The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

At our kickball game on Monday night, I shared with The Squid that I was able to read 4 books over the course of my vacation the previous week.  This was not one of the books!

I picked this up from my school library before school ended.  My teaching partner had been declaring lots of "Independent Reading" time and I invariably NEVER had a book.  Sure, I had a handful of "Encyclopedia Brown" books in my room, but I teach math and my classroom library is lacking "real" novels.

This book is also a DCF Nominee for next year and I always try to read as many as possible...or at least more than my teaching partner can!

I had happened upon Mrs. Stead's incredible 2009 novel "When You Reach Me" and LOVED it.  I decided to give this a chance.

While not as engaging or compelling for me as "When You Reach Me", the story is strong, none-the-less.  Some of the major themes from "Reach" are here, but it is a switch of genres...yet only subtly so.  Mrs. Stead has a great handle on the trials and tribulations of adolescents, as well as the lengths we all go to in order to protect ourselves and those we love.  There is lots of humor and exploration of friendship and family that ring true.  There is a little bit of a mystery/twist that fits nicely and feels organic.

It is a quick read.  I really don't think it took me more than a total of 90 minutes to finish.


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What's The Cephalopod Coffeehouse all about?  Let's ask The Squid himself!

"The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers."

Click a link below to check things out!

1.	The Armchair Squid	2.
3.	Counterintuitivity	4.	My Creatively Random Life
5.	Scouring Monk	6.	The Life and Loves of Clare Dugmore
7.	Words Incorporated	8.	The Random Book Review
9.	Writer's Block	10.	Trisha @ WORD STUFF
11.	Bird's Nest	12.	Choice City Native
13.	Hungry Enough To Eat Six	14.	C.M. Brown
15.	Subliminal Coffee

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: Corrective Action by Gordon R. Kelly

I recently told the Squid and our colleagues that this book really reads like it should be a stage play.  It is dialogue rich and has very few "sets".

The story revolves around the machinations in a small New England town's medical community.  The protagonist of the story is Dr. Munro.  After his mentor, Dr. Wade Bowers, dies, he leaves Munro a lengthy handwritten letter.  The letter details Bowers' differences with a third man, Dr. Miles Warner.

If you are a fan of "soapy" reads or stories that explore the "secrets" that a small town holds, then this might be a book for you.

I have two caveats to share.

First, when my mother gave me the book to read, I was certain she told me it was a murder-mystery or involved some sort of crime.  The cover made me think the same thing.  I was about 120 pages into this 168 page book when I realized that I was mistaken.

Second, Dr. Kelly saved my life.  He was my eye doctor growing up.  At a check up before heading off to college, he discovered some abnormal swelling behind my eyes that turned out to be the result of a brain tumor.

So why am I sharing a book with you?  Well, the aforementioned Squid set up a Blogging Book Club.  Details are HERE.

Others in the Club...

1.	The Armchair Squid	2.	Cygnus
3.	Scouring Monk	4.	My Creatively Random Life
5.	Words Incorporated	6.	StrangePegs
7.	Subliminal Coffee	8.	Ed&Reub
9.	Back Porchervations	10.	WearingLemon
11.	more...MILLVALLISON	12.	The Bird's Nest
13.	Trisha @ WORD STUFF	14.	Writer's Block
15.	Choice City Native	16.	Counterintuitivity
		17.	What It Is Like To Be A Frog (You Think?)
18.	The Random Book Review