I Suck at Girls

by Justin Halpern
Hennepin County Library hardcover 180 pages
genre: memoir, humor

Not as funny as his first book, this one has more heart. As he contemplates proposing to Amanda, his dad tells him to take a day to reflect. Justin spends the bulk of the book reminiscing about all his experiences with the opposite sex. Sometimes his recollections are funny, but more often they are poignant. He was not the man he hoped to be during his adolescence. An enjoyable read (and interesting for me to think about what my sons' stories might be if they wrote them down). Halpern is a talented author. How fun that his big break came through his Twitter feed!

Sh*t My Dad Says

by Justin Halpern
Hennepin County Library hardcover 158 pages
genre: NF memoir

Oh my. Though extremely profane, this made me laugh! Patty S first told me about Mr. Halpern. I checked it out online and laughed out loud. I don't really remember why I decided to request the book from the library, but it was a quick and enjoyable read. I read some of it out loud to Louise and Ann and was a bit shocked at the profanity coming out of my mouth . . . this will definitely not appeal to everyone.

But there's also a story of a father-son relationship that makes me curious for more. How did Justin become such a seemingly pleasant and creative individual with his dad being so rough all the time? (Though love shines through, too, and some of my favorite parts were when his dad just said "I love you.") It's also fascinating to read about how this book came to be. Halpern started using his dad's unusual sayings as his IM status, then as his Twitter feed. In a very short time, he went from a few followers to hundreds of thousands of followers and the media contacting him for interviews. Crazy!

House of Odd

written by Landry Q Walker and Dean Koontz
illustrated by Queenie Chan
Hennepin County Library paperback unpaged
genre: graphic novel paranormal mystery

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others. Ozzie's friend from Hollywood, Nedra, has bought a mansion near Pico Mundo. It seems to be haunted, so Ozzie sends Odd (and Stormy) to check it out. Nedra has called in a group of "ghostbusters" who do a tv show on hauntings. The three-person team (plus a cat) have interesting personality dynamics. Odd doesn't get his usual psychic magnetism "vibes" and Elvis can't seem to approach the house. Turns out there's a portal to hell and the demons are playing. Weird, but not one I'll re-read. (I usually kind of like weird stories.)

Sparks: an Urban Fairytale

by Lawrence Marvit
Rochester Public Library (ILL Hennepin County)
paperback 410 pages
genre: teen graphic novel, fantasy

Jo (Josephine) is a 20-year-old mechanic with an alcoholic, abusive, police officer father and a continually stupored mother. Jo longs to belong, connect with people, but doesn't fit in well with her peers. She creates a pretend friend with scraps from old cars at the garage where she works. Lightning brings her creation to life. She teaches him language and gets a See and Speak so he has a voice.
Ultimately, I found this to be a very sad - almost tragic - story. Jo's alienation is definitely rooted in her parents' dysfunction. Her attempts to "go out" and do the things other young adults do doesn't turn out very well. The story is brilliantly written and drawn, but too mature in content and language for my middle school.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: and other clinical tales

by Oliver Sacks
Hennepin County Library hardcover 223 pages
genre: clinical psychology

- initially recommended to me about a decade ago by Jody West
- mentioned in Born on a Blue Day
- clinical case studies on many unusual neurological disorders
- lack of face recognition, synesthesia, autism, savants, etc.
- written in 1970s through early 80s, the writing often struck me as archaic (not that I've read LOTS of brain research info)
- interesting how he referenced others' research from the late 1800s through "modern" (early 80s) works
- remarkably NOT politically correct when he refers to morons, idiots, and defectives . . . kind of amusing in a way. One simply does not refer to people with disorders in this manner any more
- interesting to make connections between this book, the audiobook I'm listening to now (The Shallows), Born on a Blue Day, and You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know (10/11).
- many things I wanted to note while I was reading, but I can't think of any now

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

by Laurie Viera Rigler
Hennepin County audioCDs 6 discs
read by Orlagh Cassidy
genre: romance

Again, the legion of Austen fans and their tributes to her work leave me feeling disappointed and only wanting to read Austen's work. In this story, Courtney Stone time-travels to become Jane Mansfield. The out-of-time (a la Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court) fails to connect for me. One of her biggest hangups is not getting to wear makeup. Really? The conclusion was as odd and disappointing as the bulk of the story. Stick with the originals!

Born on a Blue Day

by Daniel Tammet
Hennepin County Library audiobook 6 discs
read by Simon Vance
genre: memoir

Daniel is a savant - functioning very high on the autism spectrum. This story of his life is both fascinating and disturbing. His loving parents and his partner Neil seem to be extraordinary people. Not many children so severely affected by a disorder can manage so well. This book also reminded me of a title recommended many years ago - The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. That's on my reading shelf now. Daniel shares his personal story very effectively. Vance narrated wonderfully.

Odd Is On Our Side

by Dean Koontz
Hennepin County Library paperback 186 pages
genre: graphic novel, supernatural mystery

Odd Thomas is such a wonderful character! I love how the graphic novels are prequels to the first Odd book. In this one, the ghost of a small trick-or-treater is trying to get Odd's help during the annual Halloween celebration. Little Ozzie's editor is in town and along with Stormy, Elvis, and the rest of the Pico Mundo crew, they solve a mystery and save the town. Great stuff!

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
PRMS hardcover 273 pages
genre: autobiography, invention

For the first few chapters, I was taken aback by the superstitions and tall tales of William Kamkwamba's childhood in Wimbe, Malawi. But it really helped set the story and the culture as he grew up and confronted challenges. The hardest part of the story for me was during the nationwide famine, especially since the president and the greedy people didn't seem to care that their countrymen were suffering so badly.

This is an amazing story of determination and hope. Kamkwamba read books on physics, wondered how things worked (made me think of Alex!), took apart radios, and experimented. Once he built a windmill to generate electricity for his family, his personal story just got bigger and bigger! Great read!

Mister Death's Blue-Eyed Girls

by Mary Downing Hahn
Hennepin County Library hardcover 330 pages
genre: historical fiction, murder mystery

What an interesting book. I wanted to see justice done. I wanted to see the killer caught. (It reminded me of Lovely Bones in that regard.) I don't want to do any spoilers, but I will say that the author's afterword affected my perception of the story I'd just read. Most of my students seem put off by historical fiction (this is set in the 1950s) and yet it was a more innocent time. Some of Nora's and Ellie's dilemmas fit with what kids today deal with. I'd love to hear other people's perceptions of this story.