Book: This Book Is Not Good For You

Genre: Young Adult/Humorous

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: I know this is a young adult book, but a friend of mine bought it for me for Christmas and it’s got a chocolate bar on the cover, so that got me reading it pretty much immediately.  It’s actually the third book in the Secret Series, but it’s perfectly readable on its own.

It’s a story about a girl and her friends who are all a part of a secret society called the Terces Society. They are fighting evil alchemists who have their own society (aka the Midnight Sun) that are looking for the Secret the Terces Society was built to protect. The current plot of these evil fiends has to do with obtaining a magical tuning fork from the days of the ancient Aztecs. This fork can make food taste like anything else the consumer has ever eaten, including anything the person’s ancestors have eaten. The alchemists hope they can get the Secret by using this tuning fork in their maniacal scheme.

I really love how playful the author is in his (or her) writing style.  They effortlessly move from story narration to stream of consciousness and back while remaining interesting, funny and easy to read.  Also, there are a lot of cute footnotes and interesting facts jammed into this book – including great chocolate info which is always a plus for me.

Pseudonymous Bosch’s blog says that there will be an appearance by “The Imposter” (who I am going to assume is really the author in a Mission Impossible-esque disguise) at the 4th Annual Family Festival of Books on February 28, 2010 on the Chino Fairgrounds.  I will most likely be there.

Tim Scott

Book: Love in the Time of Fridges – A Sci-Fi Thriller (of sorts)

Genre: Sci Fi, Humor

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:

This book gets a 10 just for the title. Come on. Who could resist a book called Love in the Time of Fridges? The title is amazing.

I got this book from my awesome cousin for Christmas. She got it because when she went to the book store to buy me a Christmas present, she realized that I’ve probably read all the books she would recommend for me (a kind assumption, but I’m not sure. My cousin’s a prolific reader.)  Anyway, she then bought two books she hadn’t read.  So I owe her my thanks for a great choice in literature.

Now, onwards with the review. Tim Scott reminded me a lot of Douglas Adams. I don’t say that lightly. While Tim’s wacky book occurs on planet earth – in Seattle – it’s got amazing and hilarious Sci Fi bits. I want to quote from his book, but I’d probably need permission and I’d spoil the delight and hilarity you’ll get out of reading it.

The premise is that Huckleberry Lindbergh returns to his hometown – Seattle – to find peace from a past he has run away from. Instead he runs into trouble. He meets a girl who is helping refrigerators (and one tumble dryer) escape from oppression in Seattle. She thinks that’s all she’s doing, but they both discover a deeper conspiracy, involving Fiorentina pizza, but without the egg.

This book contains government control experiments, brain washing, highly mustached police, decrepit public transportation, ominous health and safety warnings, animated furniture, singing fridges and even love.

If this book sounds like the right stuff for you, click here and buy it from Amazon.

Book: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Author: Douglas Adams

Genre: Sci Fi

Julia Rating: 9 (for humor)

Comments:
Douglas Adams introduces Dirk Gently – a private detective who does his work “holistically” (meaning he believes that if one thing happens in his life, he’s bound to have other things happen which have something to do with that thing). This makes for huge bills – since everything he does is supposed to have something to do with solving the problem of his client.

Dirk finds himself at St. Cedd’s College with an old Professor, who insisted on being called Reg, and a wayward horse. He is flung in an adventure through time (Hitchhiker’s Guidestyle), opening up a portal to… somewhere else and letting a thing called The Electric Monk through. Apparently, The Electric Monk’s chief function is to believe people and tell them that he does believe them. This, of course, can create some inconsistencies in his belief system and therefor causes issues with earthlings.

This book has my favorite description EVER. When describing Reg, Douglas Adams says: “The other was small, roundish, and moved with an ungainly restlessness, like a number of elderly squirrels trying to escape from a sack.”

Douglas Adams always takes me on a wild journey through very improbable territory and I find his books fun – though sometimes it’s honestly very hard to remember what they are really about. He is always very funny and have an offbeat sense of humor – so if you like any of his work, you’ll like this book.

Author: Daniel H. Wilson

Genre: Humor/Speculative Fiction/Non Fiction

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: If you are looking for a humorous, yet factual guide to understanding where modern day robotics is headed, what is in the works and what to do when the inevitable robot rebellion occurs a la iRobot, Terminator, The Matrix and more, you’ve come to the right place.

Daniel H. Wilson has a great sense of humor as he tells us how to protect ourselves against the robot menace, while instilling information of current scientific strides being made in modern robotics. I took a little scan through his amazon page (which you can do by just clicking his name under “Author” in this post) and he has some more books that I can’t wait to read.

Whether you proudly proclaim yourself a nerd or simply are interested in modern technology, check out Daniel H. Wilson.

Have any of you read any other of his books? Let me know how they were… they look pretty funny.

Author: Christopher Moore

Genre: Historical Fiction

Comments:
Lamb is an irreverent and personal look at what Christ would have been like in the intervening years between birth and death. The years the bible does not cover. The story is told by his best friend, Biff, who traveled with Christ as Jesus searched for the solution to his one question – how do I become the Messiah?
While this book may sound pretty blasphemous (and by all accounts, it probably is) it is a wonderful look at Jesus Christ – a human look at a man who was trying to get his message across to a bunch of dolts.
Christopher Moore is a true genius. He manages to get the cultural idiosyncrasies across – the ones that show why certain things in the Bible occurred. He also has some fantastic quotes that really hit the nail on the head as far as humanity and what Jesus Christ means to us (my favorite is “No one’s perfect. Well, there was this one guy, but we killed him”).
This book is great for most people. If you are deeply religious and will get offended easily by an irreverent, but very respectful look at Christ, don’t read it. If you aren’t Christian or you aren’t very Christian or you won’t get offended, read it. It represents some beautiful ideals that I think anyone will love, and it’s really funny.