Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? Louise Rennison

This is the last Georgia Nicolson book! The very last one!

The band is making it big and going off to London to be proper rock stars. Masimo wants Georgia to move with them! Yes, she's only 15, but he's a Luuuuuuuuuuuuurve God. But first she must survive another Shakespearean extravaganza.

Their production of Romeo and Juliet is hysterical. Although this is the LAST AND FINAL book in the series, it doesn't read like one. YES I like how it ended but... this is Georgia, Rennison could totally write another book starting the next day where Georgia pantses is all up. Which has happened on many, many occasions. To the point where I almost don't *trust* this ending. But I guess I must because (a) I like it (b) there will be no more fabnosity.

Oh Georgia, even though you'd have so much less drama in your life if you just chilled out a bit, I will miss you dreadfully. I love you and the mad gang dearly. I love your crazy family and your demented cat and your array of boys in the cakeshop of life. You have changed my vocabulary forever. You have made me snort all manner of liquids out my nose. You made many, many people stare at me oddly as I laughed loudly at this book flying back from London.

Speaking of, even though I had the US edition pre-ordered and everything, a few weeks before it came out I was walking through Heathrow and saw a giant display of this book and couldn't help myself. It not only entertained me wonderfully on the flight home, but I'm happy to say that the British edition still has the glossary in back. HUZZAH!

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Weekly Geeks!

I also try to be a weekly geek (I mean, I do geek out daily in my own special way) but I never seem to get around to it.

BUT! HA! Better late than never, right? This week we're talking book covers. I'm going to talk about consistency within a series. I'm a big fan of consistency. I like the books on my shelf to match and am not happy when a series changes look half way through. I mean, read my rants here and here about the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series.

And Georgia's where I'm going to start, because I wasn't originally a fan of the new covers. When I started reading, the covers all looked like this:



But, when Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers went to paperback, they changed cover designs. Now the first 4 books (pictured above) look like this:



Now, it's been a few years, and the new covers are starting to grow on me. I like that they incorporate Angus (the cat) on every cover, because he is a big part of every book. I especially like the new cover for Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants, because the romantic shadow on the wall is that of two cats. It's subtle and funny once you read the book (although the old cover, check out the man in the moon--it's two kissing cats!) I miss the old covers, but I do think the new ones will appeal to more teens today. I still, however, insist that those nunga nungas would not knock anyone out.

Despite my fuddy-duddy DON'T CHANGE THE BOOK COVER ways, sometimes it's necessary. I've been reading the Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (expect a big review this weekend or next week.)

Now, Naylor started writing the Alice books in the mid-80s and the series is ongoing. The old covers needed to go. However, they then changed the covers again and the newest ones are fine, but the older ones are still good. Here's the progression for Alice in Rapture, Sort Of.



And! Some of the newer titles/those featuring an older Alice, have totally different covers! (I'm judging entire remakes based on the "Alice" logo, which is consistent across books, but changes when they redesign the overall package)

Now, these two versions of Including Alice are pretty similar, to the point where I think both pictures were taken in the same photoshoot--the model is wearing the same top! But, I think they're both paperbacks...:



There's a bigger difference between these two paperback versions of Alice in April



And a really big difference between these two paperback versions of


The big thing I can see with the newer editions of the Alice books is that each cover seems to look like it's for an older audience than the older cover. I'm wondering why this is. Alice has always been a very controversial series (Alice thinks about sex a lot. Not that she wants to have a lot of it, but just that's she's naturally very curious about this thing that no one talks about.) So, are the publishers trying to push it into older hands by making the covers look older?

Or is it because kids like to read "up"--reading about characters older than they are and books that look older. So are the publishers aging up the covers so that the kids who are Alice's age (she ages a year every 3 books) won't think they're too babyish based on the cover?

Also, some of the covers needed to change. The illustrated version of Alice in Rapture, Sort of needed to go. But the middle one is the right age for Alice. The newer one of the heart in the beach, while technically age ambiguous, makes it feel like it's for a much older reader. The newer version of Simply Alice looks more like how old Alice should be. She's 15 and a sophomore in high school in that book--the older one just looks too young. On the other hand, the newer Alice in April might be too old, as the older one (where you can see her face) looks about the right age.

What are your thoughts?

Georgia On My Mind

Have you nominated your Cybils titles yet?

There's still time to enter my banned books give away! See the bottom for details!

Today's book hasn't been banned, but other books in the series have been sometimes because the title are too suggestive (On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God) or for the baffling accusation of pornographic content (really Menasha WI? Really? Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging is porn? Really?)

Also, I got mock-yelled at today by a former co-worker of mine because he reads this blog (HI DAVID!) and even though he's a grown man, I got him hooked on this series, which I find both awesome and hysterical.

Stop in the Name of Pants! Louise Rennison

Georgia is once again on the rack of love. Masimo wants an answer, Robbie's back in town, and then there's always the Dave the Laugh factor.

I liked this book. Georgia has to deal with some real drama this time--drama she didn't create, and drama she can't control. This book actually made me cry, and not just because I was laughing too hard. Also, Wet Lindsay is back! Hurrah!

Many moons ago, for Weekly Geeks #12, Becky asked me the following questions:

Does it have Dave the Laugh?

Holy Cow, YES!!!!

And how much is he in it?!

A lot. Dave the Laugh fans will rejoice at his starring role in this one!

And how about this one...is Georgia any closer to growing as a character? Or is it the same old, same old?

She does grow, but not a lot. So, she's still loveable shallow crazy Georgia, but in her reactions to these other outside-her-control things in her life, you see she's not the same girl we started reading about.

When it comes to the last page are we back where we started on page one? Georgia confused about boys once again!?

Yes and no. I mean, she's still confused, but things have changed.

I have some spoiler-y thoughts here.

BOOK GIVE AWAY INFO!

To celebrate our right to read, I'm giving away banned books. All you have to do is check out the banned book lists on my sidebar and email me (kidsilkhaze at yahoo dot com) with your choice of book (if it's a series, you can choose any volume in the series). If you blog about the contest and email me the link, I'll give you an extra entry. Multiple winners will be selected. The contest ends on midnight on Sunday and is open world wide. GO READ!

Phoar!

Final done, fireworks watched, and all is lovely-jubley with the world.

Anyway, a review, because that is what we, here, at Biblio File, are all about.

Love Is a Many Trousered Thing by Louise Rennison

According to the opening letter, this book was originally supposed to be called Trouser Snakes A-Go-Go which would have been even more full of hilariousity.

Anyway, let's see, last we saw the fantabulous Miss Georgia, Masimo had just told her she was his one and only and then Robbie, the original Sex God, showed up from Kiwi-a-go-go land. Ful of sophistocity and maturousity, Georgia mumbled some rubbish about having to catch a train and ran away.

So, as this installment starts, Georgia is sitting on a wall in the park, trying to catch her breath, as running in heels is hard. Now, she has found herself back on the rack of lurve. She has gone into the bakery of love and accidentally walked out with two cakes. Or possibly no cakes, as Masimo hasn't called and she's still not entirely sure what Robbie is doing in town and what he wants. And, of course, there is always the Wet Lindsay factor. And Dave the Laugh has gotten himself a group of titchy little fans. Georgia wants advice from the Hornmeister himself, but can't quite bring herself to ask, and she's not entirely sure why.

This book is basically one big nervy b. as Georgia tries to figure out what's going on. There are bouts of hilariousity including the bison dance and the invention of snot disco dancing. Uncle Eddie continues to grow more disturbing.

Georgia has some big desicions to make and--get this-- she actually makes some. And actually talks to her Mutti a bit.

Erlack a pogoes!

Not as funny as Startled by His Furry Shorts (which is the funniest so far). And don't worry, it doesn't seem that Georgia has grown up at all.

Jas is starting to wear on me, but I'm liking Rosie more and more. Where did Honor and Soph come from? Did I forget them from Startled by His Furry Shorts? Or did they just appear out of nowhere?

Well, all's left to do know is sit on our hands until the next one. Luckily, this volume not only has the customary glossary written by Georgia herself, but a few other appendixes. We not only get the new and revised snog scale, but a run down of the ace gang AND the lyrics and dance moves to the Bison Dance and Snot Disco. So maybe instead of sitting on our hands, we should maybe stomp stomp to the left, leg kick leg kick?

HOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

Also, for your viewing pleasure, this is what a Robin Reliant looks like. She's right. It is a clown car.

Oo-er

You wanna know how difficult my life is right now?

Well, I have a final exam due tomorrow at 11:55pm. I am not very far along on it because I've been slaving over my final project (which is going to be awesome, but still needs a lot of work.)

So, tomorrow=no fireworks, and I live in DC which has the greatest fireworks of all, and I LOVE fireworks. Poo. Plus, Dan comes home tomorrow. I'm hoping he'll be horribly jetlagged and will need to sleep all afternoon so I don't feel badly about blowing him off to work on my final. (Hi Honey! I hope you had a good time in Argentina! You can tell me all about it tomorrow, because I need to work on my test now! Go away!)

And, just this very minute, the very nice UPS man came to my door and gave me this, 2 days early.

How am I supposed to concentrate on usability testing and software implementation plans when a bright pink copy of Love Is a Many Trousered Thing is waiting for me?

Plus, Reptile World is coming to the library tonight and I'm introducing the program and such. I'm not such a big fan of reptiles. Oh well. I hoping there will be lots of kids who will be excited about such things...

Milk Out Your Nose Funny

So... Tuesday night I ended up going out and didn't read Startled by His Furry Shorts until yesterday...

Georgia's back in full force in a longer-than-usual installment of hillariousity. MacUseless rehersals are in full swing as opening night approaches, first-formers are being tortured by Wet Lindsay and Astonishinly Dim Monica AND Mark the Gob, Libby continues her "sex bum" dance, Masimo has one week to tell Georgia whether or not he'll exclusively see her, Dave the Laugh is having a laugh? snogging Georgia and then leaving the party with Emma!, then there's Robbie, the original Sex God, plus Radio Jas, Rosie and Sven's wedding, the return of the bison horns, Elvis's obsession with fire safety, Slim, Miss Stamp, Herr Kramer, and Wet Lindsay's scary hair extensions...

I love these series this one was even funnier than usual-- one of the best so far... as usual per late, Rennison leaves us hanging off a cliff, so I must already start counting down the days until next year!

Also, a note on the new cover design...

When I opened up the Amazon box Tuesday night, I showed Dan the new covers and he said exactly what I was thinking:

"There is no way you could knock yourself out with those Nunga-Nungas!