"You Just Need to Lose Weight" and 19 Other Myths About Fat People--#90 finished

That is probably the longest book title I have typed on my title line.  I ordered this book as part of a Wishlist Multipies list on PBS--where you order usually at least 2 or 3 books that others have on their WL and maybe ones you have.  This is a way to save mailing cost by mailing 3 books for 3 credits in one mailing instead of 3 separate mailings.  I usually look there when my credits pile up or if nothing is going on as far as requests or ones to mail.  Anyway this is one that looking at title I thought might be a kind of comedy take on people harassing fat people, instead it is more of a you need to treat us better kind of read.  A lot of good information about fat people and how it is not simple to just lose weight and how often diets just make things worse once off the diet.  Good information about just respecting people and not attacking them.  I am overweight, maybe obese by BMI but book also points out how basically useless the BMI rating is too.  It does seem like parts of the book are just kind of repeated but still a worthwhile read.

There are 6 WL for this book on PBS and since my credits are now under 10 finally, I will go ahead and post this book to mail out.

Heretic--#89 finished

This is a book by a woman that is now a lecturer at Harvard but grew up in Somalia before moving a few times and getting to the Netherlands.  Here she was able to study and go to college and learned about a way of life outside of the life in Islamic lands.  She looks at Islam as needing a Reformation like Catholicism needed one at the time of Luther.  It is a very good and interesting book with a lot of information and accounts to backup her arguments.  This book was published in 2015 so already 10 years have passed and seemingly nothing has really changed.  Taliban have retaken Afghanistan, wars continue in the Middle East and women's rights there have changed little.  I see changes I want to see in the Catholic church and hope they do change over time--I am sort of optimistic that they will change for more openness to LGQBT+ people, opening ordinations to married people and women among other things.  I hope that if the Catholic church moves in these areas it might spur others to look at these areas as well--Islam, political parties, leaders of countries that oppress these people and just people in general. 

There are no copies in system right now in PBS but this is going on a keeper shelf for now.

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo--#88 finished

This is Amy Schumer's memoir.  For some reason I kept thinking she was on SNL and it took to more than a few pages to realize this was not the case.  I don't think I ever saw her TV show.  Maybe saw her movie but I am guessing I have seen her in a few things.  I think I have probably seen her on a roast at some point too.  All this to kind of say I am not all that familiar with her comedy.  Book was funny at parts, she is certainly open about herself and others around her and throws it out there humorously.  Overall I liked reading this book.  Will try to pay more attention to what she is doing & see if I can catch some of it.

There are already 5 copies on PBS system and this book is kind of cracked on spine--not that bad but not worth posting either.  I will donate this one away, no reason to keep it.

Benchwarmer--#87 finished

I really liked the author's other book Cardboard Gods where he related baseball cards to what was going on in his life or the player's life.  A fun and interesting read--at least as I remember it--it has been many years since I have read it but the book is a keeper on my shelf.  The rest of the title on this one is: A Sports-Obsessed Memoir of Fatherhood.  I finished it thinking it is just depressing.  Him and his wife have their son and the struggles of new parents along with just life struggles seems to be overwhelming them.  Hearing about money problems, house/condo problems, bad living area, job problems really just overtake whatever message is supposed to come out of this book.  Some looking back on his life, a college walkon that probably would have been cut but the coach kept everyone.  The college team losing every game and him rarely getting any playing time.  Describing himself as the backup to the backup forward on the team was kind of funny but just not enough enjoyable parts of his life are described.  I do want to go back & re-read Cardboard Gods as I just found my old baseball cards in my attic and dug them out. 

There are 2 WL for this book on PBS but for now I will keep it since I liked his other book so much.  Will see down line if that is enough to hold onto it though. 

Conventionally Yours--#86 finished

This book was a little different kind of read for me.  It had the basic idea of a road trip and romance.  I think it was more the road trip when I bought it that I noticed, oh well the romance was between two college age guys.  They lived in New Jersey and were all part of a hobby shop that plays a game like Magic--I am guessing couldn't use this game as focus with copy right and all that so author called it Odyssey.  Was supposed to be 4 people going together, the store owner/professor guy with car had to drop after he fell and hurt himself.  3 started but one had to fly back to New Jersey after a day or so with a family emergency, leaving just 2.  The two were rivals at the game and seemingly didn't get along so of course by the time they get to Vegas they are making out and more.  Lots of kind of teenage angst but with it being gay love angst was really something different.  Not really my thing that I wanted to read but not a bad read anyway.

There are 4 WL for this book on PBS so I will post & mail off at some point.

Pro Bono--#85 finished

This is about a mother and son that are victims of a con job.  Their husband/dad passed away and a new guy came into their life and married the mother.  He switched paperwork into his name and was robbing them almost completely.  The son then a college student back for summer runs him off road and bad guy dies.  Convicts fighting a fire returning to their prison in a bus stop at accident scene and two of them find paperwork that the stash away for years.  Boy grows up and goes to law school and has a practice back in CA where he looks for these kind of con jobs.  A widow comes for his help with her retirement funds being depleted.  Since now many years later the convicts are out now and have the paperwork but need help in accessing this money.  Confusing just to type this out.  Convicts and lawyers eventually trust each other enough to help out.  Original con man that was killed in car accident was part of con family so when try to access the money this family comes out of woodwork to get this money.  

To me this seems like 2 or 3 ideas for books that in the end the author decided to combine them together into one book.  While I was more disappointed with his book--Murder Book, this one has that same feel.  I did enjoy it more and while it seems unlikely the puzzle pieces would fit it still made for a good read.

There are 5 WL for this book on PBS so I will probably post it at some point.

"If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse?"--#84 finished

The author, Gina Barreca is an English professor at UConn and also does columns for Tribune News Service that are syndicated throughout the country.  I hadn't heard of her before this book.  This is a book of her columns basically from over time.  Kind of funny and trying to see things in a little different light.  Just a nice and easy read as most were around 3 pages so easy to read a couple and set asside.

I have already posted it back on PBS, it is the only copy in system so will see when & if it goes.

Black is the Body--#83 finished

The rest of the title:  Stories from my Grandmother's Time, my Mother's Time and Mine.  It is a kind of memoir by stories.  The author is a black lady married to a white man, they are both professors in Vermont.  She moved from Nashville and went to college there and has stayed there since.  Her mom was born and raised in Mississippi and had moved to Nashville.  Emily--the author--tells stories about growing up and also going back to MS as a child and then later as an adult.  Also stories about living in a very white state Vermont and teaching to mostly all white students in her classes about African American Studies.  Emily & her husband are unable to have children and go through a process to adopt and are able to adopt twin girls that were around 1 year of age from Ethiopia.  The stories are very good and make you think about things that are outside of what I would think--the questions students ask, hair problems for their young black daughters, south vs north ways of blacks and living and working.  Just a really good and interesting book.

There are no copies on PBS but for now I am keeping this book.  Might be a loan out book or maybe just a keeper for me, not sure at this point. 

The Fury--#82 finished

This is a whodunit kind of mystery.  A retired famous actress, her husband and son, an actress friend and a writer friend are all invited by the retired actress to her Greek island for a long weekend.  We know going in that someone is murdered and so the story starts.  Background of the people is woven into story.  It does keep you guessing.  I had trouble that I really didn't like any of the characters enough to care what happens to them.  Oh well a good kind of read overall I guess.

There are 22 WL for this book on PBS so I will probably mail it off at some point.

American Gun--#81 finished

The author of this book Chris Kyle served in Iraq and probably Afghanistan too and was a top sniper there and wrote a book I read years ago I think was American Sniper--yep just looked it up.  A movie was made and Chris was a kind of famous person.  Just as this book finished up Chris and a friend were killed, it says trying to help another veteran.  If I remember right I think the guy had ptsd and shot up a firing range--not sure and will probably try looking up after typing this up.  This book is about 10 guns that influenced the US from it's very beginning to present day.  Good stories and writeups on each gun as well as talking about other similar guns or guns the opponents were using.  I am not much of a gun guy so was just a good read for me, people with real interest in guns probably enjoy this book much more.

There are no copies on PBS but at this point not posting it either.  Not sure if keeper since a lot good information here or maybe post or maybe donate away.  No hurry to decide. 

Taylor Made--#80 finished

This is a locally published kind of self published book.  The author started her own publishing company and this book came from it.  It is a rough book, rough story, 4 girls starting in middle school and going through high school and then college in St Louis in North St Louis are involved with young men that are dealing drugs and raking in a bunch of cash.  The language is rough, a ton of n-words or variations of that.  The years are late 1980s into the early 1990s which is when I came to St Louis so time and setting seem a little familiar but don't know this area or the in & outs of this life at all.  This is the first book by this author and it seems like it too.  Story gets confusing, introducing people and roles and not really sure how everyone fits at points.  Oh well a good story that reminds me that the crack epidemic of that time was really a tough time.

I have posted it on PBS, not sure if it will get requested but figure will post & see.  Might get donated away if stays on my PBS list too long.

An Unfinished Love Story--#79 finished

This is the first book I have read by the historian Doris Kearns Goodwin & it is really good.  The rest of the title is: A Personal History of the 1960s.  Her and her husband didn't meet until the 1970s but each played a somewhat important role in the politics of the 1960s.  Her husband Dick Goodwin was older and had more roles starting with JFK and his election to President and then staying on with LBJ and helping push through many of the Great Society bills.  He left LBJ to teach but also split with him on the Vietnam war.  He was back in politics help McCarthy and then his good friend RFK until he was assassinated.  Meanwhile Doris was a college student & then Phd as well that got a position in DC that eventually turned into a kind of personal assistant to LBJ.  She was with him till end of his Presidency and then continued to work on his memoirs.  This was told as a look back for them both going through boxes of material they had saved.  Unfortunately Dick made it through the boxes but died from cancer before writing the book so Doris had to do that on her own.  Just a really in depth look at politics in the US in the turbulent 1960s from an insider type perspective. 

There are 32 WL for this book on PBS so might get mailed at some point but might also loan out to friends as well or maybe just put on a keeper shelf here. 

Taking Down Backpage--#78 finished

This is by a former CA prosecutor that led the effort to take down the Craigslist of escorts and prostitutes called Backpage.  I kind of remember hearing about this years back.  Reading about Backpage and thinking this was before the MeToo movement and the Epstein files, all of those just make you wonder what the hell were we thinking.  I am sure sex trafficking is still going on, pimps and prostitutes and all that but the people running these things should be locked away for a long time and help given to the victims.  Shame at least for the customers.  Just a really sad state.  Tough to read about some of the victims in this book but glad to see it was taken down and some of the people at least went to justice.

There are 2 WL for this book on PBS so I will probably post & send off at some point.

"I" is for Innocent--#77 finished

This is the next in the series, it is a re-read series for me and while parts of the story come back to me, many details had been forgotten.  I guess that is typical, just funny though.  I have no idea how people memorize lines or poems and can repeat them back--that is so not me.  Kinsey has been kicked out/fired from her insurance company office and lands an office with lawyer Lonnie Kingman.  She has to take over an investigation for an upcoming trail that another PI was working but he just died.  Going through his work and following leads with again just interesting characters in all directions, this is a good story.  A fun read that pushes along this series.

There are plenty of copies in system, in fact I had just ordered this one when I realized I did not have it.  I am not sure if I had loaned my copy out or maybe I had checked it out from library--just don't know.  I know I read this one years ago but don't know what happened to the book.  Oh well, this series is a keeper so I will put with the others and grab the next when I feel time.

Ogallala Blue--#76 finished

Growing up in Nebraska I heard about the Ogallala Aquifer at times in school and probably in the newspaper.  Since moving to Missouri many years ago, surprised at how people here have not heard of it and how important it is, I guess since not directly under, was never really a topic.  This book gives a lot of details and information that I didn't know or think about this large aquifer.  I knew that it was being drained and that crop irrigation was one of the main culprits.  I also know that west of the Rockies there is a drought going on so figured now was a good time to read this book for a little more understanding.  The book is around 20 years old so all while reading it, I kept wondering if things had gotten better since it was written.  I quick read of wikipedia makes it sound like no, not gotten better.  The worse maybe slowed some but not better.  Lots of information in the book, I am not at all a scientist so some of the details, geology, engineering, etc were beyond me but I certainly understood the issues involving this.

Well there are no WL for this book on PBS, it is one that I got through Thrift Books anyway.  This will be a keeper for me.

You Exist Too Much--#75 finished

A Palestinian young woman is struggling in her life.  She is bi-sexual but cannot let her family know this.  Her parents are divorced and she mostly lived with her mom but her mom was tough to live with.  she almost was like living in the shadow of her mom.  And with her troubled relationship with her mom, it carries over into making trouble with the relationships she gets in.  The book reads almost autobiographical in many ways since the main character is a writer too that goes to Iowa writing school as author did too.  The book sort of ends on a hopeful note where main character is in a good relationship even if her mother cannot approve.  This was a good and interesting read.

There are 7 WL for this book on PBS so like so many others I will file away for now & probably post at some point down the line when more in need of credits.

The Tree of Light and Flowers--#74 finished

This is the last in the Jane Whitefield series by Thomas Perry, the author passed away shortly after finishing this book.  This book actually did a nice job of wrapping up the story.  Jane was able to kill off bad people and threaten the leader to never again come after her.  She has her baby and a teenager that is a runner they are kind of adopting till an adult.  Good series, sad that author Thomas Perry has passed away, I have enjoyed this series and several of his other books.

There are 20 WL for this book so will probably post & send off at some point.

The Paris Wife--#73 finished

This is a historical fiction book about Hadley Richardson who became Ernest Hemingway's first wife.  Is a really good read about their relationship and their early struggles with his writing and trying to get published.  It is fiction so while there are lots of details here, conversations, thoughts, etc are by the author so to speak.  Still a good read and insight to them both as well as the whole Americans in Paris culture of the time.

There are 4 copies already on PBS and more that are hardcopy so no need to add another one.  I have had this one on my shelf for a long time so will probably put back on shelf at this point.  Might be a loan away or donate away book down the line.

How to Mars--#72 finished

A sort of fun book imagining a reality TV show finding a way to get 6 people to Mars and establish a home there.  Chapters with the handbook for what to do there are also thrown in.  The big no no was no sex because of the dynamic with the 6 people and issues that might cause.  Well of course sex happens and a women becomes pregnant and a lot of the book is about the upcoming birth.  Mostly funny, with some strange people and some of their backgrounds and some on how they got picked.  Some weird stuff with floating ghost like people of Mars.  Overall an okay read, by end of it I just wanted to get it over with.

There were no copies on PBS so I have already posted it.  Will see if ever requested now.

Recipe for a Perfect Wife--#71 finished

A different type of story where the suburban house plays a major role.  A newly wed wife in the 1950s and a new wife in the current year are in this house with the chapters flipping between the wives.  Both are in tough kind of marriages, the 1950s a lot more so, but that is not surprising given the time and roles for women.  The current year wife and husband move from small apartment New York to suburbs and the house is newly bought but no updates have been done it sounds like since the 1950s wife passed away as widow just a few years before.  There are also some old recipes in this book as well.  It is a mostly fun and enjoyable read but also hits on tough times as well.

There are 16 WL for this book on PBS so will probably post & mail off at some point.