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emesskay's review against another edition
1.0
So first of all I was excited to see this book. I have a reluctant reader, but he has enjoyed other Scieszka books (Battle Bunny, The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales) and we were both hoping the book would have the kind of offbeat humor found in those books. Now about my reluctant reader - he is a good reader - reads above grade level - but it is hard to find a book that he likes. He doesn't like books that are too suspenseful as that stresses him out and ruins the enjoyment of the book. He doesn't like books where characters are mean to each other or really bad things happen to them (e.g. loss of parent or pet), because he thinks about how he would feel in that situation and that makes him sad. I still read to him at bedtime because if I can find a book he will like, he will read it on his own, but he is reluctant to start anything new on his own. So last night I read him the first story in the book. At the end of it he asked me "how is that story funny?" and I had to agree I didn't think it was very funny, either.
So how much did my kid dislike this book? Well, before this book we had been reading Swiss Family Robinson, which (if you haven't read it) is a very slow moving book, so no worries about suspense or anything, and all the adventures generally have a happy ending. My son has nicknamed the book "Animal Hell Island" because many of the adventures the people go on are as follows: find a new, exotic animal; Identify the animal and discuss its characteristics and where it is usually found; kill the animal and eat it. Usually when I pull out Swiss Family Robinson my son groans and pretends to be asleep because he finds the book so boring. Last night after reading the first story in Guys Read: Funny Business, my son asked me to please read him some from Swiss Family Robinson to counteract the unpleasant feelings engendered by the story.
There were some stories which were mildly amusing. The one about the homicidal turkey (while a funny concept) would have given my kid nightmares, as would the one about the aliens repelled by broccoli.
So to sum up - parents, you know your kid best, I recommend reading the book first for yourself and see if the kind of humor presented in the book is the kind of humor your kid appreciates.
So how much did my kid dislike this book? Well, before this book we had been reading Swiss Family Robinson, which (if you haven't read it) is a very slow moving book, so no worries about suspense or anything, and all the adventures generally have a happy ending. My son has nicknamed the book "Animal Hell Island" because many of the adventures the people go on are as follows: find a new, exotic animal; Identify the animal and discuss its characteristics and where it is usually found; kill the animal and eat it. Usually when I pull out Swiss Family Robinson my son groans and pretends to be asleep because he finds the book so boring. Last night after reading the first story in Guys Read: Funny Business, my son asked me to please read him some from Swiss Family Robinson to counteract the unpleasant feelings engendered by the story.
There were some stories which were mildly amusing. The one about the homicidal turkey (while a funny concept) would have given my kid nightmares, as would the one about the aliens repelled by broccoli.
So to sum up - parents, you know your kid best, I recommend reading the book first for yourself and see if the kind of humor presented in the book is the kind of humor your kid appreciates.
casualreader5's review against another edition
4.0
Great for reluctant middle age readers! Fun stories that are just gross enough to keep their attention!
amylandranch's review against another edition
3.0
This is a collection of short stories that guys in particular might enjoy. Some were funny, some were gross out funny, and some were a little off but that is what made it such a great collection of short stories. My personal favorite was the exchange of letters back and forth between a student and a famous author.
jenunderhill's review against another edition
2.0
To be fair, I am not the target audience for this book. Perhaps a young boy would find all of these stories hilarious. The story by David Lubar made me laugh out loud numerous times, and I liked the one with Kate DiCamillo as well. Beyond that, I was not impressed.
funfetti7's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a huge fan of short stories, so it took me a while to read this book even though I'd received a free ARC from the publisher (and I also thought I'd given it away to my young cousin, but turned out it was sitting on my shelf! oops.). But It was definitely worth reading! I think this collection has something for everyone--a little sci/fi, a little superhero action, a little sentimental reflection, and a little bit of gross-out humor as well (and who doesn't love that?). There were a few stories I loved and a few that I...didn't, but all in all a great collection!
cosbrarian's review against another edition
3.0
My favorite story in this batch was Scieszka and DiCamillo's collaboration on "Your Question for Author Here."
booksandbosox's review against another edition
3.0
http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2012/10/review-guys-read-funny-business.html
salemprince's review against another edition
2.0
I know this is a book for boys, so maybe that's why I didn't like it that much. I just didn't find most of the stories funny. I love most of the authors, but the stories could have been much better.
mldavisreads's review
4.0
As with any short story collection, I liked some of the stories better than others. But overall they were funny and I can see middle school boys especially enjoying this collection.
pandemoniumpizza's review
There is a range of different stories in this one and I have some thoughts on each story individually so I thought I would talk a little bit about each story.
Best of Friends
I had an idea of how this story would go but I was actually a little bit wrong and the ending was not how I had expected it to go. I thought the story was pretty entertaining.
Will
Will was not a story I was expecting at all. It’s set in a world different from ours because a lot of the characters have different abilities and special powers. I wouldn’t define this one as comedy but I would still say that it’s a really entertaining science fiction/ fantasy read.
Artemis Begins
I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was well-written and it had quite a few funny parts. I could see what would happen in the end but I still really enjoyed reading through this one.
Kid Appeal
I thought that this one had some funny moments in it. I did laugh out loud at a couple of things but I felt like there was something missing with the story.
Your Question for Author Here
I thought this story was pretty good. The story was intriguing and the ending was predictable but I thought that it was a well-written and interesting story.
A Fistful of Feathers
The ending of this one was really funny and I enjoyed reading through it but I did find it to be a really long story and some of the parts were a little dull. I would say it’s worth reading through for the ending though.
Unaccompanied Minors
I don’t have a lot to say about this one. It was basically just a bunch of little stories where the brothers play pranks on each other. It was interesting enough but not the greatest story I’ve ever read.
What? You think you got it rough?
This one was basically just about a guy whose Grandad was quite a mean guy. Nothing exceptionally intriguing happened in this one it just wasn’t all that appealing to me either.
My Parents gave my Bedroom to a biker
I thought this one was interesting at first but then when it got into the story it edged over to absurd and I just really didn’t like the direction that it headed.
The Bloody Souvenir
Oh my goodness, I’m not usually squeamish but I did feel a little weak reading this one, ugh it was just so gross. It was funny but man the main character was very very idiotic which I laughed at but was also really grossed out by his actions. Not wanting to give away let’s just say he tries to deal with a wart he finds on his foot, all by himself. Eww it was a little gross but still an entertaining read. I have to say that it was a good finish to the book because I did have a smile on my face after finishing it.
Best of Friends
I had an idea of how this story would go but I was actually a little bit wrong and the ending was not how I had expected it to go. I thought the story was pretty entertaining.
Will
Will was not a story I was expecting at all. It’s set in a world different from ours because a lot of the characters have different abilities and special powers. I wouldn’t define this one as comedy but I would still say that it’s a really entertaining science fiction/ fantasy read.
Artemis Begins
I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was well-written and it had quite a few funny parts. I could see what would happen in the end but I still really enjoyed reading through this one.
Kid Appeal
I thought that this one had some funny moments in it. I did laugh out loud at a couple of things but I felt like there was something missing with the story.
Your Question for Author Here
I thought this story was pretty good. The story was intriguing and the ending was predictable but I thought that it was a well-written and interesting story.
A Fistful of Feathers
The ending of this one was really funny and I enjoyed reading through it but I did find it to be a really long story and some of the parts were a little dull. I would say it’s worth reading through for the ending though.
Unaccompanied Minors
I don’t have a lot to say about this one. It was basically just a bunch of little stories where the brothers play pranks on each other. It was interesting enough but not the greatest story I’ve ever read.
What? You think you got it rough?
This one was basically just about a guy whose Grandad was quite a mean guy. Nothing exceptionally intriguing happened in this one it just wasn’t all that appealing to me either.
My Parents gave my Bedroom to a biker
I thought this one was interesting at first but then when it got into the story it edged over to absurd and I just really didn’t like the direction that it headed.
The Bloody Souvenir
Oh my goodness, I’m not usually squeamish but I did feel a little weak reading this one, ugh it was just so gross. It was funny but man the main character was very very idiotic which I laughed at but was also really grossed out by his actions. Not wanting to give away let’s just say he tries to deal with a wart he finds on his foot, all by himself. Eww it was a little gross but still an entertaining read. I have to say that it was a good finish to the book because I did have a smile on my face after finishing it.