Julie Roberts recently published a novel titled “That’s Not a Toilet!”, containing roommate stories. The stories come from Roberts’ own experiences as well as accounts she has heard over the years.

“When I was in college I quickly learned I loved hearing roommate stories,” Roberts said. “I would go home and tell my family about it and my mom was finally like, ‘If you love hearing these stories so much why don’t you write a book about them?’”

The book is divided into sections depending on the topic. The different sections include hygiene, dish wars, sexual escapades and bathroom issues. Each short story is between one and four pages.

“The ‘Chlamydia Chick’ story, I had heard through people, so it was kind of fun to see it come to life,” said Jessica Hunt, reader and friend of the author. “The book reminds you of those things you really want to watch out for in college.”

The short story, “Chlamydia Chick” is about a young lady who attended the university’s religious classes and prayer groups. Although she was religious she would bring people back to her place. This girl claimed her behavior was acceptable because she would pray and become a virgin again.

“This book really has a large demographic. Initially we released it just in time for high school graduates going into college,” said Roberts’ publisher, Heather Richards via email. “It really can appeal to anyone who has never had a roommate and is contemplating the idea.”

Roberts says that her book talks a lot about dumb reckless behavior in college students, but that the novel is not promoting that behavior.

“Flock of Seagulls”, a story in Roberts’ novel, is about a roommate who was insistent on saving the sick seagulls outside their room. The roommate brought a seagull into their room and kept it under a laundry basket. She believed that this was the best way to keep it out of harm’s way.

After two weeks of living with the seagull, the roommate moved out, taking the seagull with her. Even though the seagull was gone, the room smelled of seagull excrement.

In light of Roberts’ novel, some Weber State University students have their own roommate stories they were willing to share with The Signpost.

“I had this friend who had a roommate in the dorms and her roommate had some social problems. My friend was on her computer and she felt like someone was watching her, she turned around and no one was there,” said Kimberly Magna, a junior.

Magna’s friend looked back at her computer and she saw her roommate’s reflection watching her. The roommate had been watching her for at least 10 minutes.

“I used to have a gay guy that I lived with. The neighbor across the street used to sneak over and tell my husband that this guy was sneaking into my house,” said Kindly Dodds, a junior. “My husband was like ‘Yeah, I know.'”

Students can purchase “That’s Not a Toilet” on Amazon for $8.99.

“It’s a great way to express yourself,” said Roberts. “With my own book, it wasn’t being graded, I wasn’t being told what to do, and it was from my own thoughts and point of view. I could go with it in my own direction.”