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.