The writer Peggy Backman is a psychologist turned fiction writer. In her previous book, Did That Really Happen, the stories are a mixture of perception and misperception with a dash of suspiciousness thrown in. In this latest book, as its name suggests, The Painter's Bad Day and Other Stories of Life's Mysteries and Idiosyncrasies, people's behaviors again confound us. You can't assume that you know how people feel or what motivates them; you can only speculate and observe, as their mysterious and idiosyncratic ways affect the lives of others, as well as their own. This collection of short stories is divided into two sections. The stories in the first are inspired by dreams and daydreams, and--in those stories that make you uneasy--nightmares. The second section, Reflections & Remembrances, is more influenced by real events, . Most of the writings are in short story form, but there are some that read like essays and two are in verse. All are to amuse you or make you reflect.