Gods of Howl Mountain--#28 finished

 I was looking for something a little different when I picked up this book.  It was that I guess, it is about mountain people in North Carolina after WWII.  The grandmother and her grandson are main characters, grandma worked in a brothel after her husband was killed in WWI and after her daughter sort of went crazy but had a son, grandma had to raise her grandson.  She went into the hills and learned the roots & medicinal ways from an old time healer and this is how she now supported herself and grandson.  The grandson is back from WWII but is missing part of his leg but has a wooden leg.  His job is to run moonshine from the mountains into the town but has to avoid the local and state police out to stop him.  A lot going on in this story but can follow the story lines, just seemed like most story lines didn't end.  Could easily be a 2nd book in here but not sure author will do this, looks like has a couple newer books out since this one.  One criticism I read on PBS was author way over did the details--I that is true at points but I enjoyed the story enough to push through.

There are 11 WL for this book so I will post at some point on PBS & send off.

Firm Ambitions--#27 finished

 This is the next in the Rachel Gold series by a local St Louis author Michael A Kahn.  Rachel is a lawyer and this is first book where she has moved back home to St Louis from Chicago.  She is living with her mom & her sister is involved in this story line as well.  The story line is a little out there but is good enough to keep action moving and overall a fun ride.  Series sort of reminds me of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series, Kinsey is a little earlier if I am remembering right--1980s while this is more early to mid 1990s at this point--not sure timelines on later books.  

There is another copy out there in PBS but since local author, I am keeping this series for now at least.

Gone for Soldiers--#26 finished

 This is a sort of prequel to the author's series--along with his dad's books--about the Civil War.  This is about the soldiers that served in the Mexican War.  The main characters are Winfred Scott and Robert E Lee but several others mentioned as well that became more famous during the Civil War.  A good read, interesting how the author is able to put this together--these are fiction books but based of what facts he can find.  Obviously conversations are all fiction but troop movements and battles are probably close to what happened in a macro sense.  This author also has books about the Western battles in the Civil War--I think with focus on what Grant was doing before Lincoln named him the overall general for the Union.

There are copies on the PBS system and since I really like this series I am keeping this and the others I have, at least for now.

Save Yourself--#25 finished

 This is a memoir of a standup comedienne that I hadn't heard of, Cameron Esposito.  A good read about her life but I still don't recognize her from anything & since I don't do podcasts it looks like that is where she has been lately.  A born and raised Catholic and she was super devoted too but eventually figured out she was gay and that changed her view on Catholicism.  Some struggles with parents with this as well.  She was in college in early to mid 2000s but had gone to I guess a very Catholic Boston College--I went to SLU in late '80s and they seemed much more open then that what she was describing at her college.  Of course LGBQT+ wasn't as much in news as then so maybe a sort of backlash thing going on.  Also she was in Boston when the whole Catholic church priest scandal came out and she mentions that as part of her getting away from the church too.  She talks about her relationships & struggles in an open manner--a good and interesting read.

There was 1 WL when I started but was at zero when I finished.  I posted it and it did get requested right away so will be mailing off in next few days.

The Philadelphia Quarry--#24 finished

 This is next in a series with Willie Black a newspaper reporter that seems to always be on the edge of getting fired.  This time investigating a newly freed man, after 28 years released for crime he didn't commit with DNA evidence freeing him.  The woman that said he did it--she was a young teenager at time--ends up getting shot & killed and the man is arrested for this murder.  Willie is on the story & this affects many of the big money people in Richmond, VA too.  I have enjoyed the couple of books read in this series--newspaper man doing investigating in a smaller city is fun.

I have already posted it on PBS, there were 2 WL for it and it has been accepted so will get this mailed off in next couple of days.

Hope--#23 finished

This is a memoir by Hope Solo, soccer goalie, it was published in 2012.  She is probably the best US female goalie ever but is certainly also outspoken and controversial.  Her home life growing up was certainly screwed up--her father, who she adored, had a shady past and lived a shady life after divorce.  Hope though once finding him stayed close to him.  At times you feel for her, what she has had to overcome but then plenty of other times she has been the cause of her problems.  I had to check the publish date of the book because I know she has been in news since.  I checked her wikipedia page and she continued to star in soccer for years after the book.  Her latest issue though is a DWI with her 2 year old kids in the car.  Just a complicated person like we all are I guess but her life is lived more in the news than the rest of us.

I have posted it on PBS, there was 1 WL for it & has already been accepted.  Will get it mailed off in the next few days.

The Altruists--#22 finished

 This is a book that mostly takes place in St Louis, so enjoyed reading about places in town.  A screwed up family but the story is not told linear--it bounces from present day back to explain some history to present day & then back, etc, etc.  Makes for a sort of jumbled reading but also you want to continue to end to see how pieces all fit & what becomes of them.  Some parts are funny but overall just a sort of sad family--the 2 kids really seemed screwed up but at very end maybe getting it figured out.  Lots of underlying things going on but not sure really buying into those as causes for screwed up kids.

There are 7 WL for book on PBS, not sure will post since does have local references.  No hurry at least, will figure as keeper for now.

How to be Famous--#21 finished

 A sort of lite supposed to be fun book about a teenager that gets a job with a music magazine in London and moves up to a larger magazine.  All while her personal life is a lot of drinking and partying.  Also big time obsessing over an older singer that is her friend but she wants more.  Throw in a scandal and her becoming friends with a all female band and it is the 1990s, well there it is.  The beginning was enjoyable getting to know her but beyond that it was too much just suspend reality and I could do that enough to really enjoy the book.  It was okay but makes me wonder with so many books I have to read why did I pick this one.  I am still trying to figure that one out.

I have posted it on PBS, it is the only copy in the system so maybe will get requested some day.