One Man Book Club

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Most Recent Reviews

March 20, 2019 One Man Book Club

#LockIn: The King of SyFy Reigns!

March 19, 2019 One Man Book Club

#TheGreatGatsby: IT’S A TIME MACHINE (Also, don’t go in the pool, Jay!)

March 19, 2019 One Man Book Club

#SmallSpaces: Scarecrows are CREEPY!

March 1, 2019 One Man Book Club

#TheSasquatchEscape: Big Foot, dragons, and read-aloud fun!

March 1, 2019 One Man Book Club

The #Winternight Trilogy: This is why I read.

February 19, 2019 One Man Book Club

#Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow: Dialed to 11

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 One Man Book Club

#HeartofDarkness: Bold, Brave, and Boring

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Dan Grover is the book-loving dad of six reluctant readers and the founder of One Man Book Club, a place for fellow parents and other content-conscious readers to find books they (and their kids!) will love.

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Look here for age and content appropriate book recommendations

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#LockIn By: #JohnScalzi My Review: Four out of Five Stars Scalzi, current king of SyFy, delivers again! In this future, a global pandemic has killed millions. Some on the infected do survive, but the disease leaves them "locked in:” they have complete consciousness of mind and sensation, but they have no control over their body. These are "Hadens." They are the 1% of the world's population who look like they are sleeping but are actually waked minds trapped in their own bodies…which totally freaks me out. It’s kind of like being buried alive. Haden's Syndrome became the necessity that mothered invention, and technology was developed that allowed neural networks to be implanted in Haden brains so they can control androids (called “threeps,” a nod to the most famous Droid of all). Humans and Threeps…living together. New laws, new ethics, new culture, new society. New crimes. Lock In is, um…medical SyFy…a buddy-cop procedural…a bit of a thriller…a bit of a drama…with a mystery to solve. Set in the near future. Totally unique. Totally Scalzi. I’m going to flag this next part as a spoiler. It doesn’t spoil the story, but it will spoil a cool trick Scalzi played on the reader and didn’t tell anyone about it...he just did it and left it there for readers to discover. Read the spoiler in the comments if you're interested. Like I’ve said, Lock In is typical Scalzi, so you get the really cool speculative ScyFy explained in a way that non-nerdy people can understand. But you also get the potty mouth. It’s not nearly as bad as Old Man’s War, but there are four-letter-words to be found. Some violence. No sexual content. Probably best for 18 and up. Happy Reading! #onemanbookclub #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #dadswhoread

#TheGreatGatsby By: #FScottFitzgerald My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE stars Well, that was refreshing. This was another buddy read with my HS Senior's AP Lit class. So often the classic books they read are more literature as art vs literature as escape. Occasionally those lines cross, and the art becomes the escape, and that's what Gatsby was for me. I loved The Great Gatsby! The writing was a treat. How can such a small book feel so big? I wasn't reading about time period--I was IN the time period. NYC, the roaring 20's, the parties, the roadsters, the gangsters, the mansion, the bay...I was there! I enjoyed it, so did my Senior. Tears may have been involved. Highly recommend. 16 and up. Happy Reading! #onemanbookclub #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #dadswhoread

#SmallSpaces By: #KatherineArden My Rating: FOUR out of FIVE stars Katherine Arden wrote The Winternight Trilogy, which I LOVED. So I thought I'd give Small Spaces a try. It's her first jump into middle grade and quite different from her debut effort. The verdict? Thumbs up! The sixth-graders in this small, Vermont town, take a field trip to an actual, working farm. You know--Cows, corn fields, barns. Also an old cemetery...a haunted past...stories about The Smiling Man... ...and scarecrows. Really creepy scarecrows . Ya. It's a haunted farm. Thanks teacher. Small Spaces was a surprisingly scary story with characters I could connect with. I loved that the main character's name was Olivia but she called herself Ollie. She's also a bookworm who would rather spend her time reading than peopling. It's well written, too, although it did talk down a bit to its middle-grade audience. Usually that bugs me, but the good significantly outweighed the bad with this one. Love of parents, standing up to bullies, being brave doesn't mean not being scared, dealing with the death of a parent, and making friends with people you first misjudged are some of the key themes. If you're okay getting spooked, I say give Small Spaces a try. Perfect for Halloween or anytime your looking for something fun to read. 10 and up. Happy Reading! @arden_katherine #onemanbookclub #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #dadswhoread

#TheSasquatchEscape (#TheImaginaryVeterinary: Book 1) By: #SuzanneSelfors My Rating: Four out of Five Stars Our local school district selects one book each year and gives copies to every elementary student for a district-wide family reading month. There have been a few duds over the years, but most of the time they pick good ones. Luckily, this was a good year. The Sasquatch Escape has short, easy to read aloud chapters that held my grade-schooler's attention and stirred their imagination. They were never content with just one chapter a night, laughed at the silly parts, and got nervous as the tension built. They enjoyed it, and really that's all the review it needs. The story has an ending, but it left enough dangling carrots that my 9-year-old is ready for book 2. The story is quite juvenile. It would have bored me if I had been reading it myself. But it's well written for its target audience, and this particular target audience loved it. All ages. Great for reading aloud or for 3rd graders to read on their own. Happy reading!

The #Winternight Trilogy #TheBearandtheNightingale (Book 1) #TheGirlintheTower (Book 2) #TheWinteroftheWitch (Book 3) By: #KatherineArden My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars Oh wow oh wow oh wow oh wow... The Winternight Trilogy is gush worthy. I'll try to avoid crossing into obnoxious hyperbole--but man, this series was fun to read. Deep in the winter woods of very old Russia lives a Lord and his family. While the snow falls, the children gather around the oven in the warm kitchen to hear the old stories. The Winter King. The River Prince. The Snow Princess. Baba Yaga. The Eater. The dead who walk. The Fire Bird. As long as they receive their tributes of crusts of bread left on the hearth and crumbs sprinkled in the water, they will protect. Don't forget, because if you do... But they're just stories, told to keep children in line. Just stories. Just stories. Right? The Winternight Trilogy is a magical fantasy fairy tale with lyrical prose that will make your toes cold and your heart warm. The story is a slow-build arc in three parts that will pull through and won't let go until you're left giving a slow-clap standing ovation at the end. The main character is a every bit a HERo, and you'll easily fall in love with her AND her supporting cast. You're especially going to love her horse... Magic. Love. War. Tradition. Roles. Family. Children. Freedom. Religion. Defiance. Courage. Fear. Bravery. Cheers. Tears. Cheers. The Winternight Trilogy is based in historical fact and expertly mixed with traditional Russian culture, tradition, and mythology. After you've read The Bear and the Nightingale you'll be shocked it was Katherine Arden's debut novel. As for content, there are no language concerns, but there is quite a bit of violence throughout and one PG-13 sex scene in book 3. There are some LEGIT scary moments--you'll won't want to be alone in the dark for those. Women are not treated kindly in this story per the time period, and Orthodox Christianity is used as the justification for bad things. The book is marketed as adult fantasy, but I'd be comfortable recommending it for 14 and up. The Winternight Trilogy was brilliant. Happy Reading! @arden_katherine

#Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, Book 2) By: #JessicanTownsend My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow is book 2 in a new upper-middle grade series. Book 2 was as good as book 1, and now I'm looking forward to book 3! I don't know if there will ever be another Harry, although everyone's always looking for it. Two books aren't enough to know for sure (it wasn't until Goblet of Fire that Harry really became special) and I don't know what the future holds for Morrigan. But I'll tell you this: if someone came from the future and told me Morrigan Crow is the next Harry, I'd believe them. I love Morrigan. She's strong and brave, but also naive and flawed. She's packed full of potential and has room for tremendous growth. She has good friends and bad enemies. I can't wait to see how high she rises. I love this world. The dials for creativity and imagination are turned to 11. Morrigan lives in a living hotel where the rooms change to fit the mood of the guests. The head of housekeeping is a giant talking cat who used to be a champion cage fighter. The head of activities is a Vampire Dwarf. Her best friend is training to be a professional dragon rider. You get around town by hooking your umbrella to a rail and holding on tight. The school's headmistress is two women inhabiting the same body. There's something new and incredible every corner! The writing is strong. The dialogue is smooth. The plot is clear. The story is engaging. I can't wait for book 3. Content appropriate for all ages. 500+ pages might be too much for younger readers to tackle, or it might be perfect if they're not intimidated by the high page count. Happy reading! #onemanbookclub #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #dadswhoread @digressica

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