Two Books (audio) and a scarf

The weather suddenly feels very autumnish, which makes sense because it is, in fact, autumn.
I've finished a couple of audio books this week. The first one is called Masterpiece by Elise Broach. This is a story of a boy who befriends a beetle that can draw. The beetle draws a picture as a birthday gift for the boy but the boy's family thinks he drew it and that he's suddenly revealed a hidden genius talent. The boy and his beetle get drawn into a plot to foil some art thieves who are planning to steal a famous drawing from the local art museum. One thing that bothered me in this story is that the art thief turns out to be someone that the boy and his father and his father's friend know, and when they find this out, they actually consider not turning the thief in to the police because he is their friend. They actually say he is 'good' friend. This bothers me because a good friend doesn't use his friend's connections to art museum collections in order to steal from said art museum. That's not being a good friend. Otherwise, if you have an appreciation for art, you'll probably find a kinship with this author. She definitely likes to talk about art.

If you like mysteries with a scottish flair, this book is for you. Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer is a terrific noir mystery featuring a hard-boiled 12 year old detective named Fletcher Moon. Eoin Colfer seems to have tapped in to the preteen psyche. As in the Artemis Fowl series, he deftly crafts grand adventures for his heroes while balancing the action with the kind of humor that preteens and the parents of preteens can easily appreciate. The book was expertly read by Sean Patrick Reilly who really brought the noir mood to life. Think of a 12 year old Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade. I highly recommend this one.

Now, I know you want to know what I've been working on while listening to these audio books. Remember the Nerd Wars tournament I participated in over the summer? Well, Tournament 3 has commenced, but this time, I'm on a zombie themed team called Team Braaaaaains. Here is my first project submission, it's called You've Got Red On You.

This particular challenge required us to write a haiku to go with our projects. Here is my haiku:

Shamble, moaning, bite
Swing cricket bat at the head
You’ve got red on you

More than red on you
It seems you have intestines
Wrapped around your neck

Now you must be inspired to write your own zombie haiku so share it in the comments!