When I first jumped in on the chance to read this book, I seriously thought it was a murder mystery. Wouldn't you by the title? I even thought, "grumpy" equaled grandpa.
I was never so far from reality on this one. In actuality, author Carol E. Wyer writes a tongue in cheek book about how to keep your now retired husband happy and occupied while keeping some sanity for ones self at the same time.
Beginning with the letter "A" with aeroplanes she discusses every hobby that could be known to...well, man...within the letter. Carol Wyer finds some obscure hobbies like under "H" for horseball or under the letter "Q" for quadrille.
There are also the more commonly know hobbies of billiards located under the letter "B" or Zumba under "Z". There is even needlepoint under "N" and volleyball under "V". All of course very great opportunities for the grumpy in ones life.
The truth is, I found all the entries after awhile to be daunting. Even though I found the book to be humorous at times, it was not the laugh out loud kind of book that I would normally like to read. I also felt this book was directed to one audience, that being the retired sect.
I do commend Mrs. Wyer for her unbelievable research that went in to this book. It was the most informative book I have ever read outside of a college book. I hope that maybe she put her own grumpy husband, whom she mentions throughout, to the task of helping her do the research. It would certainly have given her some peace of mind.
All in all, it was an ok book and I give her an "E" for effort.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for my open and honest opinion as part of the Providence Book Promotion Tour. The views expressed here are 100% my own.
About Carol E. Wyer:
After completing a degree in French and English at Keele University, Carol Wyer became a language teacher in Casablanca, Morocco. She ran the EFL department at a private UK school (a non-magical Hogwarts), set up Language 2000 Ltd, teaching a variety of languages, including basic Japanese, and translated documents. Recurring medical problems forced her to give up teaching and become a fitness instructor. Thanks to older age, she now writes novels, articles and books that poke fun at getting older. Known for her light-hearted take on life, Carol has written two award-winning novels and now also tours giving talks on how to age disgracefully.
Where you can find the author:
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2 comments:
Thank you for sharing your insight on this book.
Hi Naila,
Many thanks for reading and reviewing How Not to Murder your Grumpy. I went out a limb for this book which is a spin off thanks to all the emails I kept getting from fans. They had read my first two novels and all claimed to have grumpy old men at home. Like the character Amanda Wilson in the first books, they had husbands who were struggling to fill in free time or were worrying about retirement.
Having my very own retired grumpy at home I used him as a guinea pig for a lot of the research in this book. It was that or murder him!
I can see how the title might be misleading and apologise for that...however, in my latest Romantic Comedy novel Just add Spice you CAN find out how to murder a grumpy and have a laugh.
Thank you for your honest opinion. I am a big believer in listening to my readers.
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