Grit, Spit and Never Quit--#63 finished

This is by Rob Riggle, a comedian that also served as a Marine--getting deployed to Liberia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.  I saw him doing the NFL picks and seemed like a pretty funny guy.  Reading this he also did a year on Saturday Night Live and also worked for The Daily Show--these were times when I wasn't watching these shows much so I don't remember him.  I have seen him on different movies and always plays a pretty funny character.  I guess he has done some drama roles but I haven't seen or at least remembered them.  I enjoy these type of memoirs, reading about how people--celebrities--got to where they are.  His is a really good story with also doing it while serving as a Marine--a lot of credit to him.

There are 2 WL for this book on PBS and since I got it from PBS I will probably post & send off at some point.

Commander in Cheat--#62 finished

The rest of the title: How Golf Explains Trump.  This is a book by a golf writer Rick Reilly about how Trump cheats at golf and so not surprising how he cheats at other things in life--wives, not paying workers, and then politics.  This was published in 2019 so before Covid and before Jan 6th riot.  It is funny how this sports writer was able to pull so much together and present it in a very easy to read book about Trump.  It really shows that Trump is a sort of one of a kind person--even with his many, many failings, he is also someone that people seem to like enough to get elected twice as president.  I have no idea how history will handle him but certainly is changing the way politics has been done.  This was a good quick read.

There are no copies in PBS system but for now I will keep this book, might hand out to friends. 

"F" is for Fugitive--#61 finished

This is that next book in the Kinsey Millhone series that I am re-reading.  I guess I started this over last year and slowly making progress on this.  I really enjoy this series and need to keep at it with a little quicker pace.  This one Kinsey is out of her apartment as it was blown up in the previous book.  She is living in landlord's extra bedroom while her apartment being rebuilt but this is just mentioned at beginning.  She gets a job out of town at a small town motel on ocean a couple hours away where she stays at the hotel.  She is investigating a murder from 17 years ago where the guy that pleaded manslaughter walked away from prison way back then and was just now caught.  Family wants him proven innocent and hires Kinsey.  A whole cast of characters and small town life unfolds.  Good story and investigation.

These are all keeper books, this one is an ex-library book in rough shape so wasn't going anywhere anyway. 

Making the Play--#60 finished

The rest of the title:  The Inspirational Story of Mike Jones as told to Jim Thomas.  This is Mike Jones of the Tackle that saved the St Louis Rams Super Bowl win in 1999.  This is a really good story.  Been more than a few years and even a bunch of years since the Rams were pulled from St Louis & taken back to LA.  St Louis was football crazy then and there is still and under current of crazy football here.  For me the sport of football is really hard to care much about.  I do enjoy going to our local high school games with my son when possible and I am still part of an on going fantasy football league and will probably continue to follow Nebraska football especially if they ever get back to relevance.  So not completely shut away but pro game really just isn't very good in my opinion.  Oh well, all of that it was a nice journey back in time to Mike Jones, Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and all the other Rams.  Good read.

I started this one to read and then mail off but in reading it, it just has too much St Louis history to send off.  It is a keeper for me, at least for now.  There is 1 WL for this book and I would guess it is someone in St Louis area wanting it.

Showdown at Shepherd's Bush--#59 finished

The rest of the title:  The 1908 Olympic Marathon and the Three Runners Who Launched a Sporting Craze.  That is basically the story--goes over some marathon history and then more in depth about the 3 main runners.  Johnny Hayes an American from Ireland, with obviously Irish Americans competing in London then was also part of the Olympic story.  Tom Longboat an Onondaga Indian from Canada who was probably the favorite--had to endure racists taunts, poor handling, etc back then.  Then Dorando Pietri from Italy who became the fan favorite even after being DQ'ed for getting assistance at the end of the race.  After the race a lot more good information about the marathon races they participated in eventually all turned pro to earn money from their racing.  Really good and interesting read.

There are 2 WL for this book on PBS but for now a keeper.  I got this book from Thrift Books too so don't feel to guilty about not putting into PBS as I do others that I get from PBS. 

Fallout--Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell--#58 finished

This is one that has been on my shelf for a long time.  It is the 4th book in a series, a series that I never bothered to track down the other books.  I finally decided it was time for me to read this one.  So I don't know if Tom Clancy wrote the first book or so in the series and then it was handed off or if was his idea and handed series off--just not sure and since book is almost 20 years old, I am not going to bother checking further into it.  A good enough typical book of a guy that was beyond the CIA and Special Forces with some amazing equipment and contacts to help him on his way.  Needle in haystack to find stuff & does find the stuff.  Just an easy read action book.

There are 8 copies in PBS system, no reason to add another.  This will go into my donate away pile.

Sunbelt Blues--#57 finished

The rest of the title: The Failure of American Housing.  This was written 2021 during the pandemic but obviously the issues with housing had been going on long before that.  The author lived in Osceola County Florida years ago and has returned a few times and now used the area as the focus on the housing issues.  This area is dominated by Disney World, both the lure of tourists, workers, land issues, etc.  A lot about the people on the fringes or those that have fallen off the fringe even and the lack of low cost housing and better paying jobs.  Full time union jobs at Disney and the employees still qualify for food stamps and other assistance but also make too much to get help with housing.  Also a lack of available housing.  Throw in many people moving into area and people that have retired or given up there too.  Motels that have become weekly/monthly rentals with quick evictions.  End of book looks at expansion of more homes that would be out of low cost price range and the environmental impact they would bring.  Just some scary stuff.  Interestingly there is a big housing bill that has passed and sounds like Trump won't sign but instead just let it slip into law.  Not sure how much of the issues in book it will address but I guess a good start and surprisingly a bipartisan bill too.

I have posted this book on PBS, it is only copy in system so maybe will get requested, will have to see.