Lazy Town #3

More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell
Series: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops #2
Published by Constable and Robinson on April 18, 2013

If you don't know what this book is about the title is very self explanatory: it's a non-fiction humorous book about weird things that customers say in bookshops. It's a really short and quickly read (the epub version that I read had about 121 pages), I read it in about an hour and laughed my ass off, seriously there are some quotes that are so funny which I guess makes this a successful book since it is trying to be funny. Anyway, recommended to everyone that wants a good laugh - either you already worked on a bookshop/library or not, you will probably enjoy yourself reading this.

About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Published by Penguim on January 2, 2014

I found out about this book because of the tv show of same name and got interested on reading the book. I read some reviews before reading it and was aware that the book was really different from the show, so that part wasn't much of a surprise but if you came here looking for something similar I wouldn't recommend this book (for those who saw the movie I can't testify if they are similar).

The book is told from two POV's - Will and Marcus, always alternating between them. Will's chapters were definitely not my favorites, he could be really obnoxious and sometimes even offensive, and at first I was like "okay, this is great for a major character arc you know" and he does have a character arc but at the same time he kind of continues the same? I guess it's realistic and stuff but it was really annoying to read how little he cares about fucking everything, and how proud he was of that, when we were like 80% in on the book already. Marcus' chapters were easier to read and enjoy, he is weird and very different from... well, everyone and this really made room for a lot of laugh out loud moments but also there was some pretty touching moments, not gonna lie to you, there was times when I cried (and it was a lot). But them, THEM THAT ENDING HAPPENING AND NOT GONNA LIE I HATED IT! It just passes a completely wrong message that I definitely don't want younger readers believing on and it has some major character arcs just trow out of the window and done in about 1 page (or line)(or sentence), seriously what the hell was that last chapter.

To sum it up: this book had it's moments with funny and emotional scenes but there was some messages that it passed that I can't totally agree with, and also some character development that could have been done in more than one chapter.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews 
Published by Amulet Paperbacks on May 7, 2013 

This book and I had a kind of weird relationship. I started reading it thinking "I'll just read some pages and go to sleep" (I really needed that sleep) but ended up not sleeping and reading about 150 pages on one sitting (and to finish it I abdicated of a little bit more of sleep), so yeah this book sucked me right away into this story. 

The biggest win for me was the hilarious parts of the story, I think that the only book that made me laugh so loud and hard was the ones from the Georgia Nicholson series (Angus, Thongs And Full Frontal Snogging: Confessions Of Georgia Nicholson) and I always appreciate a book that can make me laugh. But I also feel like I didn't get to spend that much time with these characters, I just not know if I really knew them on the deep level that I like with books - this probably has to do with Greg and him always trying to not get involved with people and have friends and stuff but still, I would have liked to know more about them or feel more of a connection with these characters.

But at the same time I did cried a hell lot at the ending and there was passages that I was head nodding because it was so damn real and emotional. So yeah, I don't really know what do about it, it was definitely good and it grew on me when I was reading it. I would recommend if you like contemporary stories that are more on the realistic side, and also that are very funny.

Geek Girl: Model Misfit - Holly Smale

Geek Girl: Model Misfit by Holly Smale
Series: Geek Girl #2
Published on July 21, 2015 by HarperTeen
[This book was given to me by the Publisher but that in no way affected my opinion].

You can make a geek a model, but you can’t make her chic. Hilarity and high fashion await in the sequel to the #1 bestselling UK hit Geek Girl!

Harriet Manners is now an international fashion icon—but at home, she feels even less popular and more awkward than she did before. So when the famous designer Yuka Ito offers her a summer modeling job in Japan, it sounds like the perfect vacation.

She may have to bring along her crazy, free-spirited grandma Bunty, and she may run into Nick, the gorgeous model boyfriend who dumped her two months ago. But no one is going to ruin Harriet’s fabulous Tokyo adventure—unless she accidentally ruins it herself. . . .

Holly Smale’s first novel, Geek Girl, burst onto the scene in the UK as the year’s #1 bestselling YA debut. It was shortlisted for several major awards, and won over readers’ hearts with its fabulous shenanigans and loveably awkward heroine. With all the humor of Louise Rennison’s Confessions of Georgia Nicolson and Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries, the Geek Girl series is perfect for any girl who’s ever felt like a geek.

I read Geek Girl last year and enjoyed it immensely so it was a no-brainer to read this as soon as I could, this series continues to show that when I'm on a slump or/and needing a light read this is the series to go but I did had more troubles with this one than the first. On this volume Harriet is going to Japan to a new campaign, her heart is broken because of Lion boy and also she doesn't seems to get anything right on this trip - of course all of this will get a resolution with a lot of craziness on the way.

The main plot on this one was even  over the top than the first one, it was that kind of thing that you see on a tv show drama from CW (this would totally happen on Gossip Girl) and of course I enjoyed it all the way. Harriet's bad lucky and her ways of always getting herself into confusion made this hilarious, we have a few new characters too that were good additions but at the same time I missed a lot Harriet's family and friends, they were such a great group on the first one.

Other minor pet peeves were the romance, which continues to be not for me and this time around they have a "conflict" that is so not a conflict at all and was one of those problems that could have been solved if they just sit and talked instead of avoiding each other. I could have been okay with that because they are young, but Harriet is continually portrayed him as her savior and that she could only do her job right if he was there to save her and this is not okay. Other was the fact that Harriet supposedly is a major fan of Japan and always wanted to go there, so I mean if she wants so badly to go there she probably would have searched all about it, but still she didn't knew that is a disrespect to enter a tatame with high heels - it just didn't seemed right that a "geek girl" would have let that pass.

Overall it was still a fun read, with less content as the first one for me but still worth it and it managed to me continue to wanting to read the rest of the series. Recommended to fans of the first book and younger reads.

Georgia Nicolson Series by Louise Rennison

Hey guys, today I'm here with yet another series review, this time it's from the "Georgia Nicolson" series and it's long overdue, I re-read it back on December/January  but only now I'm get my shit together (kind of) for review. The summary from the first book: "1. I have one of those under-the-skin spots that will never come to a head but lurk in a red way for the next two years.
2. It is on my nose
3. I have a three-year-old sister who may have peed somewhere in my room.
4. In fourteen days the summer hols will be over and then it will be back to Stalag 14 and Oberfuhrer Frau Simpson and her bunch of sadistic teachers.
5. I am very ugly and need to go into an ugly home.
6. I went to a party dressed as a stuffed olive.

In this wildly funny journal of a year in the life of Georgia Nicolson, British author Louise Rennison has perfectly captured the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager. In the spirit of Bridget Jones's Diary, this fresh, irreverent, and simply hilarious book will leave you laughing out loud. As Georgia would say, it's "Fabbity fab fab!""

Why You Should Read This Series (even if you aren't the target market anymore):

1. The Humor: one of the best decisions of my life was to re-read this series on the period of time that I did, it was a bad couple of months and theses books did wonders for my mood. The humor of these books are timeless and ageless, it doesn't matter what age you have you gonna laugh your ass off because Georgia can get herself in the most crazy situations always and always get 

buried even more deep on the craziness. Trust me.

2. The Audiobooks: I never owned all the books of this series, only some and they are all wrong like the 1 and then the 5, 6 and 10, so when I was thinking on re-reading I got lucky and found almost all of them on audio - let me say to you that this was the best decision ever! My library had the versions of the audio which Louise Rennison read the books herself, so it was waaay fun to listen than reading, it was like remembering my teen self and the talks between me and my friends, it was even more hilarious! Super recommend getting the audio version if you don't own any.

3. The Slang: for those who once were teens (or are) on England this may not be one of the funny things on this book, but at a lot of times I saw myself giggling over the british slang that Georgia uses - and also over the one she and her friends use, they are sooo creative when it comes to creating new words, like nunga nungas (for bobs), or using german words for her parents or just being excellent at being fabbity fab fab!

4. Angus: this is for all cat owners all over the world, when I was reading it I just had found my cat (my dad found him on a walk on November) and as before I only had owned dogs, this whole new world of cats had just opened itself for me and it was so fun to read about Angus - Georgia's cat - and laugh out loud because my cat would do just the same crazy things! So if you have a cat (or is a former owner of a cat, or really just a lover of these cute things) you will probably love the bits where Angus shows up. 

5. The drama llamas: Oh. My. God. The drama that is contained on this series is so over the top and ridiculous and I loved it! It was really realistic with how I was at that age (maybe not so much on the later books but oh, well, it is Georgia we where talking about), at the early teen years we can be really dramatic and everything is the end of the world and it's true (for that time at least) so it was so fun to get caught up on Georgia preoccupations and laugh my ass off with her mistakes.

6. The Characters: what makes this books so good, Georgia and her gang are some of the most memorable and lovable characters, ever. Georgia is the most crazy person to ever feature a book, like seriously, she is way to much dramatic but also way too much loving and funny and even kind. Her gang of best friends too are great, they all have some crazy traits (you know just to match Georgia's) and complete each other.

7. The Romance: okay, I need to talk a little bit about this because THE RAGE! Okay, not really but kind of, Georgia has a lot of *things* (by things I mean feelings, and by feelings I mean she thinks they are hot) for a lot of boys over the curse of the ten books, and I loved that YAY for sex positive messages for young girls but at the same time I was SO frustrated on the last books. We have this boy that I will not mention the name 'cause it can be spoilery that is just amazing and we all know he is *the one* but Georgia keeps not seeing that and confusing like with hotness until the last second, so yeah, don't get your hopes up like I did on the last few books.

If you still didn't got it this is the kind of series you wan to pick up when you're feeling down and need a really good laugh, all the books are short and it's really easy to read it on one sitting (if you listen to the audios they usually have about 4 hours). Recommended to everyone. Seriously, is so good. 

Do yourself a favor and Treat Yo Self with this series

Geek Girl - Holly Smale

Geek Girl by Holly Smale
Series: Geek Girl #1
Published by HarperTeen on January 27, 2015
Pages: 384
Genres: Contemporary, Humor

Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss

Amazon • The Book Depository • Goodreads 

Geek + runway = a hilarious runaway hit! This bestselling UK debut is full of humor and high-fashion hijinks—and now it’s coming to America.

Harriet Manners is tired of being labeled a geek. So when she’s discovered by a modeling agent, she seizes the chance to reinvent herself. There’s only one problem: Harriet is the definition of awkward. Does she have what it takes to transform from geek to chic?

Geek Girl is the first book in a hilarious new trilogy. It was also the #1 bestselling YA debut of 2013 in the UK, where it was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Best Book for Teens. With all the humor and fabulous shenanigans of Louise Rennison’s Confessions of Georgia Nicolson and Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries, Geek Girl is about to become an international superstar.

This book was so much fun! I downloaded it from Edelweiss and started reading on an impulse and it was the best decision ever, it was a one read sitting kinda of book that made me laugh out loud and had the most crazy plot ever. Also, this is the first time that I have to agree with the comparisons on the sinopses, this book is a matchup of Georgia Nicolson - with its crazy plot and characters, the british slang and hilarious lines - and The Princess Diaries - Harriet is such a Mia with her freaking out over everything and making a big deal out of things.

One of my favorite things about this was the family dynamics, Harriet lives with her father and stepmother and I absolutely loved their relationships, her dad and his nerdy references, his funny way of dealing with things and (sometimes to much) laid back way; her stepmother being the opposite of that, a lawyer always on suits and with a plan of action. I specially loved how Harriet locked up to her stepmother, there isn't enough books out there that represent a positive relationship between a teen and their step-relative.

The friendships presented here also were great, Harriet has one best friend and they relationship was portrait in a very truthful way - they fight but on the end are always there for each other (+ always ready to kick some bully ass, which is that what friends are for right?). We have a stalker on this one too, but I didn't found it alarming, like I'm totally against stalking and all but this one was so clear to a funny part, also he is also ready to jump on and defend Harriet against bullies (or at least stay behind her, for support of course) so it was all good on my view.

The romance was a bit "meh", I could have done without it but Harriet is a 14-years-old girl so isn't a mystery to know why she feel so head over heels for a supermodel. Also about Harriet having 14-years-old, because of this the narrative turns really juvenile and sometimes too young, it didn't really bothered me much, but it also isn't the book if you're looking for a more mature YA.

I recommend this to readers who want a laugh out loud funny book, a quickly mindless candy-brain read, and also people looking for books to give for a younger teen.

We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story - Josh Sundquist

We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story by Josh Sundquist
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on December 23, 2014 
Pages: 336
Genres: Memoir, Non-Fiction, Humor
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley

Amazon • The Book Depository • Goodreads 

"When I was twenty-five years old, it came to my attention that I had never had a girlfriend. At the time, I was actually under the impression that I was in a relationship, so this bit of news came as something of a shock." Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down each of the girls he had tried to date since middle school and asked them straight up: What went wrong?
The results of Josh's semiscientific investigation are in your hands. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), and a misguided "grand gesture" at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love-or at least a girlfriend-in all the wrong places. Poignant, relatable, and totally hilarious, this memoir is for anyone who has ever wondered, "Is there something wrong with me?"
(Spoiler Alert: the answer is no.)

I have never read a non-fiction book before but when I saw that this book was written by Josh Sundquist (a motivational speaker who has a very funny channel on Youtube) AND it was about his "failings" on the romantic life it was a no-brainer that I wanted to read this. This book was funny, full of fun charts and totally relatable to anyone that has dated already.

What I liked the most on this one was definitely to see how much Josh freak out over dates, as a girl on her 20's and single is pretty amazing to read from a point of view of a guy and see that they too have fears of putting themselves out there - rom-com always tell the story from the girl's perspective and the guys always look completely comfortable and cool with the date, yeah real life isn't like this.

Josh's voice translated really good to paper, it was funny and (having seeing some of his videos) very close to his videos, there was a lot of graphics (which is common on his videos). What I especially liked was the way Josh talked about "issues topics" like the lost of his leg and dealing with that and religion, I never felt like he was... Like, preaching his ideas on the readers, he just stated them - particularly on the religion thing, I never read books too focused on it and this one wasn't but his church is a big part of Josh's life and I was surprised that it never bothered me, never, probably because the way it was told it was just something intricate with Josh.

I would have liked more from the last chapter when he finally meet his girlfriend, also the realization of why he never has had a girlfriend it was so damn cliche. A little more from his family and friends wouldn't have hurt either, it was really focused just on the girlfriends and their dates and stuff, I would have liked I little bit more of Josh without the girlfriends involved.

Recommended to lovers of romantic comedies, contemporary romances and people trying their first memoir who want something that reads like fiction.