"Sacre Blue: A Comedy d'Art" by Christopher Moore

403 pages

In July 1890, Vincent van Gogh went into a cornfield and shot himself. At least, that's the official word. But Vincent’s friends, baker-turned-painter Lucien Lessard and the dapper Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, have their doubts. Their friend had been doing so well, finally seeming to overcome the demons that plagued him for most of his life. And, if he wanted to die, why did he drag himself for miles to find help after being shot? And, most interestingly, who was the crooked little “color man” Vincent claimed was stalking him across France . . . and why had the painter recently become deathly afraid of a certain shade of blue? Lucien and Henri are determined to answer these questions, but their quest turns out to be as dangerous as it is hilarious. 

This is definitely not my favorite Christopher Moore title, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. I had trouble following it at times, particularly all the flashbacks and geographic running around. Also, I'm just not very familiar with art history (shame) so I probably didn't even recognize some of the names that I should have. Still, this book still cracked me up in typical Christopher Moore fashion. There's all the laugh-out-loud ridiculousness that I know and love. Moore is definitely a love him or hate him kind of author, and this book falls right in line with his usual stuff.  If you didn't like his other books you probably won't like this one, but his usual fans will not be disappointed. 

Late for School

by Steve Martin                  Illustrated by C.F. Payne           32 p.

          Steve Martin's picture book is very cute and comes with a CD of a cute bluegrass-ish song version of it. The illustrations are good too.

      Kel

Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody mystery #1)

by Elizabeth Peters  262 p.

             I do not really read genre books much, but I rather enjoyed this mystery. The mystery itself was not my favorite part. What I really liked were the characters, especially Amelia Peabody. She's a headstrong spinster who is smart, pragmatic, and intellectually curious. I also like the setting of Victorian period England, Italy, and Egypt, right when archaeology was taking off with the pyramids.  I definitely am going to read the second book.

                                                                     Kel

Penelope

by Rebecca Harrington  274 p.

          This is a novel of a socially awkward and disconnected young woman starting her freshman year at Harvard. Her inability to read in to people's motives, her passivity, and her wanting to follow her mother's instruction to make friends can make some funny happenings. Her mother and her mother's suggestions to Penny on how to make friends, get a boyfriend, and other odd ideas are very funny. The first half of this book was one of the funniest things I've read ever. Then the second half was not particularly funny, but was a good description of a first year in college, especially the confusion and new social situations.

                                  Kel

"Wonder" by R.J. Palacio

313 pages

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity. Due to ongoing surgeries and his parents' desire to protect him, he's always been homeschooled and, for the most part, keeps to himself at home with his parents and protective older sister. But now he decides he's ready to try mainstream school, so he begins 5th grade at Beecher Prep. He knows going in that some kids will focus on his startling appearance, but he has no idea how difficult his adjustment will be.  Inside, Auggie feels like an ordinary kid, but his classmates don't necessarily see him that way. The rest of Auggie's fifth-grade story unfolds through his own eyes as well as those of his sister, her boyfriend, and Auggie's peers. 

This book totally broke my heart. Though it's fiction, it definitely reflects the experiences that some children have in real life, and it makes me sad that they have to live through things like this when they just want to play, learn, and socialize like normal. Still, this is ultimately an inspiring and uplifting story. In fact, my one complaint is that it's a little too rosy--I don't think the feel-good ending is very realistic--but in some ways I'm okay with it for this book since it is, after all, written for children. And, to be honest, I just like coming away from a story with a good feeling rather than a bad one. I think Palacio does a great job of creating each character's individual voice and showing how they grow throughout the book. I like that she included other perspectives as well as Auggie's to show how our lives all affect each other's. I loved so many of the secondary characters as well as Auggie, and their relationships feel real--loving but flawed. Overall, a very good story that I will be recommending to adults and teens as well as older elementary school kids and tweens. 

"You Are Not Your Brain: The 4-Step Solution for Changing Bad Habits, Ending Unhealthy Thinking, and Taking Control of Your Life" by Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Rebecca Gladding

368 pages

Jeffrey Schwartz, a leading neuroplasticity researcher and author, and psychiatrist Rebecca Gladding put their minds together to figure out how brain wiring works against us when it comes to bad habits. They studying OCD patients as well as people with social anxieties, self-deprecating thoughts, and all sorts of compulsions. Then they came up with a four-step program to rewire the brain by consciously choosing to weaken the circuits that create the bad habits, decreasing their influence and strength. In this book, they share what they learned through their research and outline their plan for creating more positive and productive thought processes.

The authors do a very good job of explaining their research to laypeople, and their work makes a lot of sense. There isn't necessarily anything earth-shattering, I don't think, but they do offer some good strategies for dealing with bad thoughts and strengthening positive thinking. Of course, as with any self-help book, their plan won't single-handedly revolutionize the mind of someone with a serious mental problem, but it probably can help people with mild anxiety or compulsive behavior, and it could be helpful as part of a bigger treatment plan for someone with a serious issue.

October 2012 Statistics

Hi everyone,

Here's how we did in October:

Most Books
Heather: 19
Jenny: 7
Meggan: 1

Most Pages
Heather: 6697
Jenny: 1679
Meggan: 512

Most Participation Points
Heather: 19
Jenny: 7
Meggan: 1

Total...
Books: 27
Pages: 8888
Participants: 3

I know I've slacked on the challenges lately...how about this? Extra points for anything with a red and/or green cover (meaning more than half the cover is that color) from now until the end of the year. 

Happy Reading!