Rubyfruit Jungle--#91 finished

This is a sort of fictional but also sounds like the author growing up.  Born in the 1950s and moving to Florida and then onto New York in the later 60s & 70s.  The story is about a girl that is gay and while at times not really hiding it but also at times not really open.  Given the time and what happens she is ostracized because of this--kicked out of college & then kicked out of her house by her mom.  She moves to New York and still struggles with fitting in.  Even with these struggles she is a confident and unapologetic about herself.  At times very funny and interesting characters throughout.  A good read and basically a classic book.

This copy has some minor staining so won't be posting on PBS, but probably wasn't going to anyway.  A good book to keep a copy of it on my shelf.   

Wrong Lanes Have Right Turns--#90 finished

Michael Phillips grew up in Baltimore, early in life in a tougher African American neighborhood where he saw and knew drug dealers and others.  His father died suddenly and that was a big influence on his life--he struggled with that and started to get into that street life.  His mom moved out of that neighborhood and into the suburbs where Michael did succeed to where he got a college athletic scholarship.  He was/is smart but wasn't using those talents.  During that first semester in college he was back home and out with friends and was in a terrible car accident injuring his leg to where could not play basketball.  While he returned to school 2nd semester he didn't try and was then out of college.  Back in Baltimore he and friends get to buying & selling drugs and stepping up more and more into that life.  In a roundabout way gets arrested and while sitting in jail, a guy finds him that was looking to give people 2nd chances finds him.  He is release and no record of his drug activity and given full ride to Oral Roberts Univ but again falls back into his drug use and not following the rules there.  Until at one point he does see his mission in life through a conversion of faith.  He had a good job corporate kind of car dealership type but left that to work in a foundation as CEO to help people.  Good story, wish/hope more kids are given this chance.

There are no copies in PBS at this point but setting aside for now but will probably post later.

Sylvanus Now--#88 finished

Sylvanus Now is the main character's name, this is a story of his life, at least most of it.  He is a fisherman off Newfoundland Canada in the years after WWII.  He tries to stick with the old ways of fishing as larger commercial fishing is basically attacking the fishing grounds.  He marries Adelaide and while she dreamed of more out of life, she seems at time happy or at least settled.  This is a story about a tough life and how you just have to find ways to live it.  I enjoyed this book even if at times was slow and other times tough to get through.

I have posted it on PBS & there were no copies.  It got requested right away & I will probably mail off later today.

The Colony--#88 finished

This is a true story about the killings of 2 vehicles loaded with women and children in Mexico.  They are Mormans living there that were traveling between towns there that were hours apart.  The towns are fundamentalist Morman towns where plural marriage is practiced.  The book looks at the history of the Mormans, John Smith, Brigham Young, the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the disavowing polygamy and the split it caused.  I knew Mormans had moved to Mexico but the other books I had read hadn't gone into any details about this.  This book does, it explains some of the towns and the conflicts they have with the local indigenous people and the Mexican state and the drug cartels as well as the internal Morman conflicts.  Really enjoyed the book, lot of information in a short read.  It is confusing because in the polygamist marriages there are so many people with same or similar names that it is hard to keep straight who exactly is being talked about.

There are 5 WL for this book on PBS but not posting now.  I really like this author Sally Denton so might keep or might see if any friends want to read it. 

Riding the Bus with My Sister--#87 finished

This is a true story about the author Rachel and her younger sister Beth.  Beth is mentally delayed sounds like from a possible birth issue, not genetics.  Beth is basically independent but does have some social workers and friends that help her out.  Rachel is 39 when starting this book, freshly divorced and kind of between writing assignments.  Beth spends her day--6 days a week riding the local buses in Philadelphia.  Beth is only a year younger than Rachel.  There is an older sister and then a younger brother.  Both parents are around it sounds like but no one lives in Philadelphia near Beth--Rachel is an 1 & 1/2 to 2 hours away.  Kind of interesting that Beth was on her own with social workers basically for a long time until Rachel stepped in.  Beth had a few jobs but they didn't last.  Because she gets SSI, she has figured out she doesn't have to work so decided to ride the buses instead.  Lots of conflict with people she drives sort of crazy on bus and sometimes bus drivers.  Rachel's year of riding the buses is a few times or maybe a week a month.  She sort of did this with the idea of writing about it too so not surprising a book came of it.  There was also a TV movie with Rosie O'Donnell as Beth--I can see that.  

I think part of the story that didn't come out until late in book was the family drama growing up--especially with Beth.  The parents divorced and mom had the kids except for weekends it sounds like.  Mom starts dating and eventually meets an awful guy--oldest in college, Rachel gets sent to boarding school, youngest--the boy goes to dad and Beth stays with mom and step dad.  They move to Vegas, AZ, etc and family basically has abandoned them.  Step dad won't let any contact happen, eventually mom sneaks Beth to airport and calls dad to be there to pick her up.  Step dad had threatened Beth with knife and probably worse.  Mom does get away from step dad but no one trusts her enough to contact for years.  Eventually Rachel does and maybe part of the family does as well--not clear or maybe I don't remember.  Just wonder if part of Beth's attitude issues stem from treatment by step dad--sounds like just awful thing to have gone through.  Not really probed in book and I guess hard to do so since Beth probably couldn't give details.

Anyway, that is a long writeup for me on these books.  There are 3 copies in PBS system already so not sure if will post or give away.  Might see if someone else interested first.

Murder Book--#86 finished

This is a book by Thomas Perry, a writer that I really enjoy.  This book while had some good parts, just didn't seem up to the writer's normal good standards.  It seems to me that it was a book started years ago and set aside only to be re-worked and published recently.  If the book was set in the 1990s, it would make more sense but in today's internet world the story didn't work for me.  A real estate guy is hired to buy up whole towns--small towns, along a river in IN.  He hires a bunch of thugs to go into the towns to threaten and force protection rackets where eventually businesses & homeowners would have to sell a cut rate deals.  A IL state attorney hears something going on & hires an ex-husband private eye to investigate and he immediately gets caught up in this.  Several people murdered including a police officer.  This is where I don't believe the story--in the internet age this would be a big enough story that the state police would investigate and people would talk.  Instead this PI eventually gets the good people of the town to uprise and are able to arrest the thugs.  This was all happening because a big corporate group found out this area has rare earth metals and wanted to buy the land up cheap to start mining.  Some good parts to the book but just seemed like it was forced together.

There are 4 WL for this book on PBS so I will post at some point & send off.  I have had a bunch of requests in the last couple weeks and have mailed off a bunch of books so back to having enough credits for now. 

You'll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again--#85 finished

This is a book by a writer, comic & actress in LA.  She was a writer on the Chelsea Handler show on E and from reading Chelsea Handler books this one sort of falls into that same line.  Crazy stories about her life.  The hook for her book is that she was a virgin until she was 27 and how that affected some of her relationships--where after telling the guy, he basically breaks up with her.  Sounds like was afraid if they had sex it meant a long term relationship and he ran.  Lots of funny stories, funny parents, people she meets, her sorority sisters and so on.  Just a light and mostly funny book, nothing too serious.

I have posted it on PBS, it is the only copy in system but since published in 2010 is not exactly new so could be a wait before gets ordered.