The Sharks of Lake Nicaragua--#37 finished

An adventure writer does short write-ups about places he went to.  Mostly funny and unusual.  Not a bad read and decent introduction to some interesting places.

I have posted it on PBS, there was 1 WL for it so hope to get it mailed off soon.

Priestdaddy--#36 finished

This book was on my WL but I couldn't remember how it got there.  I read the arts section of the Post Dispatch Sunday paper and it may have been there that I heard about it & put on my WL.  This seems as the most likely happening.  This is a memoir by a lady that grew up with a catholic priest as a father.  He was first a lutheran minister, married with kids, when he decided lutheran wasn't for him & instead wanted to be catholic and went through applying to the bishop on this.  I guess he also did his classes in the seminary & became a married Catholic priest.  This was in the early '80s so probably one of the first, now there are a few more around the country.  The family lived in rectories at parish their parish.  The family also lived in St Louis for many of the author's growing up years and went to the same high school as my wife but my wife went a few years before.  Author may have went with while one of her sisters was there but not sure.

Anyway the story of growing up is an interesting and almost crazy one.  The author is a very good writer and really touches on some deep emotions that make you think throughout the book.  The book started as she & her husband had to move home, which happened to be a rectory in Kansas City.  It is a really good and interesting read.

There are plenty of WL for the book but for now it is a keeper for me.

American Wasteland--#35 finished

This is a book that started as a blog about wasting food.  Lots of good points to be made about this topic--finding ways to get food to the hungry, harvesting excess food, over serving, keeping food out of trash dumps, etc.  That being said this is a tough read, good info but stuffed around too much examples & preaching.  Book has made me think though & I am trying to get back on the composting better as well as trying to use up the food in the refrigerator rather than just throwing out.  Not sure that much has been done on a national level which is what the author wanted when writing the book--was written about 10 years ago.  Or maybe things have been happening & I just haven't been paying attention.  Might try to look into this a little.  Good topic but again was a tough read--took me a long time to get this book finished.

I have already posted it on PBS & hope to get it mailed soon.  There are 24 WL for it so should be getting shipped off in the next few days or week.

Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs--#34 finished

A short story kind of book, almost a kind of reflections on her life--growing up & through the present.  Some really funny stories.  I enjoyed her stories of her family life & her sisters & brothers--brothers much younger so they didn't figure in as much.  A really entertaining read.

There are like 10 copies on PBS so no reason to post it.  I enjoyed it enough that I will keep for now & maybe encourage others to read.

Fahrenheit 451--#32 finished

Ray Bradbury's famous futuristic book about burning books.  I enjoyed his take on the future and how similar it came out to be--with TV and a kind of dumbing down of society.  To me it was still a kind of labor to get through the book.  Not that entertaining but still kept me to where wanted to push on.  This copy had a letter he wrote several years later and then an interview with him for the books 50th year since publication, those were both very interesting to read.

I will keep this book.  Previous owner underlined and put in margin notes so really won't put back to PBS but is a keeper for now.

14 Minutes--#32 finished

14 Minutes is how long Alberto Salazar's heart had stopped beating during his heart attack.  Alberto Salazar was the top marathoner in the world in early '80s before the Kenyans and East Africans kind of took over the sport.  He had a short time at the top and then he is not really sure why but dropped off--he speculates in the book about exercise induced asthma if I remember right that wasn't diagnosed among many issues.  He talks about his role with Nike and how he coaches a few elite athletes and how he is helping them to success.  A good & interesting read.

There are 4 WL for it so I will mail it off at some point.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen--#31 finished

This is a novelization of the movie that came you in early 2000s.  I hadn't seen the movie so thought I would at least read this.  Just a good reminder to me that I don't like novelizations.  It told the story but that was about it.  I guess it really needs the pictures to go along to make it worthwhile.  Not sure I enjoyed it enough to bother with the movie.

I think there are around 10 copies already on PBS so this one will get donated away somewhere instead.

The Bishop's Pawn--#30 finished

Well I finished this book in late April and posted it & mailed it off right away, it was a mass media paperback so the WL was getting shorter by the day it seemed.  I did get it mailed & have gotten the credit for it.  I just didn't log it in here.

It was the next in the Cotton Malone series but it was a look back to when he was first brought on Sigma.  Had to do with the FBI covering up their involvement with MLK assassination.  I thought it was okay just.  One of those glad to read because part of the series but also glad it was over and then mailed off.