My New American Life--#22 finished

I have read a couple other books by the author Francine Prose and her books always seem to be entertaining and come from a different angle than expected.  I didn't know much of what to expect on this one other than an immigrant in the US.  A young Albanian woman comes to the US as a tourist but had planned to overstay that and remain here--kind of timely for our current times.  She finds a position as a live in helper to a father and a teenage son--she is to help the son grow up and stay on top of homework, etc.  A family friend/lawyer is helping her gain legal status too.  The wife/mother had just left them on a Christmas Eve--said going to store but ends up sending postcards from different places--she has sort of lost her mind in a way.  Lulu the main character has settled in but then 3 Albanian men come to the house and get involved with her without the husband and son knowing.  At times funny, sad and just pushing along.  A different sort of read but still mostly entertaining.

There is 1 WL for this book on PBS so may try to post soon.

E is for Evidence

This is the next in the Kinsey Milhone series by Sue Grafton.  I needed a smaller paperback to read while at a doctor's office waiting for my appointment and grabbed this one.  Lots of moving parts on this and not sure really made sense--didn't like the bad guy was introduced but only at very end was revealed he was a killer that remade his life and married into the business family.  A crazy guy who was also working at business as wealthy, not sure it all works but was still a fun quick read.  An ex-husband shows up and shows why she is lucky he is not around too.

This is a keeper series for me so, it will go back on my shelf.

Dark Territory--#20 finished

The rest of the title is:  The Secret History of Cyber War.  A lot of good background info on computers and hacking.  Goes from the 1970s to when published in early 2016.  Not really hacking on the business side as much as on the spying and attacks on the government and military sides.  Also obviously with the US wanting to spy on others but also defending against the spying & attacks on our computers.  It seemed funny to me that a lot of the same people from the 1990s were still around in the 2000s and 2010s in leadership or advisory positions.  It just seems like the whole internet and applications tend to go with younger founders and startups but in the government leadership that experience still matters--or maybe these are people dedicated to our government while others are looking to make that quick buck.  Good read for up to when published but seems like in 10 years since a lot more has been happening and could be interesting to see a follow up.

There are 2 WL for this book on PBS so might try to post & mail off at some point but still have plenty of credits so not sure how soon will post.

All the Beloved Ghosts--#19 finished

This is a short story book with most of the stories in England where the author lives now and teaches.  The first couple stories are in Canada where she grew up.  Then there are also 3 stories of Anton Chekhov, that were really good and interesting.  This is a very nice mix of story types and all have a real touch of reality.  A good quick short story book.

There were no copies in PBS system so I posted it and it got requested right away so I will be mailing it off in the next few days.

Dying of Whiteness--#18 finished

This book was actually finished at end of Feb but just now logging it in.  The author is a researcher at Vanderbilt Univ but grew up in Kansas City.  These are the areas he looks at.  First is MO and the states gun laws, laws that have made it easier to get and carry guns in MO have also shown an increase in suicides by gun in MO.  It is mostly by white people here.  He has focus groups in all areas & in MO they discuss the people with real attachment to their guns--scary and kinda crazy to me all at once.  Next he looks at healthcare in TN.  TN does not expand medicare and a whole discussion of ACA.  Again with focus groups he finds that white men don't want to expand the healthcare because minorities or illegals would abuse it.  One guy he finds and talks to, has health issues that could be addressed in a neighboring state but doesn't want the health issues addressed because ACA and cost--again just craziness.   Finally he goes to KS and looks at their schools.  The tea party/MAGA groups there cut taxes for rich and doing so cut money to public schools.  He discusses how KS public schools were always very good, mostly top 10 in nation before this period.  Once the money cuts came there was a quick drop off.  The drop off not only affected the more minority districts but also the majority white districts.  

Really good research but was a little much on the details for my taste.  Also the font was too small for my enjoyment--I guess I am getting older and like a larger font.

There are 12 WL for this book on PBS but have plenty of credits so no hurry to post and ship off at this point.

Stupid and Contagious--#17 finished

A light kind of humorous romantic comedy read.  I had picked it up I guess at a library sale but didn't realize until looking at it later that the author is the daughter of Tina Louise--the actress from Gilligan's Island--the movie star Ginger.  I found that kind of funny but also good to see a child of a movie/TV star being successful.  Book was written in 2006 so an older book so need to take a little step back in technology. A couple of kind of screwups become neighbors and she drives him crazy but in the end they realize they are a good match & it is happily ever after kind of thing.  Nice read, wanted something light since had some serious and or depressing reads before and during this one.

There was 1 copy in PBS system so I did go ahead and post this one too.  Will see if ever gets requested or not.

Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch--#16 finished

This is a book that has been on my shelves for probably about 15 years if I had to guess.  One of those library sale pickups for a quarter or 50 cents that looked interesting so bought it.  I finally got around to reading it and conflicting opinions on it.  Lots of history that author supposedly tried to stay true to but also a ton of debauchery and basically awful behavior by almost everyone in the book.  It is about Constantinople in late 800s or maybe early 900s.  Emperors, church, warring parties and a lot of what has were like vs have nots.  Interesting reading but still a lot that seemed put into the novel for shock's sake too.

There were no copies in PBS & I have already posted it in system.  Will see if it goes anywhere.