Thursday, June 25, 2015

Doglands-#35 finished

This is a kind of young adult book about a hero greyhound mix breed that avoids death from cruel owner of racing greyhounds and eventually comes round and saves many dogs.  It reads more for kids, I just had a hard time getting into it.  I guess I am also not much of a dog person either.  Just okay.

I will be posting it on PBS, there are 4 WL for it.  I will probably wait a few weeks and then move it along.  Getting ready for vacation and have some older paperbacks taking along.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Zero at the Bone--#34 finished

A true story of a terrible kidnapping in 1953.  A drunken couple kidnap a 6 year old boy & kill him and then get a ransom from his parents of $600k. This happens around St Joseph & Kansas City MO.  After getting the money the couple decide on a whim to go to St Louis.  They rent a room & she basically passes out in it for a few days.  He goes erratic and his new found cabbie friend is connected with local mob like figures.  He stays drunk and stupid and the mob guys get help from police officers that they are buddies with and steal around half the money.  This money was never recovered.  Book goes into great detail of the people involved and great detail of the kidnapping and the attempts to get the money. Also then what they believed happened in St Louis.  The Route 66 motel Coral Courts plays a part in this.  Also a mention of a bar I used to hit very often in college--Jimmy & Andys or J & A's by the time I went there.

The couple were arrested and trial and execution happened within months.  Again great detail of all of this--as a reader you really get the whole story it seems.  Both were executed together in the gas chamber in Dec after the kidnapping happened in September--kind of amazing to read given it usually runs a decade plus now a days before an execution sentence is carried out.

I am not sure if I will be posting it on PBS or not, there are 4 WL for it so I might move it at some point but since a local book might also stay on a keeper shelf too.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Back to Blood--#33 finished

This is a Tom Wolfe novel about Miami and about a 2nd generation Cuban police officer & his struggles along with the struggles of Miami in general.  He goes after the the money and plastic kind of life in Miami.  He goes after each group fighting to keep their power or fight for more against the other groups in town.  A good read with good characters, good action and enough humor to keep it light hearted enough as well.  Really liked this book.

I am probably going to post it on PBS, I got it from there so I should probably pass it along although I like keeping Wolfe's books too.  Don't have to decide right now, I think there are 14 WL for it and with it being a big hardback book, those lines don't move very fast.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

The Pink Lady--#32 finished

This is a book about Helen Gahagan Douglas an actress in the '10s, '20s & '30s that became interested in politics & causes and became a Democratic Representative in the 1940s.  An interesting person and really a ground breaker in many ways as one of the first actor/actresses to be involved in politics and getting elected.  Also running against Nixon for the Senate seat and the dirty politics of that race that is almost commonplace now.  An interesting read and an interesting person.  I enjoyed the author, Sally Denton's, book on the Fremonts and wanted to read more by her and have to say she is 2 for 2 in what I have read.  Very good and easy to read but also researched and interesting, good stuff.

I will probably be posting it on PBS at some point, there are no copies on the system right now but have enough credits so not in a big hurry either.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

It's Always Something--#31 finished

This is Gilda Radner's book about her life and her fight with cancer.  It also was at the same time as her life with Gene Wilder who became her husband.  It is a good book because it is her honest look at her life fighting cancer.  She is kind of crazy at times, obsessive, depressed and just a basic person fighting for their life.  It is also sad because the whole way through the book, you know how it ends and yet in her writing there was optimism and hope but you the reader know otherwise.  The 1980s was a different time than today for fighting cancer but I am certain the emotions she had then are some of the same today.  While maybe the numbers surviving cancer are generally much better, no one wants to be the number on the downside and that is always there with cancer.  Gilda's was a life too short but given her time on SNL and her story about her fight with cancer the memory of her lives on.

This is a paperback that isn't in great shape and does have a stain of something on a few pages so I cannot post it on PBS and there are plenty of copies already there.  I will add it to my donation pile and hopefully find a place to take them soon.