Educating Esme'--#80 finished

 This is a journal of a first year teacher in Chicago in a poor neighborhood.  She taught 5th grade students.  She had wonderful ideas on a ton of motivation to do her job but there are plenty of struggles, especially from the principal.  It was in the late 1990s so a little different time technology wise but still kids are still basically kids.  You wish you had a school full of teachers like her but then the other question is how do you stay that motivated for 20+ years and also throw in her own family life--she was unmarried and dating someone.  Overall though you get the simple idea that teaching and teaching well is very hard.

Our youngest wants to teach Elementary Education and I am keeping this book for her to read.  She is a freshman in college and busy with classes right now so might have to wait till she has a break to read it but certainly want her to read it.

There is 1 copy in system already and this book is a little rough--some staining so will probably not post on PBS.

I'm Glad My Mom Died--#79 finished

 This is an autobiographical book but child actress Jennette McCurdy who played Sam on ICarly show.  I watched this show with my kids when they were growing up an was a sort of funny in crazy antics kind of way.  I didn't realize Jennette was already into acting for a while before this show.  Her book is really eye opening in that she basically didn't want to be in acting and was sort of forced on her by her mom.  That is just the start of several awful things her mother did over the years for her and the family.  The secret coming out after mom had died that her father is not her biological father--instead her mom was having a long term affair.  A really screwed up family life and I am sure therapy involved.  This book reads almost like a therapeutic endeavor to sort of get it out of the system.  Jennette is no longer acting but now writing and hopefully in a better place.

There are 138 WL for this book so will get it posted & mailed off at some point.

$2.00 a Day--#78 finished

 The rest of the title is: Living on Almost Nothing in America.  The authors researched people truly living on nearly nothing as far as cash in their household.  The $2.00 a day or less was per household, so a single mother with 2 kids is 3 people in household.  The looked at families in Chicago, Cleveland and Mississippi.  Lots of talk about changes in welfare over the years and how it has affected the people at the very bottom that are struggling the most.  It was published in 2015 so a few years old, not sure if much has changed though.

There are 6 WL for this book so I will post & mail off at some point.

A Small Town--#77 finished

 This is a book by Thomas Perry, I have read and enjoyed a lot of his books and this one is a good one too.  A good quick page turner kind of read.  A prison is built in middle of nowhere CO and supplies jobs for town nearby.  A group of prisoners figure out a massive breakout, where the 12 leaders get away and a hoard is launched onto the town after killing the guards.  The town is ravaged, killings, rapes, fire, theft and destruction happens.  Most of the prisoners are rounded back up but the 12 leaders are not found.  The local police all off the books sends one of their own to hunt down the 12.  Not sure why she is able to successfully track some down while FBI, etc were not but she does.  A good read even if have to overlook a few things.

There are 8 WL for this book so will post & mail off at some point.

Penny Marshall--#76 finished

 The rest of the title is:  An Unauthorized Biography of the Director and Comedienne.  This was written around 1999, just a few years after her big directing hit of A League of Their Own.  It seems like she really slowed down after this, she did a few bit parts in shows and some producing but not much more directing.  I couldn't remember if she had passed away or not & had to wikipedia her after finishing book and saw she died in 2018--that is really too soon.  I remember watching Laverne & Shirley as a kid and laughing along with I guess the rest of America at the time.  This was a nice overview and reminder of her, good read.

I have posted it on PBS & is only copy but not sure if will move or not.

Like a Charm--#75 finished

 This is a short story book put together with a theme or at least a common connection between the stories.  Like the title says, Charm, it is a charm bracelet.  Some of the stories get a little mystical--like the first one when the charms were formed I guess.  Others are good stories seemingly about the bad luck this charm bracelet brings.  This is a little different sort of short story book, a change from the single author short stories I have read.  Nice in that most stories were around 30 pages so didn't have a big time investment if story wasn't for me. 

This is only copy in PBS system but for paperback there are 2 WL, not sure that matters but might get requested at some point.  I did go ahead a post right away on PBS.

Careers for Women--#74 finished

 I had thought this was mostly going to be about women in an office in the 1950s & 1960s.  I guess I hadn't paid much attention to the cover writeup.  It started as that but added a single mother that came to New York city from upper New York state.  It bounced from her and a family in upper state to the office and a couple close friends she made in the city.  It also went over a few decades as well.  The book bounced back and forth and changed times quite a bit that made it a little confusing to follow as well.  Overall though a good story, I enjoyed it.

There are 9 WL for this book on PBS so I will post & mail off at some point.