Don’t miss the book MTV VJ Martha Quinn calls "so clever and fun!”
If musicians wrote career books, what might they be titled? (Doctor Doctor? Physical?)
If Kajagoogoo wrote a book, why would they decline an author interview? (They're Too Shy!)
Which music video from Toto has the band playing atop a stack of books? (The answer's inside this book!)
Don't miss this entertaining, brain-teasing book full of trivia, puzzles, and games that marry a love of books with a love of classic rock and pop from the 1970s and 1980s. Throughout this full-color edition, you'll find 23 songs with reimagined lyrics that appeal to the book lover and music lover alike and they're sure to make you laugh out loud. Trivia pages link books with musicians and songs from the '70s and '80s.
"I like big books and I cannot lie / You other authors can't deny / When a geek walks in with a giant tome / Or a textbook in your face / Then your tongue, gets tied in knots / And you know that text is hot..."
***Great gift for music lovers, trivia buffs, authors, musicians, Gen X. Fun book to keep on your tour bus!
Tamara Dever is an award-winning book designer, owner of TLC Book Design, and insatiable lover of ’70s and ’80s pop and rock music and culture.
Her award-winning book, "My Publishing Journey," makes a fantastic gift for authors. Her music quiz books are totally rad for GenXers who love their ’70s and ’80s music. Learn more about the latter at TotallyCool80s.com.
One author career highlight was being interviewed by original MTV VJ Martha Quinn and receiving an endorsement for her book, "I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie."
She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, kids, dogs, and a ton of GenX memorabilia.
If the answer to these three questions is yes, then this book is for you. Author Tamara Dever has respun a lot of old songs and has given them a book-ish theme. Dever has crafted lots of fun games and puzzles, all about books and music, and included them here. And she has found oodles of trivia that combines music and books and added that, too.
Write, write, Baby; write, write Baby All right stop, collaborate on fiction We are back with a brand-new edition
In a word: FUN. This book is a perfect mash up for book and music lovers, specifically lovers of music from the 70's and 80's (so, you know, me).
From trivia facts to crossword puzzles, activity suggestions like listing cookbook titles based solely on song lyrics. This is an absolutely delightful book that probably has an age limit, but should invite many opportunities to listen to songs that feature some of our favorite book titles.
Warning: may cause nostalgia, dance parties, and air guitar solos.
Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
I won a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway. This book is interesting. It has games, parodies, and trivia that connect books and 1970s-1980s music. The overall design is neat. My favorite part was the trivia and facts, and I wished there were more. I noticed a few errors throughout. If you like books and music, I’m sure you’ll find this book amusing.
Well, I guess I can state this book achieves what it sets out to do, but only just, and what that is isn't great. It's a complete melange of games and word play puzzles, with a bit of trivia thrown in, for people who like both classic books and classic pop from the 1970s and 1980s. You get several sections of entertainment repeated throughout the book, such as:- nearly blank pages for you to think through lists of pop songs that fit literary categories (books on careers, say, or the recipe book shelf); sections where you have to put a song title into a specific sentence or context, based only on the artist; and sections where you have to provide the one common word shared between the end of a song title and the beginning of a book's, or vice versa. You also get some crosswords. And that's it, except the core of the book would appear at times to be the author's own cheesy, clunky rewrites of (bits of) classic songs to get them to refer to aspects of writing and publishing books. None of it's dreadful, but I can't see many people keeping it permanently on their shelf – it's for scanning once, or perhaps dipping into and out of while sitting on the loo. Plus, with a plethora of Cheap Trick and Wang Chung hits that were never heard here in the UK, it does seem very USA-centric, and not to a global taste. Niche. Two and a half stars.
This book would be perfect to go through with a group of friends or at a party. Designed for those who like books and 80's music this book is just fun. It was entertaining, and brought a smile to my face many times while reading, but not being with someone to share the trivia and fill in the blank sections with left me a bit unsatisfied. It is the type of thing that would be best in a physical form (you can't write your answers on the digital one) so keep that in mind if you're going to purchase. Get some book loving, music obsessed people together, and try to complete the activities, sing the publishing themed songs and ultimately have some lighthearted fun.
**I received a copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
I had fun reading this book: trivia and games that I played. I think it's entertaining and full of fun. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
This book brought back some wonderful memories. I thought the combination of music and writing/publishing books was unique. The "refurbished" songs were inventive and quirky, in a good way. A quaint read with loads of smiles.
I really enjoyed this book. It would be a fun one to use for trivia night or as an ice breaker for a group activity. It was a mental workout for me to recall some of the songs and books listed but very fun to check my answers to see if I remembered correctly. The songs with book-oriented lyrics were very catchy and fun. I will have the tune "I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie" on repeat in my brain for a while I am sure.
This is a short, fun read. Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book.
This book made me laugh out loud several times. The author's twists of the words are clever and well done. I love books, and I love the music of the 70s and 80s, so I had a ball going through the trivia and other fun tidbits. Perfect medicine for me this week!
I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie by Tamara L. Dever is a slim, and could have been slimmer without all the white space, book of activity for those who like older pop (mostly 80s US) and reading (I hesitate to say literary since there wasn't much beyond title dropping that even hinted at literary). It wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good. [Note: the 2 star here is the equivalent of a 3 star on Amazon, so keep that in mind]
I expected more than was probably even intended, which is likely a little unfair to the book, but I rounded up to compensate for that, so... I think puzzles, even ones based on nostalgia and shared experiences, should be challenging (at least mildly) and teach us a few tidbits we might not have known. But there was neither depth nor insight here, just party games to keep people entertained for a few minutes. To that end, it succeeded as well as any Pennywise puzzle book does. Not quite a Dell puzzle book but a reasonable facsimile for those not ready for Dell.
I can neither recommend nor not recommend this book. I have no doubt there is a target audience, it just isn't someone like me. I need a little substance, even to my nostalgic trips down memory lane. If you keep some books or magazines in your bathroom, or have small dinner parties that need something everyone can handle, this might be right up your alley. If you like the idea of being challenged in your areas of great love, music and literature, you probably need to look elsewhere.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
A wonderful and healthy antidote for toady’s anxiety – a joyful celebration!
Texas author Tamara Dever is a book designer and owns TLC Book Design, having written (with Erin Stark) the excellent MY PUBLISHING JOURNAL: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO PUBLISHING AND KEEPSAKE JOURNAL IN ONE. Now she bounces onto the scene with this rollicking fun and entertaining book that celebrates her love of the pop and rock music culture of the 1970s and 1980s – I LIKE BIG BOOKS AND I CANNOT LIE.
This book is just the ticket for utilizing these otherwise lonesome hours of quarantine stay-at-home orders during the pandemic: not only is the book a superb piece of visual design (Tamara does have the gift!), but it also invites us to some treasured memorabilia from ‘better times’ by learning facts and trivia translated into the forms of quizzes, crossword puzzles, fill-in-the-blanks games, and memorable ‘new lyrics’ to old favorite songs.
The process is made even more enjoyable as Tamara bonds her fathomless knowledge of her chosen subject with her keen insights into publishing and writing and ‘book-making’ (of the literary type!). Famous songs/new unique lyrics will likely result in a lot of singing joy out loud. Clever, hilarious, memory challenging, and fun – this book is a book load of joy!
This book has a little bit of everything for those who love trivia, sprinkles of humor, and of course a lot of pop culture. If you’re looking for a bit of a challenge for yourself, maybe perhaps a way to spice up a book club during quarantine or just for some fun, this is a fabulous book for you! It’s full of fun prompts for games like the logical song where the assumption is the singer is an author and you fill in the blanks of the scenarios with what they might do. The hint is that they’re song titles. This is perfect for those who really have a mashup love of reading and music. Several of them were quite cute, and fit perfectly!
I’ll fully admit that when the rewrites of some of the songs came by to include a more “bookish” theme, I sang them out loud! Ok, so maybe not in the right tune, but still! Oddly enough they’ll probably be lyrics I sing when the songs come on Spotify next time too!
The bits of trivia throughout are pretty cool and not something I would have actively looked for otherwise, so that’s pretty awesome. I loved the overall premise of the book and the fact that it boosted a lot of positivity and happy stuff. As someone who loves a good mix of books and music, this will be a book I come back to often. It’s a fabulous read!
So you like music! And you like books? What happens if someone molded/mashed/melted everything together in a book? Would you buy it? Well here is your chance with I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie.
Tamara Dever takes her love of 1970s and 1980s rock-and-roll music and combines that with her love of literature (small l) to create a fun book filled with trivia, quizzes, brainteasers, crossword puzzles, and more things to fill up your time. And the fun thing is that you can do this on your own or you can invite friends over to help your memory along. For example, did you know that Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" mentions ten book titles or author's names? Plus you have the opportunity to sing new lyrics to familiar songs. Here is a link that has sample pages - https://tlcbookdesign.com/i-like-big-... .
So if you have time to fill or to kill, why not invest that time in I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie! See you in the stacks!
Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title!
This is a book for fans of books and 80s music and if you aren't a fan of either then the purposes of this book will be lost on you. This book is a random selection of book themed alterations to lyrics, crossword puzzles and other games for people who really know their 80s music. I didn't find it particularly fun or interesting as I'm probably too young for this book being born in the late 80s. Some people might enjoy it though.
I wanted to like this, but.... I don't. I feel bad about that, because this book really tried, but to me, it comes off as awkward rather than the quirky and fun book it was trying to be. There will be people that will find this book clever and cute, I just don't happen to be one of them.