Review: 30-Minute Meals 2 by Rachael Ray

Title: 30-Minute Meals 2
Author: Rachael Ray
Format: Paperback, 192 pages
Pub. Date: May 22nd 2003
Source: Little Library


Book Description:

Rachael pulls out all the stops in this best-selling collection of recipes. You'll find menus complete with mains, sides, and desserts, tailored for any occasion. Sections include: Make Your Own Take-Out, Monday Thru Friday Dinner Specials, Family-Style Suppers, Double-Duty Dinners, Passport Meals, Big Nights: Very Special Dinners, and Healthy Hunger Busters. Eating Healthy? Try a meat-free meal featuring Ravioli Vegetable Lasagna, Romaine Hearts with Lemon Chive Vinaigrette, and Fresh Oranges with Lime Sorbet. Have hard-to-please kids? We promise you they'll eat Meatball and Macaroni Soup, Grilled 4-Cheese Sandwiches and Chocolate-Dipped Bananas. Over 1.5 million sold!

Review:

★★


I don't know what I expected from this cookbook, but what I got certainly wasn't it. I understand that the whole point of this "cookbook" is that it's stuff you can do in less than 30 minutes. But some of the "recipes" are literally just store bought products. How do you make an Italian cookie plate for a party? Well you buy 2 pounds of Italian cookies and put them on a plate. You know what's a good drink you can make? Store bought root beer and store bought ice cream for a root beer float. Or, store bought lemon curd on top of a store bought pound cake. I don't need a book to tell me to go buy a cake. I know that. I have been to stores, I know they sell cake?

The book is divided into sections: . It's a perfectly fine way of organizing recipes, and makes things easier to navigate.

There's a lot of recipes but virtually no pictures. I like having pictures. Although, I've bought cookies before so I guess I mostly know what to expect.

This book wasn't totally useless to me, and there were a few things in here that sounded like they could be good.

This is maybe a good jumping off point for people who are super busy or who are suuuuper new to cooking. But if you've been around the kitchen a time or two, I don't know that you'll find much use for this book.

Death: At Death's Door by Jill Thompson

Title: Death: At Death's Door(Death of the Endless #3)
Author: Jill Thompson
Format: Paperback, 208 pages
Pub. Date: July 1st 2003
Source: Borrowed from Emily

★★★

Three stars.

Death is a sibling of the Endless, a family that is older than the gods themselves. When her brother stirs up trouble, Lucifer closes the gates to hell, and lets everyone go. Because Death is a familiar, the souls flock to her for guidance. Together with her two sisters, Delirium and Despair, she must stop the insanity and save the Underworld.

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Meh. That's pretty much my unprofessional opinion on this book.

-I understand that this is simply a personal preference, but I am not a fan of using grayscale in graphic novels. It makes everything drab and it's hard for me to mentally fill in the color.

-To be honest, I found it hard to follow. Everything moved along really fast and there were too many names that started with D. I found skipping between panels to be almost random, and it didn't follow a cohesive string, in my opinion.

+ I like the concept of Death being a goth girl. It's a cool twist, and I really liked the way that she was drawn.

-This felt like a fan fiction to me, not an official manga published by DC comics. It just felt like this was done unprofessionally, and to me, that is not a very good thing.

This was my first attempt at manga. I'll give it another shot, but not from Jill Thompson. If you like The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and manga, maybe this is up your alley. If you're just starting out with this medium, I recommend getting something else first.