Fun Friday: #BookadayUK No. 13

It's Friday the 13th, friends! And what better day to laugh at the darkness than today? I'm participating in the superfun #bookadayUK hashtag event only on Fridays because, well, I have other things to do. Frankly.

But here it is--Friday--so let the hilarity begin!

Oh ... and before you jump all over me about the scandal known as bookaday-gate, read the note at the end of this post. I'm just trying to fill my blog here, people. Honest.

BOOK A DAY No. 13: Books That Made Me Laugh

I could go on and on about Tim Federle and his books Better Nate Than Ever and Five, Six, Seven, Nate! But you can read about them in the links I just snuck into the last sentence. They are books to make you snort your milk out your nose, but then, so are these:

King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography
by Chris Crutcher
Greenwillow Books, 2004
YA/adult memoir

Told in the spirit of A Christmas Story, Crutcher's memories of boyhood in the 1950s are hilariously told in this short memoir. Read my Goodreads review here for more, then go buy this. Chris is an amazing writer whose YA titles include the fantastic novel Deadline (Greenwillow, 2007) and Period 8 (Greenwillow, 2013), among many others.

The Code of the Woosters
by P.G. Wodehouse
W.W. Norton, 2011 (originally pubbed in 1938)
adult fiction

When I'm down, or sick, or just want to laugh until my stomach begs me to stop, I reach for Wodehouse. He's been lauded as the funniest writer in history, and while I love Mark Twain and so many others, I have to concur. Hapless Bertie Wooster, who has too much money and time on his hands, would be in desperate straits were it not for his faithful valet (a "gentleman's gentleman"), Jeeves. Bertie is happily forever lost in 1920s Britain, before the war, when the most anyone had to worry about was a missing cow-creamer. This is Jeeves & Wooster at their hilarious best.



Note: Borough Press, which sponsors this fun idea, lately realized that there was already a #bookaday hashtag out there. So ... sorry for the confusion. Borough Press has changed their hashtag to #bookadayUK. The original Book a Day campaign is going strong! It's an annual summertime challenge hosted by The Nerdy Book Club here. So go do that. I would, but I have other things to do too. Frankly.

Next Friday: The book that wears my favorite cover. Check out more #bookadayuk fun here, on Twitter.

Review: FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, NATE! by Tim Federle

Title: Five, Six, Seven, Nate!
Author: Tim Federle
Pub info: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014; 304 pp
Genre: MG/YA contemporary, ages 10+

For me, this does qualify as a book I've been meaning to read for a while (TBR Book No. 7) because Tim was kind enough to give me an advanced readers' copy at last summer's ALA Conference. (We shared a time slot at the Simon & Schuster booth, but believe me, the fans were all at Tim's table!) If you're interested in this book, I'd recommend you read the first, Better Nate Than Ever, before reading Five, Six. It's not strictly necessary, but it's definitely more fun.

Goodreads summary:

Nate Foster's Broadway dreams are finally coming true. Armed with a one-way ticket to New York City, small-town theater geek Nate is off to start rehearsals for E.T.: The Broadway Musical . It's everything he ever practiced his autograph for! But as thrilling as Broadway is, rehearsals are nothing like Nate expects: full of intimidating child start, cutthroat understudies, and a director who can't even remember Nate's name. Now, as the countdown to opening night is starting to feel more like a time bomb, Nate is going to need more than his lucky rabbit's foot if he ever wants to see his name in lights. He may even need a showbiz miracle.

Status: finished 3/7/14

My impressions:
It should come as no shock that I adored Five, Six, Seven, Nate! After all, I fell head over heels for Nate in his first book, Better Nate Than Ever (S&S Books for Young Readers, 2013). This isn't a typical story--how many novels for preteens have you read about a theatrical debut?--and yet it is. The beauty of Tim Federle's story is that he takes ordinary preteen angst issues--a first crush, bullying, trying to fit in, longing to live your dream--and drops them into a world that few readers will have firsthand knowledge of. So the ground is familiar enough for readers to grab hold and say, Yeah, that's me, but new enough to sustain their ever-wavering attention.

And because it's Tim Federle, you can expect Nate's second tale to make you laugh and warm your heart with very real characters. From best friend Libby to pampered Broadway star Jordan, each one will at first bring a nod of recognition and then, like real people do, they'll surprise you. And an added bonus: This book has perhaps the sweetest first kiss I've ever read.

So, yeah. I love Nate. As a mom, I want to adopt him and yank him away from provincial Jankburg, Pennsylvania. (And bring him where? Provincial Shawnee, Kansas?) I can't do that, but I can remember, as we all should, that everyone's dreams are legitimate, and everyone has the right to play them out, whatever their ends. Enjoy this book. You certainly won't forget it.

About Tim:
Tim Federle grew up in San Francisco and Pittsburgh before moving to New York to dance on Broadway. Tim's debut novel, Better Nate Than Ever, was featured on several Best of 2013 lists, including the New York Times Book Review, Slate.com, Amazon.com, and Publishers Weekly. Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist, Tim's novelty recipe guide, was voted the #1 Cookbook of the Year on Goodreads. Currently Tim is working on a new book series about kids at theater camp.

Online:
Visit Tim's website here. He's also active on Twitter, where he's just as funny as he is in real life. You can view a trailer for Five, Six, Seven, Nate! right here.


Want to win a free copy of this book? The first Monday of each month features a giveaway of any of the titles I've reviewed the previous month. Pick your fave, enter, and win! Next giveaway: April 7.

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To follow my progress as I bulldoze my way through a stack of 51 to-be-reads this year, search for the tag 2014 TBR Shelf. Read all the reviews here.

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Check out more great MMGM links at Shannon Messenger's blog!

TBR 2014: Book No. 7

I'm already up to Book No. 7 on the 2014 TBR List! It's Tim Federle's fantastic Five, Six, Seven, Nate! (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014). And no, I'm not about to take a bite out of it in the photo above; I'm laughing my #$%! off. This sequel to the absolutely hilarious Better Nate Than Ever (S&S BFYR, 2013) follows young Nate in his Broadway debut starring in ET: The Musical. Tim is a fabulous, funny writer who has already made a big splash in his writing career.

“[W]ill appeal to every budding theater geek. Encore!”  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Nate will sing and dance his way right into readers’ hearts."  --Kirkus (starred review)

Even if you've not read Better Nate Than Ever, the sequel looks like it can stand on its own. Come on, blogfrogs! You gotta dance--and you gotta read!


That's right: I've committed to reading all the books on my TBR Shelf this year--and blogging them! Click here to read the reviews I've posted so far.