#andy robb

Looking Back at “Load Runner”

Who remembers when computers had an incredible 52K of memory – and that was with an expansion upgrade? If you do, then you might remember Load Runner – a very short-lived fortnightly comic published in 1983 from London-based ECC Publications, who were also publishers of magazines such as Sinclair User, 16/48, and the exciting-tiled Acorn Programs.

Load Runner Issue One, cover dated 6th July…

…or at least chuckle. Although if we’re talking Weirdos vs Bumskulls and Julius Zebra then there was some serious laughter going on. I do hope you check these out and enjoy them as much as I did.

.

Weirdos vs Bumskulls by Natasha Desborough

Funnier, weirder, ruder – Blossom is back. After performing the brilliant and unlikely feat of getting sexy rock god Josh Raven to perform at the school disco, Blossom Uxley-Michaels has decided that being a Weirdo is actually kind of awesome. Things get more exciting when Blossom’s band, Camel Toe, enter the Battle of the Bands.

But Camel Toe find they have competition from an unlikely source. Then Blossom meets Vince, sexy mancake and lead singer of rival band Bumskulls. And supposedly loved-up Petrina has been spotted dribbling at the bass player… Amidst a churning whirlpool of love, war and music, can the Weirdos keep their quest for musical domination on track or will it all go norks up?

This is actually the sequel to Weirdos vs Quimboids (which I recommend you read as well) and it had me rolling with laughter. I am not kidding.

  Julius Zebra: Rumble With The Romans by Gary Northfield

From a smelly watering hole deep in the heart of the Serengeti to the ferocious clamour of the Colosseum, join Julius Zebra and his motley menagerie of friends as they gear up to be… GLADIATORS!

Only if they win the love of the Roman crowds will they win back their freedom. But do Julius and his pals have what it takes to succeed in a world where only the meanest and toughest survive?

  Rockoholic by C J Skuse

She’s got it bad, and he ain’t good – he’s in her garage? Gonna have to face it: Jody’s addicted to Jackson Gatlin, frontman of The Regulators, and after her best bud Mac scores tickets, she’s front and center at his sold-out concert. But when she gets mashed in the moshpit, loses her precious moon rock, and bodysurfs backstage, she ends up with more than a mild concussion to deal with. By the next morning, the strung-out rock star is coming down in her garage. Jody — oops — kind of kidnapped him. By accident. And now he doesn’t want to leave.

  Petunia Perry and the Curse of the Ugly Pigeon by Pamela Butchart

Petunia Perry has decided to write her memoirs. She wants the world to know what it’s like to start secondary school with a best friend who stages one-person flash mobs in the canteen, a mother who over-shares at parents’ evenings and an unwelcome suitor who draws pictures of her as a unicorn. But it’s when she decides to start a band with a spoon-player and a lead-singer who’s a cat that things take a turn for the truly crazy…

  Have a Little Faith (Faith #1) by Candy Harper

Year Ten has just begun and I’m already in trouble. The way Miss Ramsbottom acts you’d think I’m always causing explosions or giving teachers’ radical haircuts (whereas it was just that one time). And now she’s separated me from my best friend, Megs, which means I have no one to give me a piggy back or check for dangly bogies. At least the school is trying to make amends by bussing in boys for our choir. So I can stare at Dreamy Finn until he realises I’m the girl for him… except he’s singing a duet with my sworn enemy and her big head keeps blocking my view. Fortunately, I’ve got a plan to solve both problems; as long as I’m careful with the squeezy cheese and the underage driving everything should be just fine…

Good news, there is two more books in the series. ;)

.

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

After her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, sophomore Savannah Delano wishes she could find a true prince to take her to the prom. Enter Chrissy (Chrysanthemum) Everstar: Savannah’s gum-chewing, cell phone–carrying, high heel-wearing Fair Godmother. Showing why she’s only Fair—because she’s not a very good fairy student—Chrissy mistakenly sends Savannah back in time to the Middle Ages, first as Cinderella, then as Snow White. Finally she sends Tristan, a boy in Savannah’s class, back instead to turn him into her prom-worthy prince. When Savannah returns to the Middle Ages to save Tristan, they must team up to defeat a troll, a dragon, and the mysterious and undeniably sexy Black Knight. Laughs abound in this clever fairy tale twist from a master of romantic comedy.

  .

Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb

“If you haven’t worked it out yet, girls don’t do this. They don’t come to the Hovel. They don’t like goblins and dragons. They don’t paint miniatures. They don’t play role playing games or re-enact fictional battles. And they don’t talk to Geeks like me especially if they’re pretty. And this girl is pretty.”

What do you do if you’re a fourteen-year-old Geek, and a Beautiful Girl has appeared in the midst of your geeky world? And she seems to like you… For Archie, the natural reaction would be to duck and cover … run for the hills … buy a new model elf… Anything but risk stepping into the Real World. But even Geeks have to put their heads above the parapet at some point. With his mum barely able to contain her excitement that her son is about to join the human race, and his step-father, Tony the Tosser, offering crass advice, it’s time for Archie to embark on a daring Quest to win the Beautiful Girl’s heart and shake off his Geekhood for good…

  The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

Warning: once you let books into your life, the most unexpected things can happen…

This is a book about books. All sorts of books, from Little Women and Harry Potter to Jodi Picoult and Jane Austen, from to Stieg Larsson to Joyce Carol Oates to Proust. It’s about the joy and pleasure of books, about learning from and escaping into them, and possibly even hiding behind them. It’s about whether or not books are better than real life.

It’s also a book about a Swedish girl called Sara, her elderly American penfriend Amy and what happens when you land a very different kind of bookshop in the middle of a town so broken it’s almost beyond repair.

Or is it?

There aren’t any laugh-out-out moments as such but there are some moments…

  The Diaries of Bluebell Gadsby Series

Blue Gadsby’s twin sister, Iris, died three years ago and her family has never been the same. Her histrionic older sister, Flora, changes her hair color daily; her younger siblings, Jasmine and Twig, are completely obsessed with their pet rats; and both of her parents spend weeks away from home–and each other. Enter Zoran the Bosnian male au pair and Joss the troublemaking boy next door, and life for the Gadsby family takes a turn for the even more chaotic. Blue poignantly captures her family’s trials and tribulations from fragmented to fully dysfunctional to ultimately reunited, in a sequence of film transcripts and diary entries that will make you cry, laugh, and give thanks for the gift of families.

It doesn’t matter which book. Each one has moments that will make you laugh.

.

Awkward by Marni Bates

Mackenzie Wellesley has spent her life avoiding the spotlight. At Smith High, she’s the awkward junior people only notice when they need help with homework. Until she sends a burly football player flying with her massive backpack and makes a disastrous – not to mention unwelcome – attempt at CPR. Before the day is out, the whole fiasco explodes on YouTube. And then the strangest thing happens. Suddenly, Mackenzie is an Internet sensation, with four million hits and counting. Sucked into a whirlwind of rock stars, paparazzi, and free designer clothes, she even catches the eye of the most popular guy at school. And that’s when life gets really interesting…

I give the cat one last pat – just for luck – and follow. Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb, page 196

What am I currently reading? Last night I started Geekhood by Andy Robb. What did I finish reading recently? I finished reading an e-copy of Your Daily Brain: 24 Hours in the Life of Your Brain yesterday. (My review is here.) What am I reading next? I’m planning on reading The Curse of Crow Hollow next. (The post that inspired me to join this meme is here.)

Welcome to my world. Geekhood by Andy Robb, page 12

Quote de Quinta #9

O quote de hoje é sobre um livro fofo que li essa semana, Fator Nerd: Contatos Imediatos do 1º Amor. Confira a resenha aqui. Um livro infanto-juvenil super fofo, inteligente, engraçado e puramente nerd!

Selecionei algumas quotes que me chamaram atenção no livro e quero compartilhar com vocês:

Elas contêm minha parafernália de jogo. OK, aqui é onde preciso esclarecer mais uma coisa. Por causa…

Resenha – Fator Nerd: Contatos Imediatos do 1º Amor

Romance Infanto-juvenil. Esse é um dos livros infanto-juvenis mais engraçados e divertidos que já li nos últimos tempos. Andy Robb conseguiu abordar os problemas na adolescência de um garoto nerd de uma forma muito engraçada e com uma história envolvente.

No universo dos RPGs, Archie é um Mago Nível 5. No mundo real, seu Fator Nerd é 100% … e seus problemas são um pouco mais complicados do que…

Primeiro Parágrafo de… Fator Nerd: Contatos Imediatos do 1º Amor

Hoje é o dia de uma das colunas que mais gosto aqui do blog. Com Primeiro Parágrafo de… posso compartilhar um pouco dos livros que estou lendo e, é claro, levar vocês a se encantarem pelos livros também.

Fator Nerd: Contatos Imediatos do 1º Amoré um livro que me encantou desde o início. Seja pela capa fofa, pelo tema (sim, eu sou uma nerd convicta), pela sinopse e finalmente pela escrita de Andy…