A Moveable Feast--#58 finished

This is a book about Ernest Hemingway's time in Paris in the 1920s and the people he was around.  This was published after his death, I am not sure if he had this written out or if from notes.  It has short chapters about different incidents and times from back then so working off his memories.  Interesting hearing about how he basically was living in near poverty writing and trying to get stories published to keep him going.  Finally toward the end he talks about his first novel getting written The Sun Also Rises and you can kind of see he was stepping into a different part of his life.  The last chapter mentions a new woman in his life and feeling terrible because he still loves his first wife Hadley.  I like Hemingway as a writer and this adds to him and his writings.

My Hemingway books are keepers so this one will be sticking around.

The Bassoon King--#57 finished

This is by Rainn Wilson, the actor that played Dwight Shrute in The Office.  An interesting person and life.  He really lets you in to see the struggles of acting and how it is very competitive and almost lucky about how he landed some of the parts that he has.  I guess he also has a website/blog thing with soul pancakes, I haven't checked it out but it is mentioned throughout the book as well.  He enjoys thinking and talking about the big things about life.  Overall an interesting person and good read.

I will probably be keeping this book.  My youngest is the big Office fan and this is also an autographed copy so might as well put on my keeper shelf.

Sweeter Than Life--#56 finished

This looks like a kind of self published book, some editing issues with Ccapital letters--this happens through most of the book & sort of drove me crazy but became used to it.  A sort of coming of age story about a high school senior with special needs kids, divorced parents, bulimia, sex/relationships and drunk driving all thrown into the mix.  I enjoyed the story but the timeline was off for me.  The main character is a fast runner hoping to get a college scholarship but only runs a relay? and is a senior graduating in days & hoping to get that scholarship at a top university?.  If she is really that good of a runner I would think she would get offered something a plenty of division II or III type schools but she has only applied to the "best" schools--UCLA, Ohio State and Baylor are mentioned--very good schools but I don't see that as the best track schools.  So throw some of that out and you still have a pretty good story about a 17 year old girl growing up and accepting and working through life changes--new job, new friends, a boyfriend and family issues.

There are no copies on PBS but not sure if I will post it or not--it is a local author but I don't know her so no real reason to keep.  I checked Amazon and shows only 1 copy in their system & for like $45--don't understand that either.  At this point might as well keep it.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes--#55 finished

This is the Hunger Games series kind of look back book--it is about the future President Snow when he was finishing his high school and the struggles in his life and choice he made at that time.  The Hunger Games was only in it's 10th year and he was a mentor for a girl from District 12 that eventually won the games with his help.  A really interesting read and a quick read too.  Not sure if another book is coming to fill in the gap of those 65 years, might be interesting.  I would also like to see a book about 10 years after the Mockingjay to see how everything ended up--of course I would like a happy ending and who would write a book like that.

This is my youngest's book and after she read it I got the chance.  It will not be going on PBS.

The Dixon Cornbelt League--#54 finished

This is a short story book by WP Kinsella that also wrote the story that became the Field of Dreams movie.  These are all baseball stories and are pretty good.  I had read something from this author in past and while I like the baseball & also throws in some magical/mystical stuff that just doesn't make much sense to me.  There is some of that in a few of these stories but overall a good read.

I will be posting it on PBS, there are no copies but who knows with it being an older book and a short story book, those don't usually move very much.

Vermeer's Hat--#53 finished

This is the book that I finished last night, just playing catch up on logging in the books now.  The rest of this title is: The Seventeenth Center and the Dawn of the Global World.  The author looks at paintings by Vermeer and objects in the painting such as the hat and looks at where it has come from--from North American beaver pelts.  A Chinese bowl and silver coins and a lot to do with trade with China.  A really interesting look at what was going on and how he related it back to the Dutch and what was going on there.

There are 4 WL for the book but this book has a ton of highlighting and underlining in it.  I guess it was a textbook for some previous owner.  I can post & mail so long as I let the person know & if they are okay with it but it really is a lot.  Will have to see on this one.

The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye--#52 finished

This is the next in the Lisbeth Salander series, I had read the one before just a couple months ago and actually have the next one already too so will probably read it yet this year.  I enjoy this series with Salander and the journalist Blomkvist getting involved it different sort of happenings and plots and figuring things out.  Salander starts this book in jail from the end of the last book where she kidnapped the autistic boy to keep him safe.  She probably could have avoided jail but offered no defense and in the course of prison meets with some bad characters and one unjustly jailed girl.  Of course figures out the bad guys with this girl and also while things are coming up from her past that Blomkvist is working on.  Book moves along and keeps this story continuing.

There are 17 WL for the book.  I have been keeping this series but not sure if I will keep after the first author's first 3 so might mail this one off but at least no hurry right now.

Git-R-Done--#51 finished

This is the Larry the Cable Guy book.  I saw some of his standup comedy on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour when it made it on TV and enjoyed it.  I know he is basically a white trash type comic and grew up for a while in NE & is a NE football fan so figured could check out this book. I really dislike the book, no I would have to say overall I hate this book.  At points maybe a chuckle but overall just his insults to everyone, just too much and not funny.  I don't remember his stand up being like this but maybe being in print it was just too much for me.  No respect for the person anymore either.

To show how much I hate this book, I am not going to post it on PBS, I don't think it should be mailed off to anyone else to read.  I am instead going to throw in it recycling, I am not even going to give it away.  Just an awful book.

Munson--#50 finished

The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain is the rest of the title.  I was starting to pay attention to baseball in this time, I remember the Yankee & Dodgers World Series and some of the Yankee and KC Royals Championship series.  I remember hearing about Munson dying in a plane crash and enjoy baseball reference.com  for all the stats in baseball.  I remember Munson as a very good player and was sort of surprised he didn't get credit for dying young that would help him get into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Not sure he is a HOFer but just wonder if the surgical and medical advances of today were available how much better his knees would be and lengthen his career.  Same thing you can wonder about Gayle Sayers too on the football side.  I didn't know anything of Munson's personal life and this book filled in a lot of that.  I am not a Yankee fan so was getting tired of the world revolves around the Yankees feel the book has but still interesting read to learn about the person of Thurman Munson.

I have posted it & it is the only copy in the system so figure at some point it will get mailed off somewhere.

Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty--#49 finished

A different sort of story a young family that has always known money suddenly finding out their money is gone.  They have options but the stress of this gets to them.  The story jumps from growing up & meeting in the '60s to being married with three children in the '70s.  He sets up a dinner date that becomes a spouse swap but his wife didn't realize & then refuses.  She won't let him home that night & the next day she leaves a note and takes off on a cross country trip with a man she just met.  The husband joins with his dinner date lady and they decide to take a sailboat of his dads and sail off to the Bahamas or maybe farther.  Neither one knows what the other is doing.  Meanwhile the kids are at home, the 9 year old girl and twin boys around 5 I think.  The 9 year old gets them ready for school and they have their adventures at home but don't tell anyone because of horrible things they heard about orphanages.  All in all a good story, even if you struggle at times to like the characters.

There are 9 WL for the book so at some point will post it & mail it off.