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    Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading
    Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading
    Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading
    Audiobook3 hours

    Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading

    Written by Tommy Greenwald

    Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald is the hilarious story of an avid non-reader and the extreme lengths to which he'll go to get out of reading a book.

    Charlie Joe Jackson may be the most reluctant reader ever born. And so far, he's managed to get through life without ever reading an entire book from cover to cover. But now that he's in middle school, avoiding reading isn't as easy as it used to be. And when his friend Timmy McGibney decides that he's tired of covering for him, Charlie Joe finds himself resorting to desperate measures to keep his perfect record intact.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 5, 2011
    ISBN9781455803064
    Author

    Tommy Greenwald

    Tommy Greenwald--according to his wife, Cathy--has the maturity level of a thirteen-year-old, which makes him uniquely qualified to write this book. He has had the best time ever writing the Charlie Joe Jackson series, and is looking forward to his next challenge, which may involve dogs, or chocolate, or both. He is also the author of Jack Strong Takes a Stand and Katie Friedman Gives Up Texting! (And Lives to Tell About It). To read annoyingly outdated information about Tommy, please visit tommygreenwald.com. @tommygreenwald

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    Reviews for Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading

    4/5

    13 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Charlie Joe Jackson is famous for never having read an entire book in his short but dazzling school career; middle school has made this a challenge; one that he enthusiastically accepts. Once his agreement with his classmate Timmy falls apart, Charlie Joe desperately seeks to hold on to his non-reading record while he navigates the social climate of his middle school. As it turns out, he simultaneously fails and succeeds (you’ll see) and the book is a result. Charlie Joe Jackson’s guide is “written by” a reluctant reader, for reluctant readers. The narrator promises short sentences, words, and chapters and is sprinkled with hilarious tips for keeping reading to a minimal. As a result, there are sometimes awkwardly placed breaks that are just unobtrusive enough to not break concentration. Despite choppy arrangement, the book reads quickly, mostly because of the narrator’s easy-going, conversational tone. Readers (reluctant or not) will find something to appreciate about it.
    • 4/5
      Charlie is funny and likable, with a touch of the cocky charmer. Just enough that you know his type and know you'll probably let him get away with too much. He's not interested in reading, but is smart and capable and knows how both he and his story come off. Self-reflexive reluctant reader fare.
    • 3/5
      Charlie Joe Jackson REALLY hates to read. For twelve glorious years he has managed to avoid it almost completely (exception: Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree" because it only has 62 words). But middle school is proving difficult ground to manipulate his way around the written word. It doesn't help that his best book-reading buddy has begun to blackmail him, and now there are girls to pay attention to too. But Charlie Joe comes up with a daring master plan that almost works. This is a quick and fun read for this adult and has plenty of laughs to keep a reluctant reader, especially a boy, turning the pages.
    • 3/5
      Charlie Joe hates to read and will do just about anything to avoid it. Sometimes the avoidance is more work than reading the book would have been, and it certainly gets him in a lot more trouble. With a major research paper due, and his best friend refusing to do the work for him, Charlie Joe needs to get very creative to get the required reading done for him.
    • 5/5
      "CHARLIE JOE JACKSON'S, GUIDE TO NOT READING" BY TOMMY GREENWALD (REVIEW)WARNING! CLEAR ALL CHILDREN FROM THE ROOM BEFORE READING THIS REVIEW! This is a delightful book for middle grade children that actually makes them want to read regardless of the title. It turns out that this book is a clever reverse psychology tool that you can use to get your kids to read regardless of their determination not to.The book is extremely imaginative and written for fun! When Charlie Joe loses his link to NOT reading books, he finds himself coming up with ways to get around actually reading and still being able to figure out what the book is about. The ending is GREAT!Definitely pick up this book for your child or children whether they enjoy reading or not! It's a fantastic read!-Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club
    • 4/5
      Lots of reviewers said reluctant readers would like this amusing book. I'm not so sure. However, I do believe that kids who like to read will like it. Charlie Joe hates to read (his father was too enthusiastic about turning him into a reader, so all of his birthday presents when he turned 6 were classic books meant for a much older reader -- what a turnoff!) so has gone into complicated contortions to avoid reading. He buys snacks for a friend so he'll read Charlie Joe's books and give him synopses of them. When his friend won't read for him any more and his big project is looming, he hatches a creative scheme that at first is a huge success, but then crashes and burns and gets him into more trouble than ever before. Charlie Joe pays his debt, but happily this doesn't turn into a book where the protagonist learns his lesson at the end -- he continues to hate reading and supposedly comes up with even more plans to avoid it his next school year, but the reader clearly can see that he would have been far better off if he had just read the books himself.
    • 3/5
      Charlie Joe has made it all the way to middle school without ever reading a full book cover to cover. He's plenty smart--smart enough to find ways to get out of reading, while still looking like he's done it. Charlie Joe's brains don't extend to other people, though, and his schemes backfire in a variety of ways. His helpful tips on not reading ("if you have to read a book, don't care about the main character") keep the tone light, but you can't help get sucked into Charlie Joe's world anyway.

      A decent Wimpy Kid readalike, and worth booktalking at the middle school next month.
    • 3/5
      Charlie Joe Jackson is the most avid non-reader you might ever meet; complete with lists and suggestions for avoiding the dreaded task - how well will his techniques hold up now that he is in middle school? With lists and illustration this is sure to be popular with Wimpy Kid fans.
    • 5/5
      Even though the title of this book makes you believe that reading books is the cardinal sin of the land, it is actually very enjoyable and perhaps may want to make you read even more. I know that I am not in the age range that this book was intended for, which is along the middle school age line, but I still found it very fun and easy to breeze through. The main character, Charlie Joe, is endearing to me, despite his disdain for reading. I would recommend this for any age group, as it has a few good lessons along the way.
    • 3/5
      Charlie Joe Jackson is NOT a reader. In fact, he's gotten by without actually reading any books for years thanks to a sweet deal with a kid in his class. Charlie Joe's here to offer his expert advice and tips on how NOT to read. This is a funny book with a little bit of a heartfelt story behind the gimmick. It's Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets Andrew Clements and I'd hand it to fans of either.I listened to the audio, narrated by the fantastic Macleod Andrews and he's a great fit for this book. His voiced performance brings out the humor and makes this book a pleasure to listen to.
    • 3/5
      I'm not a big fan of books with cartoons in them, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but I do recognize that there's a big market for them, and that they are just right for certain readers. This is a humourous book about a boy who has to read a book for school, and his usual avoidance techniques don't work, which catapults him into all kinds of trouble. Definitely will be appreciated by Wimpy Kid fans.