Book Review: Spending the Holidays with People I Want To Punch In The Throat

Katie November 27, 2015 0 Comments

I had previously read Jen Mann’s People I Want To Punch in the Throat , so I had to check out her next installment, Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat.   This book is of course all essays revolving around the holidays.  Most of the stories are about Christmas – and one I could totally relate to. Jen is allergic to Christmas trees, but no one knew she was allergic.  The “We always just thought he had a cold at Christmas” excuse was used on my little brother too. Until I finally brought a small evergreen pine needle sachet home from school and he played with it and immediately got all sneezy. Ohhh, maybe we should get a fake tree… But Jen’s family never figured it out until her Mom decided a fake tree would look nicer! Poor girl!

Section 3 focuses on other holidays that still annoy Jen, since Sections 1 and 2 were all christmas, all the time (but with the way her family is about Christmas, I can see why).  This section has essays on the Easter Bunny, Thanksgiving, Chinese New Year and a few other as well.  Another great book with some fun essays – that let you know either you are not alone or some people have it worse 😉

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

For fans of Laurie Notaro and Jenny Lawson comes an uproarious and oddly endearing essay collection for anyone trying to survive the holidays in one piece.

When it comes to time-honored holiday traditions, Jen Mann pulls no punches

In this hilariously irreverent collection of essays, Jen Mann, nationally bestselling author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat, turns her mordant wit on the holidays. On Mann’s naughty list: mothers who go way overboard with their Elf on the Shelf, overzealous carolers who can’t take a hint, and people who write their Christmas cards in the third person (“Joyce is enjoying Bunko. Yeah, Joyce, we know you wrote this letter.”). And on her nice list . . . well, she’s working on that one. Here, no celebration is off-limits. The essays include:

• You Can Keep Your Cookies, I’m Just Here for the Booze
• Nice Halloween Costume. Was Skank Sold Out?
• Why You Won’t Be Invited to Our Chinese New Year Party

From hosting an ill-fated Chinese New Year party, to receiving horrible gifts from her husband on Mother’s Day, to reluctantly telling her son the truth about the Easter Bunny, Mann knows the challenge of navigating the holidays while keeping her sanity intact. And even if she can’t get out of attending another Christmas cookie exchange, at least she can try again next year.

Advance praise for Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat

Book Review: Lost In Geeklandia

Katie November 27, 2015 0 Comments

Lost In Geeklandia is about Charlie, a girl who has been trying to make a dating algorithm ever since her arch-nemesis Daniel has lost his professional reputation after trying to back a similar idea of a love algorithm that turned out to be nothing but a scam.  There’s only one problem.  When she tries the algorithm on herself, she gets matched with… arch nemesis Daniel.  Is the algorithm right or is it horribly wrong?

Each chapter starts with a “Geekronym”, most of which I already knew. I couldn’t always tell how these ended up working with the chapter ahead though and other reviews I read said they were nothing but confusing for those who don’t know what they are talking about.  There are also a lot of “geeky” pop culture references – a lot for Star Trek and Dr Who – neither of which I was a fan of so I couldn’t really appreciate them (and there were probably a lot that I missed, as well).   I found the book to be cute, at times a bit hard to follow, and I couldn’t help but wonder – what happens when Daniel finds out this is all a set up?

I am happy to report that he DID find out it was all based on an algorithm, but no, I can’t tell you what happened. You’ll have to read for yourself to see 🙂

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

She has 30 days to turn her enemy into her boyfriend…

Introverted computer engineer Charlie Forrester has coded an algorithm for love, a nearly flawless matchmaking program. But then she’s challenged to prove its accuracy – on herself. With her dream job on the line, Charlie has thirty days to forge a romantic relationship with her “perfect” match…her ex-friend and now-nemesis, Daniel Shawn. Since her dating experience is expressed in binary, she’ll need more than flirting lessons and a wardrobe overhaul to pull it off.

After falling victim to the same online matchmaking con he was investigating, reporter Daniel Shawn’s professional reputation went up in flames. Now he suspects someone has rebooted the scam, and he’s determined to expose the fraud and rebuild his career. Unfortunately, his efforts to get back in the game get sidetracked by Charlie and her adorable geekitude, even though she seems to know a little too much about digital dating for Daniel’s comfort.

And when fake romance crosses into real chemistry, Charlie’s formula for love might just be the perfect formula for disaster…

Book Review: Punky Brewster

Katie November 27, 2015 0 Comments

Punky Brewster was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid. I definitely wanted to be Punky.  So when I saw there was a comic book I had to check it out, even though I try to avoid reading comics.

The story has been updated for the modern day, so they have cell phones and other stuff that didn’t exist when the show was originally on.  And there seemed to be one major plot change – I remember Henry as having no relation to Punky, but owning the building she was squatting in.  Now, it’s been a while so I might not remember exactly but in the comics, Henry is a long lost cousin of Punky’s Mom so therefore the next of kin for Punky.

Otherwise all the characters are the same as I remember them from the show – with just some modern additions. Overall it was a cute set of comics and I may have to check out future volumes because I loved Punky!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the book

The beloved TV series returns in this heartwarming, lushly illustrated story of a brand new family made from persistence, pluck, and Punky Power!

Punky Brewster, a bright eight-year-old girl, has been abandoned by her mother and lives on the streets of Chicago with her puppy sidekick Brandon. Punky thinks she doesn’t need help, but after getting picked up by the police she enters a foster home and starts to search for a family. Punky meets Henry, a long-lost relative, and decides he’s the adoptive dad for her. All she has to do is convince the foster home, adoption judges and lawyers, and possibly Henry himself. Luckily, she’s got an unbeatable resource — her limitless reserve of Punky Power!

Book Review: Saved By The Bell

Katie November 27, 2015 0 Comments

Saved By The Bell was one of my favorite shows in elementary school, so I decided to check out this new comic book adaptation of the show.  The characters from the show are back and they seem to be written pretty true to the personality of the characters from the show, even if their drawings don’t quite look like the actors that portray them.

But the thing that I thought missed the mark in this book was that they all had cell phones, laptops, etc.  Zack not having his huge cell phone was something that ruined this adaptation for me (though it is mentioned in one of the stories)

Whereas the Punky book I read wasn’t as affected by the modern additions, I felt that this story was.  Although maybe kids who have never seen the show before will get into it from these comics, they are more like them now.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

The classic TV series gets an update for today’s brand new high-schoolers as the coolest kids at Bayside High start their freshman year!

All your favorite characters – Zack, Slater, Kelly, Lisa, Screech and Jessie (and Mr. Belding, of course!) – are starting freshman year at Bayside High, trading in brick phones and mullets for iPhones and Twitter accounts. Does Lisa’s fashion show get on the air, and will Screech ever leave her alone? Will Jessie get that A+? And, most importantly, who’s Kelly going to go out with – preppy Zack or new star athlete A.C. Slater? It’s alright, ‘cause we’re saved by the bell!