Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I can't say too much without giving away too much so I've cribbed this from Amazon:

"In July 1890, Vincent van Gogh went into a cornfield and shot himself. Or did he? Why would an artist at the height of his creative powers attempt to take his own life . . . and then walk a mile to a doctor's house for help? Who was the crooked little "color man" Vincent had claimed was stalking him across France? And why had the painter recently become deathly afraid of a certain shade of blue?

These are just a few of the questions confronting Vincent's friends—baker-turned-painter Lucien Lessard and bon vivant Henri Toulouse-Lautrec—who vow to discover the truth about van Gogh's untimely death. Their quest will lead them on a surreal odyssey and brothel-crawl deep into the art world of late nineteenth-century Paris.

Oh lÀ lÀ, quelle surprise, and zut alors! A delectable confection of intrigue, passion, and art history—with cancan girls, baguettes, and fine French cognac thrown in for good measure—SacrÉ Bleu is another masterpiece of wit and wonder from the one, the only, Christopher Moore."


A historical novel about Impressionist painters as only Christopher Moore could do it. It's a fun romp that continually made me smile and laugh, full of one-liners, bawdy humor, and wonderful comments on art and creativity. Loved it.



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Typewriter Erotica from the 20's - via the Paris Review

I couldn't make this up. And not so safe for work, btw.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The biography of one of the most important and influential people of recent times. Isaacson seems to have talked to almost everyone he could from Jobs' family, friends, colleagues, and enemies to get insight into his thinking and ethics. Jobs was an incredibly demanding perfectionist, a control freak who demanded a lot from himself and his colleagues - so much in fact that he made them often do the impossible simply because he believed it could be done (his so-called "reality distortion field"). But he was volatile and his blinders to reality would lead to difficult family situations and ultimately his death from cancer. He is a fascinating character who left an indelible mark on the world and the book does a good job showing who he is, warts, triumphs, and all.



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Dogma: A Novel by Lars Iyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The sequel to Spurious: A Novel. The continuation of the pretentious, philosophical, drunken ramblings of Lars and W. I think I enjoyed this one more as the two characters do a bit more (e.g., visit America, face unemployment) that forces them to think more about their situation in a more controlled way. Not for everyone, but very amusing.



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Day of the Oprichnik: A Novel by Vladimir Sorokin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A disturbing short novel, a mix of Fahrenheit 451 and A Clockwork Orange set in the Russia of the very near future. It follows a day in the life of an oprichnik, an enforcer and confidante of the czar. Darkly humorous while also being terrifying and imaginative.



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Belly Up: The Collapse of the Penn Square Bank by Phillip L. Zweig

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In 1982, Penn Square Bank, a bank located in a strip mall in Oklahoma, failed. This book chronicles how the small bank's major wheeling and dealing in oil and gas investments led to one of the biggest crises in the history of American banking. The book is perhaps even more interesting now as it parallels and perhaps foreshadows some of the issues of the more recent financial crisis.



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You're Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations by Michael Ian Black

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. It is both laugh out loud funny at times and very sweet and poignant at others as the comedian shares a lot of his life, talking about marriage, kids, pets, and other regular life stuff.



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The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the coming-of-age story of Julia who learns about love and her family when the earth begins slowing its rotation, causing days and nights to become gradually longer and longer. Soon, gravity is affected as are peoples' physical and emotional well-being. It is a moving and at times terrifying story about confronting expectations, such as whether the sun will rise in the morning, and what happens when those expectations are confounded.



(This review is based on an advanced readers' copy of this book. The book is due out in June 2012.)



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Life Itself by Roger Ebert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Roger Ebert has lived a very full life and here he recites a great deal of it. His memory is superb, from his growing up in Urbana, Illinois, to attend the University there and going on to become a newspaperman for the Chicago Sun-Times. He recalls his alcoholism, his time spent with famous movie stars (John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Robert Mitchum), his reflections on great directors (Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog), the loves and friends of his life (his wife Chaz, Gene Siskel, Studs Terkel, Mike Royko, Russ Meyer). I loved the candidness of this sharply-written and recalled book, and I highly recommend it.



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Daytripper by Fábio Moon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Bras de Oliva Domingos is the son of a famous Brazilian writer who struggles with own writing as he works writing obituaries. This graphic novel walks through many special days of his life as he struggles to find his identity and what really matters in life.



It is difficult book to describe, but it is poignant, magical, and beautifully told. Simply, this is one of the finest graphic novels I've ever read and I give it my highest recommendation.



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