Thursday, December 30, 2010

They Went That-a-Way--#87 finished

An interesting read of how famous people died. It included 175 people from throughout history and had very interesting and sometimes mysterious or unsolved deaths. I good easy read. This was a good book to pickup and read 5 minutes here or there. I really only started pushing a little more the last few days to get it completed by the end of the year.

I have posted it on PBS, there are 4 copies a head of it. I think it will move at some point but might be a year or more before it does. I started reading Modern Baptists and already past 100 pages in, not sure if I will get it finished for this year or not. No movement on Jaguar and I pulled out The Hour I First Believed but haven't started it yet if I will at this time.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Into the Great Wide Open--#86 finished

A book about teenage angst. Two troubled teenagers with screwed up home lives meet and become boyfriend/girlfriend. Relationship really becomes a dependency for both of them to get away from their homes. Relationship basically ends with girl becoming pregnant and while leaving everything with boy suffers a miscarriage. This gives her a way out something he doesn't want but he has no real means to support or lead a normal life at this point. A good story and the writer did an excellent job of getting into the teenage mind.

I have another book by the same author that I have been wanting to read but wanted to read this one first. This was his first novel so I kind of wanted to see what it was like and to then do a little comparison later after finishing Everything, his new novel.

I have posted it on PBS, there is 1 copy ahead of it. No real idea when it will move could be a few weeks or a year but I am expecting it to move at some point. Still reading They Went That-A-Way, a book about how famous people died. I have also started The Jaguar Smile but it has been several days since I read any of it and have only gotten 13 pages into it. I am not sure if I will be continuing it or not right now. I will also be looking to start another book too.

I am guessing I will finish They Went... before the end of the year and an outside change Jaguar Smile could get finished also if I stick with it. That would give me 87 or 88 books--not too bad.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Our Souls to Keep--#85 finished

Our Souls to Keep: Black/White Relations in America is the full title, it gives you a better idea of what the book is actually about. I think the book was okay. The author continued to make points that I thought useful, that there is a difference between black middle class & black underclass. Also stressing the upbringing of the underclass is a large reason why it is hard to break out of there. The author was a student and worker and professor in the '60s & '70s so a lot of the upheaval at the time is reflected in the book. There were several places in the book that just didn't seem timely, more like a how things were. Now maybe there are still open racists in places besides white power meetings but generally speaking in work places & schools, I don't see it. Some of his examples just didn't reflect anything close to present times.

Overall not too bad, it does let me think about my relationships as well as children in school with my kids but not something really useful as a resource either. The book was published in 1999 so it is already over ten years old and like I said much of the book is from earlier than that. A more current book about now on this topic would be much more useful and interesting to know what are seem as current issues between the races.

I have posted it on PBS, there are no copies on the system and no WL for it. I have no idea how long it will take before it is requested but I would guess a couple months. Of course I can be wrong or surprised in each direction too. By the way Epilogue was requested hours after I posted it and it is already in the mail to someone.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Epilogue: A Memoir--#84 finished

A really good book that surprised me, I was not expecting this to be that good. It is about a newly widowed woman and all of the changes that widowhood bring to her life. Not just the expected missing of her husband, waking up and not finding him in bed, the conversations, the comfortableness with each other, etc, but also things like meals or cooking, parties where now she goes alone, eating out or movies by herself as well as how relationships change now that she is single. I am not sure what I was expecting in the book, probably some stuff about missing the husband and then about finding a new soul mate. I really wasn't expecting the depth of feeling expressed in this book, I am really glad that I read it.

Some things did go on in the book that I am not really sure I understood. There was a lawsuit which she said she could not explain at all and didn't. Also there were some relationships with family members that seemed at minimum strained that were not really explained either. She touched on her relationship with her parents, mother died young and father was basically an asshole but not much detail in either one.

Overall a mixed emotion kind of book, I would say sad is probably the main feeling I got from it although there is also an underlying strength in the character that has to fight with her sense of unease. Good book, really makes one think about the future and helps one see what kind of emotions could be ahead.

I will post it on PBS, this version of the book has no WL, it is a larger print version. The regular print paperback & hardback both have WL so I would expect this book to move and probably pretty quickly. Still reading Our Souls to Keep and Into The Great Wide Open and will probably add a 3rd tonight also.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Jackie--The Life of John Cardinal Glennon--Please respond

Jackie,

You left a comment a week ago or so asking about the book The Life of John Cardinal Glennon. I commented back on my blog but I am unable to link into your blog, message says it is not open to the public or something to that affect. Your message stated you were looking for this book as a Christmas gift. Please let me know if you are still interested because Christmas is coming quick. If I don't hear from you, I hope you found the book elsewhere.

Have a Merry Christmas.

Daryl

Thursday, December 9, 2010

C is for Corpse--#83 finished

Just kind of rolling along, not sure how many books I can finish off still this year but at least getting to 85 sounds good. C is for Corpse is the 3rd(obviously) in the Kinsey Millhone detective series. Another good read. Good detective work, decent characters, only thing on this one there was not much of an explanation of the bad guy at the end. It all fit but seemed a little too easy, oh well, it is only the 3rd book of the series I am sure the later books will have more of the gotcha finals. I will probably do a quick skim of the D book since I read it last year, not a full re-read. Not doing that now though, but sometime within the next month or so.

Still working on Our Souls to Keep--made it to 55 pages now. Into the Great Wide Open has gotten set aside the last couple of days so not far, only around 38 pages in. I did start Epilogue yesterday and is moving right along, already 46 pages read. I don't anticipate starting a 4th book now but like I said before it is almost like a sickness especially when I sit in my book room with my few hundred books there and about 95% of them waiting to be read.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Ford County-Stories--#82 finished

This is a short story book by John Grisham. It is really pretty good reading, normal Grisham easy to read with enough going on that it is a paper turner. It has 7 stories about 40 to 50 pages for each story. All pretty different except they all involve people in Ford County Mississippi. Had to have a lawyer story & a couple other minor lawyer characters since that is Grisham's bread & butter. I did like his other non-lawyer stories too. They just reminded me that I really should read his Playing for Pizza book. I have almost started it a couple of times but some other book always edged it out, I will get on it though probably in 2011.

I have already posted this book on PBS. There were 25 copies of this already there of the hardback, I didn't bother checking the paperbacks because I am sure there are more than several probably hundreds. It is a newer book so I do have some hope that it will be mailed out at some point.

I am still slowly reading Our Souls to Keep, only 26 pages in so far. Also reading C is for Corpse and Into the Great Wide Open, only 50 pages into C and around 30 into Open. Since still near the beginning of all 3 books, I really shouldn't start another tonight but will probably still look--it is almost like a sickness.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

The Paris Vendetta--#81 finished

This book number 81 matches my books read from last year--yeah me. It would be nice to get a few more read since I had to start a new page for my hard copy list of Books Read.

I saw that this is actually my 3rd Steve Berry book that I read this year. They are all pretty good books, solid reads. They have short chapters, lots of action, movement around Europe mostly and a very nice mix of history--all stuff that makes the books easy to read for me. I know that he is writing more in this series so I will probably keep trying to find them and read them as well.

I have already posted it on PBS, there were 15 WL but this was down from around 23 a week & a half ago. I really pushed the last few days to get it done so I wouldn't have to worry about the WL for it disappearing. I have not read any of Ford County and Our Souls to Keep for the last few days so I need to reintroduce myself to those books, but will probably also look around and try to pick out a 3rd book to be reading too.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Wow Stuff That Can Be Done

I was just checking out some of the stuff that can be done on a blog & I am pretty impressed. Not sure if I will actually take the time & do these things but does give me something to think about. The Stats section I had not looked at before. I am amazed that there are people out there that for one reason or another have found this blog--crazy stuff. Oh well, gives me something to think about--what this blog can grow into.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Rickles' Book--#80 finished

This is Don Rickles memoir. A quick and easy read. He doesn't go into any great details of his life but in short 2 or 3 pages sections touches on important happenings or people he knows or met. It is a fun read. I will probably pass it on to a person at work & then post it back onto PBS at some point. I got my copy from PBS & there are no other hardcopies on the system at this point.