Book Review: Notes from the Upside Down
Katie 
Notes from the Upside Down is an unofficial guide to the hit Netflix Show, Stranger Things. (Season 1). The book talks about how the show came about and there is a chapter per episode where it talks about things that happened in each episode. There is also a quiz for champions of the show – which I totally sucked at, I guess I should watch the series a few more times and try again! There is also a lot of talk about the connections to Stephen King, Spielberg, John Carpenter and a lot of the 80s throwbacks. There are bios on the characters as well as a list of 80s movies that you should watch. I thought this was a great companion piece for the show, definitely read it as or after you have finished the first season!
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
Jump inside the world of Stranger Things and discover everything you need to know about the hit TV show.
Grab your Eggo waffles and get ready for a visit to Hawkins, Indiana—just don’t forget the fairy lights!
If you devoured Stranger Things on Netflix and you’re looking to fill the demogorgon-sized hole in your life, then look no further than Notes from the Upside Down. This fan-tastic guide has every fact you could ever wish for—from insights into the origins of the show, including the mysterious Montauk Project conspiracy theory; a useful eighties playlist (because, of course); and much more.
If you’ve ever wondered why Spielberg is such a huge influence, which Stephen King books you need to read (hint: pretty much all of them), or how State Trooper David O’Bannon earned his name, then this book is for you.
Entertaining, informative, and perfect for fans of eighties pop culture, Notes from the Upside Down is the Big Mac of unofficial guides to Stranger Things—super-sized and special sauce included.
When your friend lets you borrow a book, it’s probably best you read it right away and then return it to them? Right? Well my friend Maribeth let me borrow this book in January during our trip to Jamaica and I read it in an evening in July knowing she was coming to visit a couple of days later to return it. I’m the worst.
For the Love of Katie is the 2nd book in the Katie Chronicles series. The first book, 
This is an adorable book that tells you that no matter how big or how small you are, you should always be a star. There is even a check book at the end of the book with what you need to be in order to be a star: Prepared, Kind, Brave, Honest, Strong and Heroic. Stars are not born, they are made.
I absolutely love all the characters featured in Yarn Whirled: The Royal Family and one of these days I a really going to have to sit down and try to make one. The book has instructions on all of the characters and even has a family tree of the royal family. There are various different outfits featured – Kate and Wills wedding, the Queen at 90, etc. There are step by step tips and techniques to help you make a royal family all of your own!
As an engineer, I always like reading about disasters. I guess it helps to know you’re not alone when you mess up and also as a way to realize what has happened in the past and try not to repeat those mistakes.
This book is all fanfic – celebrity encounters starring YOU – written in the second person so that you can pretend you are the main character. I love the idea but I’m not sure why a book that is called ‘Boy Band Babes’ starts out with a story about Justin Bieber. I tried and tried to pretend it was Justin Timberlake but “I” kept squealing Justin Bieber! at him so that didn’t really work out.
I guess since I have lived in New England my whole life, I have developed a fondness for antique New England homes. I love driving through older neighborhoods and looking at all the old houses – there were plenty in the coastal town I grew up in and we even sometimes took walking tours through them as class field trips! So when I saw that there was a book devoted to not only the homes but barns I had to check it out. It goes through the history and how a lot of people moved to New England from [old] England and brought with them the traditions of building. I looove looking at all the pictures – any house that looks like Snow White might haved lived in it is awesome to me. It talks about how the style of the homes and how they were built was dictated by the climate. The book also talks a bit about how to restore an antique home with a lot of great information for anyone who might be tackling this project. It lets you know what to look for 
This book is about Remington Steele Wolfe, a jewelry designer who believes that someone is posting malicious code in his accounting department and thinks that it might be an inside job. A friend recommends that he hire Kat Smith, cyber-security specialist to help track down the code. Since it is most likely an inside job, his employees can’t know what job Kat is there to do so as a cover up she pretends to be Remy’s girlfriend.
Reading So You Think You’re a New York Mets fan was bittersweet. I always used to challenge my Dad to whatever Mets trivia I could find, and 9 times out of 10 he would get it right on the first guess. So reading this book now that he passed away, it made me wonder how many of these questions he would have known! (And how bad he would tease me for how little I knew!)