The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente

You see lots of strange things at Comic-Con, and typically all the blood and gore are stagecraft. When a publishing exec dies dramatically in a bloody slide down the front staircase, however, the San Diego con kicks off like no other.

Our hero, fading comics artist Mike M, is a suspect (although he's innocent) and it looks like if he doesn't try to solve this, he may get railroaded. But he's also interested in networking (drinking) and drawing (making money) while he's in town. There's a lot to do, while avoiding trouble at every turn.

The con's like a circus come to town, and it both amplifies and exacerbates the drama of the story: When everyone's a monster or a hero, who can you trust?

I enjoyed this book - it's a fluffy bit of pop culture with a decent mystery element. There's a fun mix of real and fake comics, and true fans will have fun sorting out which is which.

The Reason You're Alive by Matthew Quick

David Granger wakes up from brain surgery muttering a name - but not Hank (his son), Ella (his beloved granddaughter), or even Laura (his deceased wife). No, it's the name of an arch enemy from his Vietnam War days, and the time has come for him to make things right.

Hank doesn't understand David, but their living together during David's convalescence will be good for them all (if nobody dies). Soon Hank learns you have to go deeper than David's words to find out who he really is.

I adore everything Matthew Quick writes, and this is no exception. It's a tough book sometimes - David is a crabby old bastard - but like Hank we see there's much more going on that first glance suggests.

David's friends are a diverse and interesting bunch, and he loves them as if they were blood. They're a fun bunch to meet, and they keep the story moving as they aid and support David's quest. The book's title is a bit of a surprise: a story from Laura that's not fully explained until the very end.

All Grown Up by Jami Attengerg

What is adulthood, really, if you don't get married or have a family? No mortgage, a steady but boring job, no serious responsibilities ... things are less complicated for Andrea Bern than for many other 40 year olds. So why isn't she happy?

In vignette stories we get an idea of Andrea's life: a friend's wedding, getting to know a neighbor, conversations with her therapist, on a date, on the phone with her mother, watching a coworker give her first big presentation. Andrea's featherweight life is a contrast with her brother's huge and heavy responsibility to his own tiny family.

It's funny and a little sad, but very well written and quick to consume. The story is complex in the way life really is, and I understood this character because I have been her, at times. Loved it!

The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer

I will be talking about this book for a long time to come - after listening to the library's audiobook (not simply read but PERFORMED by the author) I bought a paper copy so I can post-it note and highlight parts that will bear heavy repetition for their deep resonance.

The book is about her life as a performance artist and indie rock star, and the book is about her successful, ground-breaking crowdfunding via social media. It's about her marriage to writer Neil Gaiman, and it's about her life-long friend and guru Anthony.

But mostly, this book is about the give-and-take of  all relationships: drop a dollar in the living statue's bucket, get a flower; open your heart and mind, receive love. She looks at her art in the way it's building a relationship with her fans - not just as the number of units sold in the usual corporate commercial model.

She's got some fantastic perspective for artists of all types concerning self-worth, doubt, and dealing with criticism. The lesson to glean from Henry David Thoreau: take the donuts. The analogy of "blender setting" for how real-life experiences get chopped up and changed in the art blender.

She's controversial, and there's a strong wave of haters. But it ain't me, man.

The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey

In this lush, full historical novel we get a peek inside the art world in Vienna before World War II, as seen through the eyes of Emilie Floge, haute couture fashion designer and companion to famed artist Gustav Klimt. 

Emilie and Gustav meet when she's a girl, and she eventually became a beneficiary of his estate and guardian for his legacy. Between those times, it's well known they were friends and even family (another Floge daughter married Klimt's brother), but the full story of their relationship isn't told - which is where author Elizabeth Hickey set her book's narrative.

The story is told through the small, intimate conversations between two people - their thoughts, emotions, and conversations that aren't part of the historical record. She's given the pair a difficult, complex relationship that's neither friendship nor love but much more and also sometimes less. The story shifts back and forth from Emilie's wartime exile in Attersee and her reminiscence of Vienna and the heyday of the Secession movement.

I loved this book and since all the artists are real, it persuaded me to do some fantastic art history research to see the art they're discussing. Emilie is a strong and independent character, and I was fascinated to learn which parts of the book were really factual. Excellent!

Extraordinary People: A Semi-Comprehensive Guide to Some of the World's Most Fascinating Individuals by Michael Hearst

Not "famous" or "great" or even "best" - this book offers a bevy of people the author names as "extraordinary." And by using that term, Hearst allows himself to add some fascinating - but also nasty or controversial - people to his book of mini-biographies.

Many of the people in the book you've heard of previously, but there are sure to be a few surprises. I'd never heard of smokejumper Wag Dodge, and his story is extremely interesting. And I'd be scared to stand too near Roy Sullivan, who was struck by lightening an amazing SEVEN times during his life (even his wife got hit once!).

List books are always subjective, and the author of this one does a great job of turning his "authority" into a running joke. He inserts himself and his opinions into the book, daring you to disagree with him and offering contact info if you'd like to convince him of your viewpoints. It's a fun, casual book with lots of great info - I'll be recommending this one a lot in the library.

Vacationland by Sarah Stonich

While some entitled people believe the planet revolves around them, the truth is that we each DO have a kind of world that circles around us - a web of friends, family, places, and acquaintances that are all connected (and maybe only connected) by you. This book, a series of interconnected yet independent short stories, is about one of those webs - a world that revolves around a way-north Minnesota resort.

Through these stories, you get a feel for the small town of Hatchet Inlet, for the guys who hang out in the coffee shop and the visitors to the resort. We see the resort in the 1960s during its heyday, and also through its decline, piece-by-piece demolition, and rebirth. Immigrants and draft-dodgers, native tribes, locals, and tourists all fill the stories with depth and diversity of view.

This is my very favorite form of storytelling, and Stonich does it incredibly well. Each story stands alone and tells its own tale, but taken together they intermesh and marry to provide a multi-faceted view of life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore

You'll never look at Toulouse-Lautrec's art the same way again ... comedy genius Christopher Moore has orchestrated a perfect blend of history and fiction in this tale of the Parisian art scene during the late 1800s.

It all boils down to the color blue: it's the most expensive and rare of materials used in the art world (that's why it was reserved for the Virgin Mary). But apparently someone is targeting artists, and the weapon may be in the paint.

Painter/baker Lucien Lessard (fictional) and his friend, artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (real) play detective in an attempt to reveal the art-world conspiracy .. between cognacs and making the bread, of course. All the big players of the day make character appearances here: Renoir, Seurat, Manet, Monet, Pisarro, Van Gogh.

It's a funny book, but also thoughfully designed to consider the questions of an artist's inspiration, mental illness, debauchery, and creativity.

A note on formats: the first edition of this book was printed with navy blue text and includes full-color pictures of many of the paintings mentioned in the book. The print book also includes a postscript by the author explaining truth vs. fantasy and where he got his inspiration. You'll miss those things if you listen to the audiobook - but the narration by Euan Morton is phenomenal and brings lots of emphasis and nuance to things I may have missed in the reading.

(Yes - I both listened to and read this book. I'm a geek, I know.)