Well, this was a lot of fun.
Although this is a media tie-in to the new Ghostbusters film, there has clearly been a great deal of effort put in to this book to provide as thorough a read as possible. In fact, there were often times I had to remind myself that this was satire (though if I didn’t remind myself I would come upon something that made it pretty clear that this was humor). The book is featured in the film and is supposedly written by characters Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates.
The attention to detail really makes this book. I’m not ‘up’ on my paranormal knowledge but some of the history in here appears to come from the history books (Eleanor Sidgwick, for instance) and others seem to be completely fictitious (Maureen Kemp). Not knowing what’s ‘real’ and what’s completely made up for the book (or the film) really keeps the read on his/her toes.
There are plenty of little gems in this book. One of my favorites is in regards to technology for ghost hunting – it’s a great time they say, because of scientific advancement: “some of the tools available are so advanced, they are outpacing our knowledge of how to use them.” I laughed out loud as I read this because there is so much truth behind the sentiment, and yet, at the same time, it suggests the authors don’t know how to use their own equipment.
It’s pretty hard to find humor/satire that can span two hundred pages and manage to stay interesting all the way through, but this book does it. I enjoyed this read and would suggest it for anyone interested in media tie-ins, paranormal, or humor.
Looking for a good book? Ghosts From Our Past by Erin Gilbert and Abby L. Yates is a quirky spoof of paranormal researchers that reads quite real but is downright funny.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, through Blogging for Books, in exchange for an honest review.
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Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal
authors: Erin Gilbert, Abby L. Yates, and Andrew Shaffer
publisher: Three Rivers Press
ISBN: 1101906006
paperback, 224 pages
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