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Mailbox Monday #425

May 1, 2017 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links. Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Martha, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

Benjamin Franklin You’ve Got Mail by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel, a second surprise copy I’m donating to the library.

If the Future has any remedy for this situation, do not hesitate to provide it. That is to say, Ike and Claire Wanzandae, HELP! HELP HELP HELP.

I am (perhaps not for long),
Benjamin Franklin

Ike Saturday has seen better days. For one thing, his pen pal, Benjamin Franklin (yes, that Benjamin Franklin), is the target of an angry mob after Ike’s plan to help the Founding Fathers with some intel from the future seriously backfired. For another, he’s decided to mail himself back in time with the help of his girlfriend, Claire Wanzandae, and it’s not a particularly comfortable way to travel.

Once Ike tracks B-Freezy down in 1776, it becomes clear that his pal is less than impressed with the irritating, modern-day rescuer, partially because Ike has a habit of making things worse for Ben, and partially because Ben is incredibly cranky when not in the presence of numerous meat pies. Which speaks to another issue for the pair: they have no money, no food, and basically no plan for saving the country. But Claire won’t be able to cover for Ike back home in the future forever, and the British are looking pretty impatient, so Ike and B-Freezy will have to come up with something quickly if they want to avoid an epic, history-destroying disaster.

In this hilarious sequel to Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My . . . , Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel take Ike and B-Freezy’s antics to the next level as this ill-paired (and sometimes actually ill) duo hold the future of the world in their not-so-capable hands.

The Beach House Cookbook by Mary Kay Andrews for review.

You don’t have to own a beach house to enjoy Mary Kay Andrews’ recipes. All you need is an appetite for delicious, casual dishes, cooked with the best fresh, local ingredients and presented with the breezy flair that make Mary Kay Andrews’ novels a summertime favorite at the beach.

From an early spring dinner of cherry balsamic-glazed pork medallions and bacon-kissed Brussels sprouts to Fourth of July buttermilk-brined fried chicken, potato salad, and pudding parfaits to her New Year’s Day Open House menu of roast oysters, home-cured gravlax, grits ‘n’ greens casserole, and lemon-cream cheese pound cake, this cookbook will supply ideas for menus and recipes designed to put you in a permanently carefree, coastal state of mind all year long.

Star Trek Psychology: The Mental Frontier by Travis Langley and Chris Gore, an unexpected surprise from the publisher that I will pass on to someone who would enjoy it.

The next entry in Sterling’s Popular Culture Psychology series features 20 chapters and exclusive interviews with cast members and Rod Roddenberry. In a fun and accessible way, Star Trek Psychology delves deep into the psyches of the show’s well-known and beloved characters. The trailblazing franchise spans five TV series, 13 films, and countless novelizations. It celebrated, as no other form of entertainment had before, a world filled with space-traveling dreams and human diversity. In the process, it became one of the oldest and most popular sci-fi franchises of all time. Star Trek Psychology uses academic and scientific theories to analyze and answer such questions as Why do Trek’s aliens look so human? and How can the starship’s holodeck be used for therapy? This compilation examines alien neurobiology, discusses identity formation for shapeshifters, explores the importance of emotion for artificial intelligence, and much more.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mailbox Monday #417

March 6, 2017 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links. Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Martha, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

Benjamin Franklin You’ve Got Mail by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel, an unexpected surprise and I’m passing it on to someone’s son who will enjoy it.

If the Future has any remedy for this situation, do not hesitate to provide it. That is to say, Ike and Claire Wanzandae, HELP! HELP HELP HELP.

I am (perhaps not for long),
Benjamin Franklin

Ike Saturday has seen better days. For one thing, his pen pal, Benjamin Franklin (yes, that Benjamin Franklin), is the target of an angry mob after Ike’s plan to help the Founding Fathers with some intel from the future seriously backfired. For another, he’s decided to mail himself back in time with the help of his girlfriend, Claire Wanzandae, and it’s not a particularly comfortable way to travel.

Once Ike tracks B-Freezy down in 1776, it becomes clear that his pal is less than impressed with the irritating, modern-day rescuer, partially because Ike has a habit of making things worse for Ben, and partially because Ben is incredibly cranky when not in the presence of numerous meat pies. Which speaks to another issue for the pair: they have no money, no food, and basically no plan for saving the country. But Claire won’t be able to cover for Ike back home in the future forever, and the British are looking pretty impatient, so Ike and B-Freezy will have to come up with something quickly if they want to avoid an epic, history-destroying disaster.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , ,

Seriously, You Have to Eat by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Owen Brozman

November 6, 2015 by

Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Hardcover, 32 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Seriously, You Have to Eat by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Owen Brozman, is similar to his previous book about the struggles of parenting, though this one is a little more kid friendly.  Rather than rely on the outrageous language and profanity, this book focuses on the food asked for an not eaten, the animals that eat no matter what is given to them by their parents, and the astonishing amount of energy that kids seem to have even if they do not eat their meals throughout the day.  My daughter was not as tickled by this book as I would have thought.  The illustrations are fine and the rhymes are pretty good for the most part, but she may not have seen the sarcastic humor in this one.  It may still be a little more geared to those struggling parents, than their kids.

Beyond the struggles with getting kids to eat, this one also touches on the little battles over what kids want to wear versus what they should be wearing to school.  There is one moment in the book in which the child is given milk to drink and the “kitchen” is closed, but the parent grabs a drink that smells like “peat.”  As a parent of a young child — we glossed over this part — I’m leery of introducing the idea that alcohol is a way to “solve” or deal with problems.  Yes, parenting is stressful, and yes, parents may take a drink to unwind, I’m just not sure that’s a message kids should be learning.

Seriously, You Have to Eat by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Owen Brozman, is a book more fore parents than children, even though the language is less profane.  Even if parents share this book with their kids, they may want to gloss over certain things or change them up a bit.

Other Reviews:

Go the F**k to Sleep

Filed Under: children's fiction, Library Thing Early Reviewers, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2015, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Mailbox Monday #344

October 12, 2015 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

1. Seriously, You Have to Eat by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Owen Brozman for review from LibraryThing Early Reviewers!

On the heels of the New York Times best seller You Have to F**king Eat (a sequel to the worldwide mega-best seller Go the F**k to Sleep), now comes the version that is entirely appropriate to read to–and with–children. While the message and humor will be similar to the adult version, there will, of course, be no profanity whatsoever.

Step aside Green Eggs and Ham, there’s a new, 21st-century book in town that will compel all finicky children to eat!

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , ,

Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, Illustrated by Ricardo Cortes, Read by Samuel L. Jackson

July 29, 2011 by

Adam Mansbach’s Go the F**k to Sleep, illustrated by Ricardo Cortes and read by Samuel L. Jackson, is a “children’s book for adults” that will have most parents nodding, “YES!”  As a new parent, this book made me agree wholeheartedly with its sentiments about how hard it is to get kids to go to sleep.

They are often too wired to sleep or simply too worried that they will miss something important by going to bed.

THIS IS NOT a book for children; it is for adults and would be considered humor.  This is not a review of the book’s illustrations because I listened to this book via audio from Audible.

Samuel L. Jackson is a natural narrator for this book because of his brash attitude in his movies and the reputation he’s garnered as a result.  His narration gains momentum as he continues reading through the rhymed story, and the frustration escalates.  It is this movement and cadence that will amuse readers as they shudder with understanding — kids that need a drink or want one more story read to them before sleeping.

“The wind whispers soft through the grass, hon.  The field mice, they make not a peep.  It’s been 38 minutes already.  Jesus Christ, what the f**k! Go to sleep!”

One drawback is that the word “f**k” is used from the very first lines throughout the book, but it may have been more effective to save its use for later on as the frustration gains ground.  One of the best moments of the book is when the narrator realizes that his child will not be sleeping and has given up saying, “No,” and simply acquiesces to whatever the latest request is.  What makes the narration even more poignant is the light, lullaby music in the background.

Go the F**k to Sleep is a hilarious look at parenthood, and the introduction by Jackson about his own struggles with getting his daughter to sleep further drives home the point that we are not alone.

About the Author:

Adam Mansbach is an American author and professor of fiction[1] at Rutgers University[2] who wrote the “children’s book for adults” Go the Fuck to Sleep.[3] Other books Mansbach has written include Angry Black White Boy and The End of the Jews[4] (for which he won the California Book Award for fiction in 2008)

 

This is my 36th book for the 2011 New Authors Reading Challenge.

 

 

This is my 1st book for the 2011 Audio Book Challenge and the 1st I listened to on my Kindle.

Filed Under: 2011 Audio Book Challenge, audiobooks, challenges, humor, New Authors Challenge, purchased, Read in 2011, reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,