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barnesbookshelf's review
3.0
As a companion to the movie, this book is fantastic. Its hilarious and very in line with the characters' personalities. However, I do wish that there was more interjection from the "present" characters, as in them responding to things they had previously written. I also wish that the book started with the line "this is not a joke" like they mention in the movie.
While reading it I was curious how much of the historical data and stories actually happened in real life. The author did a great job of remaining in character until the very end, but I do wish there was a quick guide that explained what was real and what was fiction (outside of the obvious stuff). Overall, it was a fun read.
While reading it I was curious how much of the historical data and stories actually happened in real life. The author did a great job of remaining in character until the very end, but I do wish there was a quick guide that explained what was real and what was fiction (outside of the obvious stuff). Overall, it was a fun read.
dreadpiratejenny's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I laughed on the bus. I laughed on the subway. I may have even snorted in glee. Often. The way it combined our world and the Ghostbusters world was spot on. See, at work, I've got this project, The Penguin Book of the Undead. I was reading stories about early hauntings in both books. Well-researched, "ghostwriter!" Much applause. It makes people like me appreciate the entire thing so much more. The voices of Erin and Abby are captured perfectly. And the bits by Holtzmann, Patty, and Kevin--oh, the thing by Kevin--are also fantastic.
If you loved the movie, you will no doubt enjoy this book.
If you loved the movie, you will no doubt enjoy this book.
elliotreadss's review against another edition
2.0
It wasn’t that good but it was ok enough to read all of it.
crankyfacedknitter's review against another edition
4.0
I'm just tickled that this actually exists. Foreword by Martin Heiss' ghost and epigraph by Kevin. As it should be.
sjj169's review
3.0
There just so happened to be Ghostbusters before Ghostbusting was cool.
But we really didn't hear much about them..but once yet another Ghostbusting movie is released we get this book in it's newly revised and updated edition.
The first few pages of this book was my little weirdo mind's idea of a good time.
Erin was an odd child whose parents had to pay a dollar an hour out to make sure she had friends. Said friends got paid overtime on Halloween night (holiday pay), so they wanted Erin to get her full friend time. But what do they do? They must prank the old lady next door. You know the one. (the one that acts like me and wants everyone off her lawn.) Nicknamed Cruella by the neighborhood kids she warned them what would happen if even one leaf that they were playing in ended up on her side of the fence.
The old lady passes away a few months later and she keeps her word by her ghost taunting young Erin at night.
Word gets out that Erin is seeing ghosts and that she is pretty much a weirdo. Nicknamed Ghost Girl she sits by herself at lunch until Abby the new girl sits next to her at lunch.
Thus begins a wonderful friendship.
"You know you're the first person who I've talked to about ghosts in years who hasn't called me crazy."
"Oh, you could still be crazy," I said, "but that doesn't preclude you from seeing ghosts. Crazy people see ghosts just the same as everybody else. For what it's worth, you don't seem crazy."
And a paranormal investigating club. You guys know these girls were super popular.
They did come up with a catchy jingle:
Ain't nuthin' but a ghost thang, baby
We ain't talking 'bout no Patrick Swayze
Ghosts are real, there ain't no "maybe"
Why does everyone say we crazy?
Beats me why people thought they were weird.
The book then delves into more info on the paranormaling stuff. Types of ghosts, ghost hunters from the past and the all important ghost hunting tools.
It does seem like the whole second half of the book is just filler, including pages for you to fill out in your investigating and pages for your notes. Kinda meh after that great start though.
There is one thing I totally could be best friends with these girls on...their lust-fullness for one of the greatest paranormal investigators of all time.
Booksource: Received from blogging for books in exchange for review.
But we really didn't hear much about them..but once yet another Ghostbusting movie is released we get this book in it's newly revised and updated edition.
The first few pages of this book was my little weirdo mind's idea of a good time.
Erin was an odd child whose parents had to pay a dollar an hour out to make sure she had friends. Said friends got paid overtime on Halloween night (holiday pay), so they wanted Erin to get her full friend time. But what do they do? They must prank the old lady next door. You know the one. (the one that acts like me and wants everyone off her lawn.) Nicknamed Cruella by the neighborhood kids she warned them what would happen if even one leaf that they were playing in ended up on her side of the fence.
The old lady passes away a few months later and she keeps her word by her ghost taunting young Erin at night.
Word gets out that Erin is seeing ghosts and that she is pretty much a weirdo. Nicknamed Ghost Girl she sits by herself at lunch until Abby the new girl sits next to her at lunch.
Thus begins a wonderful friendship.
"You know you're the first person who I've talked to about ghosts in years who hasn't called me crazy."
"Oh, you could still be crazy," I said, "but that doesn't preclude you from seeing ghosts. Crazy people see ghosts just the same as everybody else. For what it's worth, you don't seem crazy."
And a paranormal investigating club. You guys know these girls were super popular.
They did come up with a catchy jingle:
Ain't nuthin' but a ghost thang, baby
We ain't talking 'bout no Patrick Swayze
Ghosts are real, there ain't no "maybe"
Why does everyone say we crazy?
Beats me why people thought they were weird.
The book then delves into more info on the paranormaling stuff. Types of ghosts, ghost hunters from the past and the all important ghost hunting tools.
It does seem like the whole second half of the book is just filler, including pages for you to fill out in your investigating and pages for your notes. Kinda meh after that great start though.
There is one thing I totally could be best friends with these girls on...their lust-fullness for one of the greatest paranormal investigators of all time.
Booksource: Received from blogging for books in exchange for review.
evreardon's review against another edition
3.0
If you loved the kick-ass women in Ghostbusters that entered our world in Summer 2016, you will enjoy this real but not real "non-fiction" "science" book. Written by Andrew Shaffer as Erin Gilbert & Abby Yates, this book is just pure fun.
There's diagrams and illustrations. Notes in the margins and everything that makes tie-in books special.
Between all the fun silly stuff are actual facts about paranormal things. You may actually learn something! Maybe. If you stop giggling at the writing.
I'd highly recommend this book if you enjoyed the movie or even if you just like ghosties!
There's diagrams and illustrations. Notes in the margins and everything that makes tie-in books special.
Between all the fun silly stuff are actual facts about paranormal things. You may actually learn something! Maybe. If you stop giggling at the writing.
I'd highly recommend this book if you enjoyed the movie or even if you just like ghosties!
davekan's review against another edition
3.0
I was expecting a bit more from this book but it wasn't bad. I was hoping for more backstory on the characters and there is a lot on Abby and Erin, but not much on Holtzman and Patty.
jeter21's review against another edition
4.0
Most of the time I get a chance to read a book with ties to a movie, it’s because I’m reading the actual book that the film is being adapted from. Which is why Ghosts from Our Past is such a welcome addition to my library. Ghosts from Our Past is what one would call an in-universe book as it is the published edition of the book that appears in the newest Ghostbusters. “Written” by Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, with Andrew Shaffer, the book explores many of the ideas presented in the movie. It was cool to get more of a backstory about Erin’s encounter with the ghost that haunted her and detail about the types of ghosts that the movie couldn’t go into. But not just the movie, the book stands pretty well on its own as a piece of comedy and actual science and paranormal exploration.
Disclosure: I received this book from Bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for this review.
Disclosure: I received this book from Bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for this review.
trickstertao's review
1.0
The first section of the book is essentially the “ghost girl” backstory briefly mentioned in the movie. Drawn out for a third of this book, it doesn’t manage to convey anything more that the mention in the movie does. It’s a bit of a dry story, conveyed in the voice of the two driest characters in the film. I would think that they might have played around with tone more since this is written by a much younger version of the Ghostbusters characters we see, but that never happens.
After that, we get a section on the history of paranormal investigation. A relatively dry, as far as I can tell completely non-fictitious, history. At this point I wasn’t sure what to make of the book. It’s not funny enough to be a prequel to the movie, but it’s tied in enough that I can’t trust it as a non-fiction companion. The final section reads like a field guide for aspiring ghost hunters, but in our world and not the world of Ghostbusters.
The best sections are the introduction, afterword, and Kevin’s “epitaph”. Those are the only passages that feel like part of the movie’s world. I was hoping for something closer to Tobin’s Spirit Guide, an in-continuity work. Instead it feels closer to a Syfy companion book.
After that, we get a section on the history of paranormal investigation. A relatively dry, as far as I can tell completely non-fictitious, history. At this point I wasn’t sure what to make of the book. It’s not funny enough to be a prequel to the movie, but it’s tied in enough that I can’t trust it as a non-fiction companion. The final section reads like a field guide for aspiring ghost hunters, but in our world and not the world of Ghostbusters.
The best sections are the introduction, afterword, and Kevin’s “epitaph”. Those are the only passages that feel like part of the movie’s world. I was hoping for something closer to Tobin’s Spirit Guide, an in-continuity work. Instead it feels closer to a Syfy companion book.