Off the Map: Bicycling Across Siberia--#29 finished

I enjoyed the 1 cycling book so much that I jumped into another one right away.  This one is much different in that not a book about racing but instead of traveling the whole of Russia back in the early '80s.  Started in Siberia and most of the account covers that and all the way to St Petersburg.  Siberia is one of those areas that is just a mystery to me and this book helps in some way but also not really.  There is the train track through it but no road, they team of cyclists had to walk the train tracks for several hundreds of miles pushing their bikes for this reason.  The team comprised of 3 or 4 Americans and same for Russians and of course conflicts there.  Great descriptions of people in Siberia and also sort of danced around how people there were trusting of them but still seemed at times to not trust, especially when the guys in suits that were following were around.  Makes me wonder what this travel across Siberia would be like today.  I enjoyed the read.

I will post it on PBS, it will be the only copy in system so maybe it will get moved at some point.

W is for Wasted--#28 finished

The next in the Kinsey Milhone series.  I have said before that I really enjoy this series and this is another good entry.  Another kind of relative, 2nd uncle or something, someone she never met makes her executor of his estate & his account that has $500k in it from being wrongly imprisoned by CA.  He has 3 kids and an ex-wife but leaves them nothing.  Kinsey digs into this & also gets pulled into another investigation related to this uncle too.  Good read as I said.

These books go on my keeper shelf.

A Dog in a Hat--#27 finished

A good read by a guy who moved to Belgium right after high school in 1986 to basically become a professional cyclist in Europe.  A really good read about how he did it and the strange people and races he met along the way.  This is around the Greg Lemond time and before Lance Armstrong was even on the scene.  Talks about the drugs that were taken by basically everyone then and the different levels on the pro circuit.  Just a really good and interesting read.  I rarely bike--maybe once or twice a year I get out my now probably 20+ year old Walmart special bike--but even so this was a fun read.

I have posted it on PBS and is the only copy in system so hopefully will move a some point.

Mary McLeod Bethune--#26 finished

Other than hearing about Bethune Cookman College, I knew nothing about Mary McLeod Bethune.  This is an old book, written & printed in 1951.  It is a used library book and bought it just because I knew nothing about this person other than her last name on the college.  Where I first heard of Bethune Cookman was on the back of my NFL football cards I collected as a kid--Boobie Clark is the one I remembered--how could you forget that name and then looking back over the alumni I remembered Larry Little guard for the Dolphins, my team growing up.  Sorry had to throw in the fun fact there.

The story of Mary McLeod Bethune is a really good and interesting story.  Even if I consider some maybe embellished in the way stories were told, she endured a tough childhood to get an education in the time right after the Civil War and succeeded in founding this school as a grade school and continued to work and grow it to a college for black children that otherwise would have had no chance at an education.  If that is not enough she also became a major influence with FDR and a consultant to the UN.  What a remarkable woman & a life.  I am very glad I read this book.

As I said above this is an older book and given the shape it is in, I will keep it.  No reason to mail off somewhere, there are no WL for it anyway.  I might end up giving away but is a keeper for now.

Terminal Freeze--#25 finished

This copy is a mass market paperback that I grabbed so I could read while out & then shove in a coat pocket.  I has also been on my shelf for a few years & wanted to get it read.  Scientists in Arctic discover a frozen beast/cat thing, the foundation/TV group that sponsored their research comes in & cuts the thing out leaving it in a chunk of ice.  They planned to melt it down on live TV to get huge ratings.  The thing gets out and they think someone unfroze it & stole the carcass but instead the thing got out & starts killing people.  Lots of what to do stuff.  Overall just really didn't like it and story drug on.  Characters basically not interesting.  Other than fact of convenience of reading while out & about, not much about this book I liked.  But did get it finished.

There are plenty of copies already on PBS so this one will just get donated away.  No reason to keep it.

The Road--#24 finished

Cormac McCarthy's addition to the post apocalyptic genre.  I had started No Country for Old Men and couldn't get into it & stopped.  I have had this book for years on my shelf and finally got around to reading it.  I didn't really enjoy it.  Just not much happened and just left pretty much all questions in the end.  That is probably the intent but not really what I prefer.  The interplay between father & son traveling in a desolate world while interesting at times just didn't hold my interest.  Book made me think some but to me the whole world at end except for a few has been played enough that this one doesn't really stand out.

The book has a few stains in it so cannot post on PBS, not sure if I will keep or more likely will donate away.

The Gashouse Gang--#23 finished

A book about the interesting characters on the 1934 St Louis Cardinals World Series winning team.  Lots of interesting characters with Dizzy Dean being the main or at least most vocal of them.  It also talked a little about Branch Rickey the GM that put together the team and also started before this having minor league teams attached to the major league team.  I had read a book late last year about the owner of the Boston Braves where owning the team basically ran him into bankruptcy.  Sounds like the Cardinals of this team won games but I don't think the owner was making much money--had to rent Sportsman Park from the St Louis Browns and with no TV or radio contracts, I can't see much money coming in.

The Cardinals had a great finish to the season but before August was probably frustrating for the fans with Dizzy complaining & getting suspended for not showing up because of contract issues--wanting more money for him & his brother Paul.  Oh well a good read about a team I didn't know much about.

Not sure if I will post on PBS or not, it is a Cardinals book so might just keep.