This review is based on an electronic advanced release of the book.

Work Standing Up is a biography/coffee table book that shows the work of painter Paul Fontaine throughout the different periods of his life. Like many painters of his time he started with fairly realistic paintings and then at some point due to his influences ventured into more abstract territory.

While I had never “heard” of Fontaine before I read this book, I admire a lot of the skill and control he had.

The book is essentially three or four essays on different aspects of his life and art. The first and most intimate essay was written by one of his daughters, while the others were written by people who are more “art scene.”

There are many photos of his work inside. Some are black and white due to them being photos of work that was later destroyed, lost or otherwise mislaid. The book goes into depth to describe the different paints and styles he used throughout his life.

While I don’t have any coffee table books that I display due to my dog having a voracious book appetite, this is one book that I would love to have. The electronic edition, while nice and getting the point across, would surely pale to a larger format for the photographs.

If the publishing price I saw is legit, this is only a must-buy if you’re a diehard Fontaine fan. Otherwise, see if your library is getting a copy. If the price was a typo, it’s quite possibly worth the money.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne is a series of essays loosely connected to him bicycling around different cities all across the world. He discusses the artists and locals he meets, talks about what he is actually doing in the city (not touring) and also give his reflections on life at the time.

He often will tell you what the year was at the time, so that when he edited the essays later they would convey the context of what people were thinking in a post-9/11 world.

This book had some very interesting parts, and some that just seemed to fall flat for me. I really enjoyed the first couple chapters, and probably the last three. But the middle just seemed to drag. Perhaps because it was based on his real experiences and didn’t really follow the narrative of a “story”.

There are lots of photos inside of the places visited and the various artists he met in his travels. The end of the book also has several sketches he made while designing bicycle racks for NYC.

Byrne gets a little preachy extolling the virtues of bicycle travel as opposed to motor vehicle in urban settings, although he correctly points out that it’s often quicker to use bicycles in certain situations.

While in a short section about securing a bike so it doesn’t get stolen, he seems rather undisturbed that his own bikes have either had wheels or seats (or the entire bike) stolen repeatedly. Though he does advise against expensive bikes for this reason.

It’s an interesting book, nonetheless. Worth a read (or a graze).

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

The Waiting Room by H.L. Baker is a quick little read that encompasses three tales of the paranormal. The three tales are not connected in any way, but are separate little stories that can be read in a few minutes each.

The Waiting Room involves a girl dropping off dinner for her Mother at the hospital where she works as a nurse. While leaving she bumps into a mysterious stranger….

The Forgotten Son is about a boy who has a friend named Tommy. Not long after Tommy showed up all his other friends abandoned him…

In Closed Circle of Friends a close-knit group of drinking friends get bored playing poker and find a Ouija board in the closet…

Of the three stories I liked the first the best, and the second had the most potential (the second is also by far the shortest.) I’m still not totally sure what was even going on in the third story, although I liked how each character became the central character for their own “chapter”.

I think all of these stories had potential that could have been realized more completely. There was just more that could have been said or done, and they seem more like a working framework rather than a completed work to me. This is especially true with the second story.

I’d say this is two of five stars. It was OK. Good for a quick, quick read, and it won’t give you nightmares (although the first story could have if the author had taken it in a slightly different direction.)

Theodore Boone is a “kid lawyer”, according to the title of this kid’s book by John Grisham. That’s a little inaccurate inasmuch as the young Mr. Boone hasn’t passed the Bar or anything. His parents are lawyers, though not ones that are overly interesting.

His uncle also used to be a lawyer, but for some reasons that aren’t gone into in this first book we only know he isn’t one anymore. Probably because he enjoyed murdering interns or something. That’s my guess.

Anyway, like most 13 year-old boys, Theodore has two loves, the cute girl in school and the judicial system. He deftly weaves both loves together since his (hopeful) girlfriend’s parents are undergoing a nasty divorce which will result in (gasp) them not living together anymore! She must decide who to live with!

But if you think this is just about the girl, fear not! The mistress Justice shows up again and again, most importantly with a murder case that has gripped the whole town. One that will result in a probable miscarriage of Justice if not for….. Theodore Boone. And his friend. And an illegal alien (really!)

Theodore reminds me a lot of Encyclopedia Brown in concept. The overly-bright kid able to notice things, who is somewhat following in his parent(s) footsteps so they can give him advice and keep him out of jail.

All kidding aside, this book is actually not bad for kids in the 10-12 range. It outlines some basic tenets of the U.S. justice system such as not being compelled to testify against yourself, and double jeopardy. The story is a little outlandish, but believable in a kid way. It’s also a relatively quick read that shouldn’t be off-putting simply by the thickness of the book (like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which was excellent but you know what I mean if you’ve seen a copy.)

This review is based on an ARC of the book…

Lingerie Wars, by by Janet Elizabeth Henderson. Due out 6/14/13….

Meet Lake Benson. He’s the grown up son of hippies who rebelled and ran off to join the Army. After seeing some action and getting shot up, he returns to civilization to help his sister Rainbow by lending her money for a failing lingerie shop in the small town of Invertary (which he also plans to unload.)

Now meet Kristy Campbell. She’s a former model who received nasty injuries in an accident a few years ago, at the same time having her life savings stolen by her then-fiance. She owns- wait for it- a lingerie shop in Invertary which is right across the street from Lake’s shop!

In a plot twist that should surprise nobody, Kristy doesn’t care for Lake very much, yet she can’t get him out of her mind! The nerve of that man! It’s like he twists her words with his powers of sexual tension!

Plus, she just can’t be herself with a man since the accident. Because of the scars and all. Will he be the one to help her through that? He’s got scars too….

So I’ll admit I’m not a “romance” kind of guy.. (just ask my wife…HA!).. but seriously this book wasn’t that bad. Some of the situations were pretty amusing, like the show towards the end of the book, and people constantly stealing the cardboard cutouts of Lake.

And does Kristy learn to love again? Does Lake? You’ll have to read it (but you may be able to guess….)

There’s no really “hot” scenes in the book, so if you’re just looking for smut you’ll be in for a disappointment. It’s more romantic than trashy. And it’s pretty humorous, I’ll admit.

This book is kind of like any one of the forgettable movies you may take a second date to. Not terrible, but also not terribly memorable.

One main criticism: I’m not sure why Lake’s sister had her own little thing going on with a “younger man” in the book. It just seemed grafted on as an afterthought (or perhaps not fully fleshed out in the first place.)

If you like the romance genre, I’m sure you could do a lot worse. You’ll crank through this one quick, so go for it.

My reivew of Andy Thomas’ Conspiracies: The Facts * The Theories * The Evidence is based on a pre-release version of the book.

In Western culture there are many conspiracy theories afoot… from the older ones (Pearl Harbor, the sinking of the Lusitania) to more modern (JFK, Paul is Dead, The Moon Landing) to present day (Princess Diana, 9/11, Bin Laden). There are also conspiracy theories that are more timeless, like space aliens, the Illuminati and general New World Order goodness.

This book attempts to give an Executive-level overview into all of the above conspiracies, and several more. Mr. Thomas does do some good in pointing out what may be actual holes in the perception of truth, he often turns a blind eye to the fact that people are fallible.

A case in point is one person identified Oswald’s gun as a specific model, but official reports changed it to something else. While this could mean there where hijinks afoot, the more likely explanation is that the first person was simply not as much of a gun expert as they thought.

To be fair, he does admit some of the theories stray pretty far into lunatic territory, and that the truth to any story is probably somewhere between the “official” version and the theorist’s viewpoint.

It’s a pretty interesting read, and unless you’re well-versed on most conspiracies, you’re probably going to learn something out of this. Plus, there are a lot of websites at the end for further research (or possible trolling on message boards.)

At the end of each chapter, he gives a short pro and con for the conspiracy holding water. While he clearly seems to give a lot of the conspiracies more credit than I do, he doesn’t try to make the reader feel particularly stupid for not believing in the conspiracy.

And I’d never heard that Prince Charles was a lizard. Can’t say I believe that one at all.

(3.5/5 stars)

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls is another trip through the mind of David Sedaris as he discusses world travel, keeping journals, colonoscopies, and owls. If you’re hoping to write a book report without actually reading the book, diabetes is not discussed, however.

Once again Mr. Sedaris favors the bite-sized story approach, be it reflections culled from his journals about home improvements on historical buildings or channeling a 16-year old girl who has freshly returned to the U.S. from a school trip to England.

While the book is funny, there is nothing that stands out as prominently as his story of being a department store elf. I do wonder how he managed to pee on a kitten though. I mean really, was the kitten sleeping or something?

It’s more enjoyable than Me Talk Pretty One Day, and certainly delightfully un-PC with observations like a desire “to have more friends who are paraplegics”.

A solid work, and I’d probably give a less talented guy five stars. But I’m going to have to go with 4-4.5 for him on this one.