexican food and impress my friends. One thing I highly enjoyed in this book is that I learned about dishes I had never heard of before. Those dishes make me a little nervous that I won't cook them as well as I want. I'm a little bit of a perfectionist at times. What makes this cooking book a little different from most is that it gives you a history lesson. Most cooking books just tell you how to make what you're cooking and that's it. Those books don't care about the history behind the dishes, just making sure you can cook them. There's nothing wrong or bad about that, it's just having some change in cooking books is good. Though the problem with the little history lesson is that sometimes I get more interested in that than making the dishes. Besides the history lessons, the book gives suggested times for all of its dishes. If you're like me and are unfamiliar with a dish or two, it's good to know when to serve it. Mainly so that you don't seem too out of place. Especially if you have someone with Mexican heritage coming over. There are only so many eye rolls a person like me can take. I know Mexican food is spicy and so I didn't need to be reminded about that part. I'm glad, though, that those who don't know will be reminded. If you have bad acid reflux, like me, be very wary about making and eating this ethnic food. You might be really happy for a few hours but then the pain will start. Because this stuff is really spicy at times you may need to tone it down at times. On the subject of spicy, the book recommends water to combat the burning sensations. However, I've always found it better to use milk. In any case, you'll need some sort of backup if you find out the food's spiciness is too much for you. Some people like feeling as if their mouths are on fire while others don't. One of my favorite dishes from this book is the Quick Shrimp Taco. It sounded weird to me at first but I like both tacos and shrimp. I owed it to myself to at least try it out. Yep, this is a good dish and I can see why it's included here. I can't decide if I like fish or shrimp tacos more, so I end up making both at some meals. I still have a lot to learn about Mexican food and which dishes I like the most. This book was a good start on my culinary journey. Though I still need practice here and there as some of my friends like to remind me. The book is a good combination of recipes, history, and suggested serving times.
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Liar Detector: How to Tell if Someone is Lying and Make them Tell the Truth
on July 01, 2017
I decided to read Liar Detector as I like to make sure people are being honest with me. I like to make sure those I'm friends with, either as my boyfriend or friend, are good people. It's sad but I can't trust everyone I meet. So picking up a book that talks not only how to spot a liar but how to get them to say the truth was wonderful. I was not disappointed after reading it which was even better. The book talks about why people lie. Being someone on social media, I can very well understand the need for attention. I've sometimes felt that the only people that truly appreciate me are those I meet online, which is a very dangerous thing to think. It makes you do anything to stay in your chosen group which isn't safe. There are also some people that just like the act of lying. The only time I disagree with the reasons people lie, as described in the book, is when job interviews are mentioned. You can't say you've hated working with someone or you don't like working in groups and expect to get a job. I personally wouldn't have included job interviews in this section. The tips on spotting a liar are accurate. Especially the physical signs. I have heard the same things from other books and one video game. It is interesting that people will show different signs of lying depending on if they are left or right handed. The fact that people make little gestures without realizing they're doing them is interesting. Before this book I would have never thought of looking at how fast or slow someone blinks. I know if someone blinks too much it's annoying, but never connected it to lying before. People being too still being a sign of lying makes sense. Liars are afraid that they will be found out. They are afraid that you'll notice and then all their 'fun' is gone. I know when I'm trying to lie I'll get more than a little nervous. I don't do big lies but I do like to get out of situations. Such as lying about why I won't hang out with someone. The book points out that liars will have stories that just don't add up. They make elaborate stories and can't tell the same one twice. It's really easy to spot those people. And then they sometimes provide more details than needed. I am grateful that this book tackled liars online. This is important as social media is on the rise and problems there need to be dealt with. It's a place where liars, and worse, can hide. So it's good to figure out this new venue for people. One of the ways this book says to find liars online is to look at the status updates. Nowadays people give too much away which means spotting a lie is easy at times. Finally the book talks about how you should confront a liar. It isn't enough that you know they're lying, after all. I like that there is focus on gathering evidence as well as how to tell the person you know they're lying. All in all Liar Detector is a good read. It refreshed me about some things while warning me about things I had never thought about before.