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January 18, 1988January 27, 2017 One Man Book Club

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

5 stars

Another 5th grade favorite

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A Dad. A Reader. A Blogger. View all posts by One Man Book Club

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#TheWitches By: #RoaldDahl My Rating: Five out of Five Stars The last time I read The Witches I was 10 and in the 4th grade. That I still remember it 30 years later is as much a testament to the book as it is to my 4th grade teacher who read it to me. Now I'm the dad, and it's my turn to screech out The Grand High Witch's lines in all their slavic-accented glory to my kids. I had as much fun reading The Witches as they did! You haven't read The Witches? Grab a copy, find a kid, and fix that now...there's nothing better than watching their faces when they hear you read (in your best r-rolling, slavic-accented, screechy-scream) things like: "'I am having my breakfast this morning,' cried The Grand High Witch, 'and vot am I seeing? I am seeing a rrreevolting sight! I am seeing hundreds, I am seeing thousands of rrotten rrreepulsive little children playing on the sand! Vye have you not rrrubbed them all out, these filthy smelly children?' "With each word she spoke, flicks of pale-blue phlegm shot from her mouth like bullets. "'We will do better,' murmured the audience. 'We will to much better.' "'Better is no good either!' shrieked The Grand High Witch. 'I demand maximum rrreesults! So here are my orders! My orders are that every single child in this country shall be rrrubbed out, sqvashed, sqvirted, sqvittered, and frrrittered before i come here again in vun year's time! Do I make myself clear?'" God bless Roald Dahl. Required reading for all audiences who like to have fun. Boring families are welcome to skip. Parents might want to know there is quite a lot of Grammama smoking a cigar and talk about witches being wicked to children because they smell like dogs' droppings. The children...not the witches. Happy reading! #onemanbookclub #bookreview #bookstagram

#Pines (Wayward Pines, Book #1) #Wayward (Wayward Pines, Book #2) #TheLastTown (Wayward Pines, Book #3) By: #BlakeCrouch My Rating: Four out of Five stars The #WaywardPines Trilogy is one of those you can't really justly review without spoiling the fun... ...and fun is what it's all about. So, no spoilers here. Here's what I can tell you: A guy wakes up after an accident in a Norman-Rockwell town with no memory of his accident or how he got there. And...that's it. Anything else would ruin the experience. Mysteryious. Dystopian. Fun. Creepy. Scary. Monsters. Surprises. Twists. Very M. Night Shyamalan, who actually directed the pilot of the television series that lasted for a couple seasons back in 2015. Well written. Quick to read. Flawed good guys who feel bad for being bad. Really evil bad guys who think they are good. Gory violence. Lots of language. Sex. That about sums it up. The twists surprised me, the hook kept me going, and the resolution in the end left me satisfied. Adult level content. No kids allowed. Happy Reading! #onemanbookclub #bookreview #bookstagram

Leviathan (Leviathan, Book #1) Bohemoth (Leviathan, Book #2) Goliath (Leviathan, Book #3) By: Scott Westerfeld My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE stars I liked the Leviathan trilogy so much it made me wonder why I didn't know about it before...and what else am I missing out on?! WWI alternative history, written for upper middle grade. A girl who pretends to be a boy to join the British air force. The son of murdered Archduke Ferdinand on the run from the Serbs and Germans until he can reveal himself as the heir to the Empire. One side uses Darwin-invented, DNA-spliced, weaponized animals as war machines--Leviathan is a flying whale. (Yep, you read that right. Trust me, it's really cool.) The other side uses kerosene fueled, mechanized walkers and other machines--think AT-AT's or Imperial Walkers, but steampunked. Great battles on land and air, cool steampunk, secrets, trust, friendship, unlikely allies, a bit of romance, with just enough actual history to keep you sharp. Great illustrations, too. I enjoyed the Leviathan A LOT. I highly recommend! Content appropriate for all ages. Happy Reading!

#TheWildRobotEscapes (The Wild Robot, Book #2) By: #PeterBrown My Rating: FIVE out of Five Stars @peterbrownstudio is very, very good. We loved...LOVED...The Wild Robot (Book #1). I say we: I read it myself, was blown away, then immediately started over, reading it out loud to my littles. They inhaled it and embraced it, and when we finished we began [im]patiently waiting for The Wild Robot Escapes (Book #2). We finished The Wild Robot Escapes together last night. Friends, it was SO great! We teared (quietly) and cheered (loudly) at all the right places, and I'm still trying to figure out how a story about a robot with a goose for a son can have the same impact on a 5 year old, and 8 year old, and a 42 year old. Like book 1, book 2 is a perfect middle grade story. The short, rapid fire chapters are perfect for reading aloud or for letting a 10-year-old feel like she is reading quickly. The simple sentence structure is flawless and a joy to read. Even the illustrations are beautiful, and whenever we came across one we'd stop reading a just stare at if for a few moments. I'm telling you, there are few books with this much heart and even fewer with this much soul..and not just because Roz is robot. My 8 year old has already declared her next birthday party will be a Wild Robot themed event, and they both have decided their friends need to read The Wild Robot too. A few times I even caught my tough-guy 11-year-old pretending to not be listening. Really, I couldn't recommend both The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes more. They are as close to perfect as I've ever read. Happy Reading! #onemanbookclub #bookreview #bookstagram

#ShadesofGrey By: #JasperFforde My Rating: FOUR out of FIVE Stars No, no, no! Not THAT Shades of Grey! Relax! No relations. I mean relation... Never mind. Shades of Grey is the smartest book I've read in a long time. It's part dystopian fantasy, part social satire, a lot eccentric, completely unique, and funny all over. In this future, life is governed by The Rule Book. You're place in society is determined by your perception of color. As long as you follow the rules, work for the betterment of society, and see the right color, you can expect a life of satisfaction as a cog in the wheel. Not interested in being a cog? I did mention this is a dystopian future, right? Trust me, you want to be a cog. But...what happens when you discover there's more? What happens when you find your world isn't as black and white as you've been told? What happens when you learn... ...it's more a shade of grey? This story is A Brave New World, but with technicolor wit. It's 1984, but with Mr. Bean in charge. If you can read a story with a slow burn mystery without pulling you hair out screaming "WHAT ON EARTH IS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT SPOONS!!!," you'll probably enjoy Shades of Grey. It really is pretty great. Caution, however...this great story ends without really ending. The book 1 story arc wraps up nicely, but there is much more grand story that is introduced with the promise of revolution and social upheaval and righting all the wrongs... and nothing. Book 1 was published in 2009. Book 2 has never seen the light of day. Book 3 is a twinkle in Jasper Fforde's eye. Maybe book 2 is coming? There's a hint on his website it might be getting close. I can count on one hand the number of colorful 4-letter words in this book, and there is a very non-descriptive sex scene. I would feel comfortable letting my 16 year old read it. Also, I bought this book for $1.99 a few weeks ago, but right now it's available for the smokin' hot price of $16.99, which is complete robbery for an ebook. Take that Penguin Group. Happy Reading! #bookstagram #bookreview #onemanbookclub

#AllSystemsRed (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) By: #MarthaWells My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE stars I love big stories pack into little pages. A conflicted AI with a past so tragic he calls himself Murderbot…but that’s private. As long as no one discovers he’s hacked his governor module, he can pretend he’s just doing his job as security for some boring scientists collecting samples on a boring planet and watch endless TV shows when no one is looking. But what will happen when the humans learn his secret? This story was a lot of fun. Scyfy. Mystery. Sabotage. Reluctant heroes. Alien planet. Robots. Feelings? How does great Scyfy packed into a book that can be read in a day sound? Ya–you’re going to want to check this one out. Books 2, 3, and 4 will be published in 2018. I’ll be reading them. Watch out for some grown up language. Older teens and adults will appreciate this story the most. Happy reading! #onemanbookclub #bookreview #bookstagram

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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

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