Reading Response #4: Brick By Brick

I've officially lost interest in Girls Don't Fly (more like I just don't have the time to read it). I've decided to start blogging about Brick by Brick, which I am reading for Marketing II. Mrs. Moore told us all to pick a book off the cabinet in the backroom. We would be reading for 20 minutes at the beginning of each class. Being engulfed in ad campaign project, I was one of the last few two pick a book. I honestly didn't care what I read; they were all books about how different people or businesses had made it into the world of marketing. So I picked the second book in the stack. The first was Happy Happy Happy By Phil Robertson, and I hear enough about Duck Dynasty from my little sister. So I picked up Brick by Brick by David C. Robertson.


One of the wooden ducks that the boy only used two coats of varnish on.

What I was expecting to be a boring book about marketing filled with lame statistics has actually turned out to be quite an intriguing book. The book is actually about the well known toy company, LEGO, and how it has survived so long. The author starts with the basic background information. The company was started in the 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen in Denmark. In the beginning they manufactured wooden toys. The company went though many hardships in the beginning including the death of Ole Kirk's wife, a fire, and the great depression. Ole Kirk had a drive to make toys that inspired kids imagination. The company operates on the idea that "only the best is good enough." This saying came from an instance where Ole Kirks son only used two coats of varnish, instead of three, on a batch of wooden ducks. He told his father that he was attempting to save money and that the ducks still looked good. He made the boy go back, get the ducks, and add another coat.
 It wasn't until later that the company made an attempt at plastic toys. At first it was far from a success. The book quotes the Danish toy-trade magazine, Legetojs-Tidende saying, "Plastics will never take the place of good solid wooden toys."  But obviously they were wrong. LEGO had a hard time with plastics at first but when they finally perfected the brick it took off. The company was very daring in deciding to eliminate wooden toys from their product mix which made up 90% of their products.
 I've really enjoyed learning about the company and how it has become the large toy empire it is today. Next time I have marketing, hopefully we'll find out how LEGO overcame their struggles with plastic.

Reading Response #3: The Lightning Theif

This week I decided to revisit one of my favorite books, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. It's the first book of a five book series. It's not exactly a series that is at the level we should be reading for this college level class. This week I just needed something a little more simple to pull me away from the exhausting world of school and work. (As you can see from the fact that I'm posting this just before 12am, I've been a little busy.)


These are the two main characters Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.This picture is actually from one of the ads for the movie, but I do not suggested watching it. It's normal for producers to butcher books when

making them into movies, but this

one is REALLY bad. 

The Lightning Thief is a fictional book but still has a large amount of nonfiction references to mythology within the story line. The entire series is focused on one main character, Percy Jackson. Percy is the son of the Greek god, Poseidon. The series is about a group of kids, commonly referred to as "half bloods" meaning that they are all have one human parent and one no-so-human parent (most commonly a Greek god). The first book takes you through the basics with all the characters while Percy and friends try to locate Zues' lightning bolt in order to restore peace between the Gods. They battle many monsters and even take a trip to the under world.



The story gabs you from the beginning with the opening statement.

“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now.  Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. 

Being a half-blood is dangerous.  It’s scary.  Most if the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.”

Throughout the book Riordan keeps this intensity going. You're always wanting to know more. It's the kind of book that you just can't put down. The thing that I love the most is the balance of fantasy, romance and adventure. The character development in the book is done so well that it's very easy to get emotionally invested in the books. He does an amazing job of mixing the world of Greek mythology into modern society.

While reading over this book again I was reminded that it most definitely is geared towards students that are... let's just say not seniors in high school. It's still a great series that I would recommend to almost anyone.