Customer Reviews

Hot for Words: Answers to All Your Burning Questions About Words and Their Meanings

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Marina Orlova's book is very interesting because it explains the origins of phrases and words that you probably have thought about and wondered, "wonder where that came from?" It's very cleverly laid out in a school class schedule format and is not only informative but laced with humor throughout the book. Miss Orlova's fun personality carries right over into the book from her YouTube videos exhibiting her intelligence and sense of humor. It doesn't hurt that she is extremely attractive which is evident by the many photographs of her in the book and is surely a selling point for some of the public. It's very evident that she is no air headed blonde bombshell. She has brains to match her beauty. I always say "witty people are smart people, but not all smart people are witty." Marina is definitely very witty. It's a fun read. Enjoy. Got mine signed by her last night in NYC.

Hot For Words is a very easy read and well prepared book. If all you want to do is look at eye candy pictures you can do that easily. Marina Orlova certaintly is a real beauty and won't disappoint you. But if you really want a good read, then dig into it. In the first chapter you'll be convinced that Marina has a lot more going on between her ears then just being eye candy. She has a unique approach to language and communicating her fondness for the topic in a completely academic and logical manner. The book is organized into class periods, rather than chapters, that a High School Student might encounter in a typical day. She then defines select words and the origins of those words that the student might not otherwise have candid access to. Upon completion of reading the book you'll be convinced that Marina Orlova has a wonderful inner beauty to go along with her stunning outer appearance.

I bought her book in a NY book signing. And it's worth going if she will have a signing near you. In her speech she talked about how it all started and answered the audience questions.

Now to the book itself and why I give it a Mighty 5 out of 5 stars.

The books size is about that of a Manga paperback book. Those Manga are black and white pages and cost $10.

Magazines today average about $6.99

And even a single comic book is $3.99

Getting this book for $14.99 but with online discounts like here.

Well it's more then worth it!

They use slick high gloss paper and color photos. And with the price of paper going up in recent years, I'm surprised the price was this low.

I wrote the above to give a perspective of the overall book design. But now I'll
talk about the content.

This book is about words and their origins.

Besides the beautiful photos. She shows how brainy she is.

She mentions a word and then actually tells a story about the meaning of the word. The way she writes and weaves a story, it leaves an impression and makes you remember it. I don't think anyone who reads this book won't walk away without at least remembering a few words and their origins.

Each words origin takes a page and is then followed by a related trivia question.

And best of all is that you do not have to read this book in order. You can skip around and read the words that catch your initial interest, and get back to the rest later.

Overall the presentation is excellent, with a fun atmosphere. And you really will learn something reading this book. My youtube is RobNY710

I received this book on the first book signing in LA. I was thrilled to get the wrapper off of it so I could start enjoy reading the book. It is filled with lots of word explanations and etymologies. It also has tricky questions for you to figure out the answers. Marina Orlova did an outstanding job of writing and put forth a lot of background study and knowledge into developing this book. I can't say enough about this book as I read and learn from it each day. By the way the pictures aren't bad to look at either. :)

I was pleasantly surprised when I received Marina Orlova's book in the mail yesterday. From the quality of the paper, the gorgeous photos of Marina, the easy to read style and layout, the table of contents and most importantly, the book has an index. Do you know how many books don't have an index when they should? It is a small part of the book and I appreciate the extra effort that Marina put forth in getting this book published.

The first thing that I noticed about the book, besides the beautiful and complimentary photos of Marina, was the style in which the book was written. Marina talks to you as if she was sitting right there besides you. I was also pleasantly surprised, for a book of this size being packed with interesting facts and interesting stories that I had never heard of before. I have only read some of the book's contents so far, and already I feel I have received another lifetime of education. I was chuckling at the chapter on "Partridge" as Marina's sense of humor and style comes through as if I were watching one of her video lessons on [...]. [...]

In addition to Marina's Introduction, the Extra Credit section, the Questions & Answers, and the Afterword, I particularly liked how the book and table of contents was laid out in the style of a classroom schedule. I loved Marina's Afterword and throughout the book, Marina's up and close personality shines through as if I had known her for years.

Despite Marina's soft and sexy photos, she does not let you off the hook that easy. She knows the tricks of uncovering the stories and origins of words and she challenges her students likewise. I can't resist a challenge, especially from someone as personable and endearing as Marina.

My only disappointment was to learn that Marina did not win the Nobel Prize for Maths. If you want to know what I am talking about, you'll just have to get the book and discover it for yourself. You will be surprised. :-) LOL

My compliments go to Harper Collins for publishing a great little book, the photographer Derek Caballero for those eloquent and stunning photos of Marina and Marina's parents for encouraging her to study philology and being the diligent geek that she is. You gotta love her.

I have watched her videos on youtube, and I bought her book when I saw it advertised one day. She's an interesting person, and I love the way she teaches by informing the viewer or reader instead of instructing them. One negative reaview on here of her book said that "most of the positive comments are probably from men" bc men like the book because she has photos of hersefl throughout the book in sexy poses. I am a straight female, and though I do not need to see a woman in a miniskirt, it does not bother me, and I see the side of the issue where she is making an attempt to use her beauty to her advantage in getting more people interested in her youtube and book simply by drawing in a larger market by making everything be more about attracting people to learning about the language and history of words.

Overall, great youtube channel, and awesome book!

The photographs are fun and entertaining, but the articles also are charming and entertaining. The fascination with wordsm isn likely to grow.

Let me begin by saying that I speak several languages, and my idea of a good happy hour is to sit at the bar with a good beer and a good French or Russian grammar book. I have also seen Miss Orlova on TV and her website.

So I am a bit biased in my review.

I am in love with this book.

Miss Orlova has written a book that makes the English language fun for people not like me. The language is in decline and under attack. Many people today sound like Valley Girls (So I was like...). Many Latino people try to impose Spanish on native speakers of English; I have been told many times that I need to learn Spanish to "get ahead".

I hope, and I think, that this book will rekindle passion in our language. Each word has a story, and each story is compelling. You can read this book quickly, but I know that I shall need to read it more than once to remember every nuance.

I also love how this book is small. it can almost fit in your pocket. And the paper it is printed on is of high quality. Oh, and the photographs are not too shabby. ;-)

I do hope Miss Orlova writes more books. I would love to see her write a good, accessible grammar book to inspire Americans to speak and write more correctly. Then maybe I would not have to cringe when I hear "So I was like..."

It's hard to know who the audience is for this. If you're interested in words the soft porn photos are just taking up space that could be used for more text. The words covered are interesting but if you've read word origin books before there will be a lot that you already know. If instead you are interested in the photos I suppose the text would be what seems like a waste of space. People from both group might be happier with some other book.

She is Gorgeosu, she is Bright, and she is Knowledgeable. And she talks with a Russian Accent!!! She is great on Youtube and if you are a fan of her channel the book will not disappoint you! :)