An Adult Picture Book for the Horror Lover in All of Us

This book is not being published until October, making this a perfect Halloween read.

This is a picture book that is most definitely not meant for children. It may give them nightmares. Actually, it may give anyone nightmares.

It was funny and entertaining, but I personally can't see anyone reading it more than once. I know there are people out there that will find this book so entertaining that they read it over and over, I'm just not one of those people.

The illustrations were great, and the poems were hilarious. For anyone that has ever thought of the zombie apocalypse, this is a great way to enjoy not only the zombies, but many other ways the world could come to an end.

I give it 2 stars.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for a review.

Random Illustrated Facts the World Needed This

Random Illustrated Facts: A Collection of Curious, Weird, and Totally Not Boring Things to Know by Mike Lowery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Random Illustrated Facts is a great way to start learning about all the crazy things that have happened and are still happening. I have a greater respect for history now, knowing that I could stumble upon unexpected information. Some of the facts were gross, the bugs especially, but they are facts. I will admit, my favorite section was the first one. Who knew animals and historical figures joined together so often? If only there had been cameras during Napoleon's little experience. My guess is that it would have been a viral video.

The illustrations are awesome. They make the facts more than just words on a page. I felt like the facts became something more when combined with the illustrations. Mike Lowery should write a companion book to this one with just history facts. I'm sure there are a lot of random history facts out there that most people don't know about. I think it would make history come alive in a way that it doesn't for a lot of people. I know I would have liked something like that when I was taking history in high school.

I don't know of any demographic that would not like this book. There is something for everyone. It's an enjoyable read that doesn't drag, and as a bonus, actually makes you smarter. Smarter with random facts, but you never know when those will come in handy.

This is a great book for people that don't really like to read, but are willing to try if given the right book. It makes reading enjoyable. This book was given to me for a review from NetGalley.

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Fred is Dead...Sorry Fred

Shake Hands or Die by Michael Northey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is a murder mystery with a side dish of humor. When a morally questionable reporter is found dead on church property, the police have to figure out what happened. Throughout the novel, the same incident is reported to the police multiple times. Each time the story changes a little, because, let's face it, no two people ever see a situation in the same way. Each retelling brings a different character into question.

By having the mystery laid out in this manner, the reader has a harder time trying to figure out what happened before the end of the book. Suddenly everyone seems suspicious.

I could have done without all of the relationship stuff. It kind of bogged down the story for me. Without all of that, the mystery would have flowed better. Other than that, I enjoyed the book, especially the old church members who are bound and determined to find out what really happened, even if they don't go about it in the smartest way.

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The Zombie Apocalypse...with Children

Only Dead on the Inside: A Parent's Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse by James Breakwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love reading James Breakwell's tweets. When I found out he was writing a book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Thanks to NetGalley, I didn't have to wait long. Zombies have become the in thing, which I find a little weird, but, pair that with incredible humor, and suddenly I'm okay with the whole zombie thing.

This isn't your normal zombie book. There's a twist. How do you survive the zombie apocalypse when you have kids that you should really try to keep alive. Suddenly, all the things you have to deal with as a parent become tools to help you survive one more day.

The only people that wouldn't like this book are zombies, people that want to become zombies, and people with absolutely no sense of humor. Even if you have a small sense of humor, you will find something enjoyable about this book.

As a side note, I'm now going to stock up on diapers and umbrella strollers.

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I May Be Missing My Funny Bone

Lady Stuff: Secrets to Being a Woman by Loryn Brantz
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I found some of this book funny, and some of it disturbing. I'm really not sure how I feel about it. Some of the comics are hilarious, I just think that for me, it works better to look at the whole collection and pick and choose the ones to read. For people that really enjoy comics, this is a great book.

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The Dark Side of YA

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm kind of torn. I was kind of hoping this book would have the same characters as the first one. I wanted to know what happened to them. I guess I understand the decision to have new characters in a new city. The series is the Last Survivors. The survivors couldn't all be in one location. That would be unrealistic.

This book is so much darker than the first one. With the setting being New York, there are a lot more characters that you meet. This makes it interesting, but also darker because there are more people to get attached to and end up being sad about what happens to them.

I know the title is The Dead and the Gone, but I was still never prepared for it to happen. I really hope that at the end of the series there is some resolution as to what happened after for all the characters left alive in their own books. I'm kind of a sucker for a happy ending, and I don't want the stories to come to an end without knowing things turned out okay, or as okay as they were going to turn out.

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Gallbladder has His Day

Heart and Brain: Body Language: An Awkward Yeti Collection by The Awkward Yeti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anything Awkward Yeti is enjoyable. I thought it was just going to be a collection of comics I had seen before, but there were a lot that I had never seen. I found all of them enjoyable, and loved the fact that characters that are not seen very often made appearances. My favorite is Gallbladder, so I'm glad he had his day. This is really just clean humor, which seems to be rare these days.

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Don't Be Like Bob, Bob is Annoying

Be Like Bill by Eugeniu Croitoru
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think this was one of those times where it was just too much of a good thing. Having the lines "This is Bob" and "Be like Bob" or a variation of that on every page made me want to stop reading. It seems like there were also a few that seemed to be the same thing, just with a little change. I would have preferred to have some more writing in the book besides the little sayings.

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A Sad Monster Teaches Us How to be Decent Humans

The Sad, Sad Monster by Dolores Costello
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a really cute book that shows how important it is to be kind to everyone no matter what they look like or who they are. While I feel like it's important for kids to learn that, anymore, it seems like everyone could use a refresher course. It's a book for little kids, but everyone should take the time to read it and think about the message it is sending.

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Fast Paced YA Read

The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was introduced to Kami Garcia through the Beautiful Creatures series, which I seriously love. When I saw this book at the library, I figured I would give it a try. The flow of this book is completely different than Beautiful Creatures. The cover does say that is fast-paced, so I guess I had been warned. The fast-paced note was no joke. I would never want this turned into a movie (because movies based on books are usually really bad), but, if there was a movie made, it would be one you watch on the edge of your seat.
I liked how the character development came in pieces. You learn about each person's past as you go through the book. Characters that seem like the bad guy one moment suddenly seem misunderstood when you learn more about them. The parents are the only ones that seem to be crazy all the time, except for King George, he just does his own thing.
I feel like the characters are being asked what they are willing to risk to get what they want. It's a question we all have to face at times in our lives.

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Quotes from Elder Holland

Created for Greater Things by Jeffrey R. Holland
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think what I found difficult about this book is the fact that it is just a series of quotes from talks. Some of my favorite quotes were in there, but I couldn't really see a message to the whole thing. It's hard for me to understand why this was put together. A quick read, but not my cup of tea.

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Goodly and Grave Magic and Mystery

Goodly and Grave In a Bad Case of Kidnap by Justine Windsor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Adventure, magic, humor, and talking animals, what more could you want in a kids book. Forget kids, what more could you want in any book? This book has all of that plus the mystery of who is good and who is bad. The best part about having some mystery to this book is the knowledge that answers are going to come as you read. Not everything is revealed at once, just little pieces at a time. I know that there is a second book out now, and I can't wait to see what happens next. This is a fun book for all ages. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to enjoy a good mystery with magic thrown in.

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Mort Because even Death needs a day off

Mort by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love Terry Pratchett, and while this book was fun, I'm not sure I would read it again. It was a great way to think of death. I would like to think there is a book writing down everything I do in my life. This book made Death a character that I could relate to.

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Getting Off on Frank Sinatra

Getting Off On Frank Sinatra by Megan Edwards
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I liked the mystery and the fact that I couldn't figure out who had done it. It's no fun if you figure everything out at the beginning of the book. What I didn't like was the cast of revolving characters. There were just too many for me, and I had a hard time keeping straight who each person was. I also feel like there was a lot of random information added, that had no real bearing on the actual story. It bogged the book down.

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