Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?

Oh, Georgia, you minx...you finally have the Luuurve God fully enamored and what happens? Well, plenty, as a matter of fact. In the tenth (and final! oo-er) book in the Georgia Nicolson series, Georgia's in a dither about keeping Masimo interested, playing Mercutio in the school play of Rom and Jul, keeping Angus and Gordy from eating Bum-ty, watching her parents reconnect, and figuring out just what it is precisely that she feels for the wonderful Dave the Laugh. With the Ace Gang along, Georgia's journey to maturosity is anything but smooth, but always, always humorous.



Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? picks up closely after the previous book; Georgia's still following Masimo and the Stiff Dylans around, using all her girly skills to keep him entranced. And entranced he does become; not only does he confirm that he wants to be with Georgia, he begins to show up at Stalag 14 unexpectedly for mini-snogfests and even declares that he will turn down moving to London with the Dylans in order to stay with her. All this attention forces Georgia to reconsider and what does she find? That most of her thoughts really belong with that fab lad, Dave the Laugh. But what's a girl to do when she has a Luuurve God in the hand and a "mate" who is now with someone else?



What an exciting ending to one of the funniest series I've ever read! Georgia's stream of consciousness is hysterical, and her interactions with the Ace Gang are laugh out loud funny. I love Georgia's relationship with baby sister Libby (though I admit I'm a little concerned with how Libby will turn out--another series idea, hmmm, Ms. Rennison?). Georgia personifies what most teens are thinking and feeling when caught up in the excitement of luuurve, and the way Ms. Rennison draws out the intense relationship between Georgia and Dave is just...Groovy. Fab. Full of wisdomosity. In this final installment, there is hope for Georgia and her mates, but mostly there is laughter and fulfillment for all the loyal fans who have followed Georgia through boy entrancers, snog fests, sex gods, and Scottish wildcats. Count this fan as one well satisfied.

~taminator40

An Abundance of Katherines

Two funny things about the book An Abundance of Katherines by John Green: 1) We have an abundance of A Katherine in our house with the youngest daughter, who is abundantly Katherine-like at all times, and 2) this is not the cover of the book I read (but I think I might like it better). This is my second John Green novel in a row, and I think my reading of it suffered a bit because of that. Don't get me wrong; I loved this book and I think John Green is ~abundantly~ smart and humorous. But when you read two books about road trips back to back, you start to wonder why the author chose the same device for both books (which I believe were also written back-to-back, but I might be wrong about that). Still and all, this book is laugh out loud funny, poignant, and ass-kicking from the word go. If I just couldn't wrap my mind around a guy (only a senior in high school) having dated 19 girls all named Katherine (I'm sorry, but as the parent of a Katherine, I have to say there really aren't all that many around, and even if you count the minute encounters of smart kid camp, it just *isn't* possible), I still liked the concept and loved the characters. The fight scene might be one of the best actual fight scenes ever written, especially with Muslim but not religious Hassan yelling "Three on one!" and going back in. Genius. Makes me wonder if John Green wasn't a child prodigy himself.

Below is my amazon review, which is much longer and probably a bit more intellectually written...or then again, maybe not. Hope you enjoy it.

I'm now off to really immerse myself in the 1100s and my personal heroine, Eleanor of Aquitaine (don't tell anyone, but in my mind I've named my car Eleanor after said heroine...that woman was phenomenal and packed more living into her 82 years than most of us could in 182).

~taminator40

Picking up a book by John Green is a guaranteed treat; you know you are going to become friends with a host of teens who will make you laugh, make you think, and make you recognize yourself in them. An Abundance of Katherines is no exception, and it's a fun ride from the first pages.

Colin Singleton is a child prodigy who wants to make his mark in the world and prove that he really is the genius everyone's expected him to be. To that end, he's working on a Theorem that will predict how relationships will go, and he has the experience to draw from: Colin has dated 19 girls, all of them have dumped him, and all of them have been named Katherine. So when Katherine #19 dumps him, Colin's best friend Hassan talks him into a road trip designed to clear Colin's head so he can focus. What they actually find, however, is Gutstop, Tennessee, and a girl named Lindsey who is perfectly happy to remain there for the rest of her life. After striking up a friendship with Lindsey, her mother invites the boys to stay in Gutshot and work for her for the summer. What follows is a series of interviews, hornets, new girlfriends, a fight, and a secret hiding place as the boys learn more about themselves than they'd figured they ever would.

Green is a terrific author who knows just how to enliven a story with humor and then bring it back to the original concept subtly. I loved that Green didn't make all the Tennesseans seem like simple-minded hicks (being from Tennessee, this is a particular irritation of mine). Green is obviously a very smart man, and I loved the footnotes that explained the languages used and gave fascinating details about the conversations. My ability to imagine one boy falling for nineteen Katherines was sorely stretched, though; it was the one point of the book that kept sticking me and pulling me out of the story. But other than that, I laughed and enjoyed this book tremendously, and I would give it a solid 4.5 stars. Recommended for readers of all ages who love a good road trip tale.

Georgia Nicolson Is At It Again

I know it says The Sugar Queen just above as "currently reading", but before I even cracked the book, the next installment in Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson series, Stop in the Name of Pants, arrived in the mail. So eschewing TSQ, at least temporarily, with a firm hand, I picked up SITNOP. I adore Georgia. She is Bridget Jones for the young adult set, and she is far, far funnier on a consistent basis. She is so typically a teenager with a language all her own. Where else can you find "lurking lurkers" or "Baldy-o-Grams"? This entry is just as good as the most recent ones, but I will admit to being caught up short when, as I merrily read, something of a tragic nature came along. And while it was out of character for these books, I have to say I love how Rennison inserted it and how it showed a side of Georgia previously unseen. Add her parents' troubles into the mix, and we've got maybe a *slightly* more mature Georgia, still dating Masimo (Italian Stallion and not my personal choice), hoping to break up former love Robbie and Wet Lindsay, and not yet realizing that Dave the Laugh is THE man for her. I loved this visit with the Ace Gang, but I could kick myself for gulping it down as I did because now I have to wait another entire year for the next entry. So much for not wishing my life away! Bring on more Georgia.

My amazon review, positively glowing, can be found at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061459321/ref=cm_cr_thx_view. Currently it's the third on the page.

~taminator40

The Uncommon Reader

As a self-proclaimed bibliophile, I know how irritating it can be to have someone tell you that you need to put a book down and "do something". What, exactly, could be better than traveling, whether through time, space, or relationships? Chit-chatting and small talk? Watching the same mindless television show over and over? But to those who don't read, they will never "get it." I'm doing something and it's far preferable to most anything else I could think of doing.

Such is the premise of Alan Bennett's wonderful novella, The Uncommon Reader. Queen Elizabeth II discovers a love for reading late in life and her new passion is more than puzzling to those around her. To we bibliophiles, it's how we live, but to her family, government, and staff, it's time-consuming and pointless (not to mention the fact that it makes many of them feel unintelligent). Delightfully British, this witty tale takes us through QEII's reading repetoire and leads her to the ultimate conclusion (which I won't divulge here). While I personally had hoped for a bit of a different ending, I am pleased overall and can highly, highly recommend this short sweet book to all my book-loving friends. Pick it up. You're going to love it.

My amazon review is found at http://tinyurl.com/25tp3v.

~taminator40