My Vanishing Country--#62 finished

 This is a memoir by Bakari Sellers, a political analyst on CNN.  I have seen him on the Abbey Phillip show & really liked what he was saying so when I saw his book at 1/2 Price Books and was like $2.00, I bought it.  He has had a really interesting life as well as interesting opinions.  I thought I was sort of up on things but I hadn't heard of the state police shooting in Orangeburg, SC in 1968 before the Kent State shootings/killings.  Bakari's father was charged & spent time in prison for this even though at that time he was not at the protest, he was at other times.  How this changed his family's life and then Bakari is a really interesting part of his life story.  I enjoyed this book and look forward to continuing to see Bakari on CNN or maybe back in elected politics.

There are 4 WL for this book on PBS so might post & send away but no hurry to do so at this point.

A Peculiar Indifference--#61 finished

The rest of the title:  The Neglected Toll of Violence on Black America.  Book was published September 2020, so right before Biden was elected but also during Covid.  It seems so long ago now.  Many of the things the author talks about on attempting to solve this issue takes money and in today's politics that seems impossible to even have this debate with everything being cut except for deportation money and defense.  Crazy doing tax cuts for the wealthiest while there are these issues still of violence in our cities.  Author lays out the research, makes the book read more like a college textbook at times and then some ways to help.  Sad but we are probably years away from any of these ideas gaining traction to start.

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

Anatomy of a Miracle--#60 finished

A soldier injured in Afghanistan and paralyzed from the waist down for 4 years is suddenly able to stand up & walk.  Cameron Harris was a troubled young man before joining the army and after he came home in a wheelchair was again troubled.  His sister, the only relative left, has been taking care of him.  Because he is able to stand and walk again, the doctors don't have an answer as to why and the people in his southern Mississippi town see it as a miracle.  The Vatican is brought in to investigate as well.  Eventually you get a lot more backstory of Cameron and also what happened in Afghanistan that is about Cameron's life.  The miracle of him walking again is left as a miracle but other things happening around him change some of the people's view of him.  A good story but just a long way to go to get to the heart of it.  This is a large print book that I picked up from the library sale too which maybe made it seem even longer.

There are no WL for this version book but there are for the regular hardcopy & paperback.  Not sure if I will post this or not--is a big heavy book so postage will be high, may just donate away instead.

Your Dad Stole My Rake--#59 finished

Comedian Tom Papa's book of observations and just kind of funny stuff.  I am not sure where I saw this book but probably on another person on PBS's their wishlist.  I like to read comedian books as a change of pace type read and this fit the bill.  Him and me are about the same age so many of the things he was talking about fit into my life in a sort of way.  I had to wikipedia him since I didn't know anything about him and from reading that I am not sure if I have ever seen him on TV or movies--he has done some but nothing I had watched.  He also does radio and podcasts as well.  Oh well, I enjoyed the book

There are 3 WL for it on PBS so I will probably post & mail off at some point.

Nothing Personal--#58 finished

The rest of the title: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno.  I thought this might be a sort of lighter read about a lady around my age getting into dating using the apps that are around.  It was that except for the lighter part.  The author is a reporter and had done a couple articles while using this app but also had a sort of relationship with a much younger man she met on the app.  After the articles she wanted to do a documentary about the apps and talks about the research and interviews and the ups and downs of this process throughout too.  A lot about her personal life and the people around her and their experiences with dating today.  She really was looking at the big downsides to these apps, the sexual assaults, rapes and more that seem to increase with using these apps.  The whole idea of independent women making dating choices vs what is really happening with these apps.  This is a much deeper read than what I thought it was going to be.  I am glad that I have read it, probably more glad that I am not dating and need to think about using these apps.

There is 1 WL for this book and I will probably post & see about mailing off in the coming days.

Eruption--#57 finished

This is a book started by Michael Crichton and after he died his wife found his notes & drafts and at some point decided to ask James Patterson to finish this book.  I haven't been a big fan of either of these authors, they write in what seems to be a fast paced almost TV or movie script way.  The bad guys or just not nice guys are easy to pick out along with the hero, good guy types.   This is about the volcanos on the big island erupting and the main guy there in charge is also brought up to speed on deadly radioactive and even deadlier pesticide being stored nearby by the military.  Because of this they need to try to route the lava flow away from this critical area.  A cast of characters and there is your story.  It is fast paced & easy to read but again for me not much there too.  A kind of nice break though from other type books have been reading.

There are 45 WL for this book on PBS so will be mailing it off at some point.

A Fever in the Heartland--#56 finished

The rest of the title:  The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them.  This was part of 3 books in a row that just seemed hard to read--Rust, The Threat and this one.  All three were serious struggle books and while the author in Rust seems to have gotten through her rough part and this book eventually the KKK went back under a rock, they are still there and then the FBI is struggling under new leadership that really shouldn't be there.  All 3 sort of depressing in different ways, oh well, still all good reads.  This one about the KKK reforming in the 1920s and becoming a power in the US, not just in South but also the midwest and west.  I have a hard time understanding how people could ever want to join a group like this that is based on hate and fear.  I see today with voters putting Trump back in charge and many want the illegal immigrants out of our country but I think most don't want all out but Trump played on people's fears.  It is like how the KKK did the same, playing on people's fears of African Americans, Catholics and immigrants--the 1920s was a time of change and small town midwestern people did not want that much change I guess.  Similar to today & not just with immigrants but also Trump wanting to push out any form of DEI.  I just seems like it is almost the same playbook as the 1920s except modernized.  Instead of paying off pastors and threatening businesses, the conservatives have Fox News and the multiple other channels and podcasters spreading the fear and arguing to fight back for our country.  Just a sad state of affairs that our country was in in the 1920s and again today in the 2020s.

There are 27 WL for this book on PBS but I am keeping it.  This is a book that I need to think about more and probably recommend to others.

Oysters to Angus--#55 finished

The rest of the title:  Three Generations of the St Louis Faust Family.  The Faust family ran a restaurant, bar & store in downtown St Louis in the 1800s after the Civil War.  They became one of the leaders of St Louis especially of the Germans in St Louis along with the Busch family and during the 2nd generations the Faust and Busch family married into each other.  Interesting time since it is also St Louis elites during the Gilded Age.  While not like the Astors or Vanderbilts of New York/East Coast, the children still went to eastern boarding schools and the families vacationed in Europe and even had homes in Germany.  There is of course the St Louis World's Fair of 1904 talked about some as well.  The Faust family moved from that downtown restaurant to the 3rd generation owning a large farming operation in Chesterfield after WWII.  They donated a large part of that for it to become Faust Park.  Lots of good information, well researched book.

There are no copies in PBS system and because it is such a local type book, will probably not post on PBS but will keep for now & maybe give away at some point--not sure yet.

Romantic Comedy--#54 finished

 I had read this author's short story book a year or two ago and it said she lived in St Louis at the time so when I saw this book at a library sale I picked it up.  It now states she lives in Minneapolis, so St Louis lost an author but I am sure we will still claim a connection.  This is about a writer on an SNL like TV show called The Night Owls--TNO.  It is basically Saturday Night Live in every sense though but guessing had to come up with a different name for book & all that.  Female writer meets a hot younger singer that was also hosting the show.  She helps him with some of his writing for a sketch and seems to be a connection but nothing comes of it.  During pandemic, they do connect through emails & then calls to where she travels to meet him.  They really do connect and seems like a good ending even.  Obviously more to it than this but that is why you should read it, especially if an SNL fan because does seem to go into plenty of detail about the behind the scenes stuff of the show--I will have to see if author has a connection.

I think there are 33 WL for this book on PBS and since she no longer lives in St Louis--ha ha--mostly because a nice read but no need to be a keeper, I will mail off at some point.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It--#53

 I had too many serious books lately so I needed to mix in a lighter type book and this one fit the bill.  A struggling author was talking to her agent at a Panera about book ideas and someone sitting close by thought author was actually a paid assassin.  She stumbles into participating in killing that lady's husband--who was an ass and probably deserved it and from there the story continues.  Author is struggling not just with writing but with her whole life but things seem to come together.  This is first book in a series, I think up to 6 books now.  It is only one that I have but might look for others at some point.

There are 21 WL for this book on PBS but one of my daughters is thinking about reading it so will hold back for her for now.

The Threat--#52 finished

 Reading this book was just depressing, I have to start by saying that.  Here is the rest of the title: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump.  Andrew McCabe had a long career in the FBI, becoming the Acting Director when Jim Comey was fired by Trump.  He was then eventually hated by Trump in fired a day before he was set to retire.  Trump is an ass.  Lots of good information about his career and how the FBI works and investigates what comes up.  Toward the end of the book is where he talks about Trump and how Trump was terrible President and really unqualified to be there.  The book was written before the Mueller report, before Trump's first impeachment and Jan 6th.  Reading all this while also living now with Trump 2.0 is depressing and almost nightmare like.  This will be a tough 4 years.

There is 1 copy already on PBS but at this point I am keeping the book.  Even though depressing, was still a good book with lots of information inside.

Rust--#51 finished

 This is a really good book/memoir.  The author touches on so much in her life that is really so very important and from a different perspective that it really makes you think.  She grew up in Cleveland in a Catholic household and schools and at one point wanted to be a nun--like was thinking about this in high school when the convent she talked to suggested she first go to college.  She went to a very Catholic college but struggled to fit in & this lead to a great trauma in her life--she was raped and then not supported in any way afterwards--just awful.  Not sure if her bi-polar disease was kick started from this trauma or was hereditary and going to happen anyway but during her manic episodes they really screwed up her life.  She eventually applied & got hired on at the local steel mill in Cleveland but had to get through the probationary period with crazy hours and crazy work.  Just such a good read with the angles of Catholicism, politics/Trump, economy, rust belt, bi-polar and more, in the end seems like she is in a good place.  No longer at steel mill but working/teaching at a university and writing this book.  I hope there will be more books from her in future because I would like to read more.

There are no copies in PBS & no WL for this book but it is a keeper for me right now.  Probably in my top 3 of the year at this point.  I did finish this one at end of May but just now getting around to logging it in, was my final book finished in May.

One Red Bastard--#50 finished

 This is the 3rd in a series about a Chinese cop now detective in New York city in the 1970s.  I read the first book years ago and had the 2nd in series on my WL for years and never got it in.  I received this book a few years ago & was sitting on it hoping the 2nd would come in.  I finally gave up & just figured I would read this book and forget about the series since was only 3 books long.  In the first book Robert Chow was a sort of figurehead police officer, hired to stand in photos and appease the Chinese community but he instead tried and did real police work.  In this book he is now a detective and former Chinese official is murdered after Chow's girlfriend who is in the media had interviewed him.  The Chinese official was in the outs with the Communist Chinese and also wasn't liked by the Tiawanese Chinese either so lots of possible suspects.  Good read about police investigation and the times of the late 1970s.  A few things you had to sort of believe to make the story move but otherwise a good read.

I have posted this book back on PBS, it is only copy in system so will see if it moves at some point.

The French Connection--#49 finished

I needed a small paperback that I could fit into my pockets for a waiting room and then when we were at the airport waiting to collect our youngest off the plane.  Since Gene Hackman had died recently & this was one of his famous movies--won an Oscar for his performance, figured now was time to read it.  I didn't realize it was a true story when I started it and was really very good about the details the detectives went into for this investigation.  If anything reading about how they tailed the people involved page after page got to be a little much.  Not being a New Yorker either the many turns down a street or taking an exit really meant almost nothing to me.  Overall a good story about this crazy investigation.

While I was reading it, AMC had the movie coming up so I DVR'ed it and watched it after I finished the book.  I really didn't like the movie much at all, was confusing and didn't follow the book much other than the main topic and some characters.  The final shootout at the end was just kind of stupid.  No idea why it won so many awards.

The copy of this book I have is an old paperback, kinda beat up.  Too old, no ISBN.  I will not bother putting on PBS and will instead put in my donate away pile.

Paper Doll--#48 finished

 This is Dylan Mulvaney's book, she is the social influencer that Bud Light sent a can of beer to with her likeness on it and our country went crazy about.  Dylan is a trans woman--not sure if that is exactly the correct way to term that.  With all of the terrible and just degrading ads and attacks on anyone in the trans community this last election season and still going on in this new administration it just makes everything seem crazy.  Dylan is a woman and reading her book you can see that is how she sees herself and should probably be referred to in that sense.  She is also transgender and that is where I am not sure where or if it needs to be mentioned.  On the crazy Trumpian side I guess they would refer to her as a man but don't see why or how doing that is in anyway correct either.  Well, I wanted to read this book because with AB being in St Louis and Bud Light such a major brand of the company, I was hoping to get some insight into what really happened.  There was a chapter in book but AB and Bud Light never mentioned by name and really not much detail about the issue.  It sounded like either--didn't want to mention and get sued or maybe had been paid to never mention again or maybe she was done with them and didn't think their name warranted mentioning ever again.  I see all 3 as possible and good enough reasons for how it was handled in the book.  Overall, lots in the book are light reading but at times there are serious topics and chapters that while seemingly light hearted book, there are intense feelings and heart ache that come through too.  A good read from a perspective that I don't read about much at all.

There are 3 WL for this book but others in family might want to read first so might get loaned out first.  No hurry to mail off but do think a good enough read that others should have that opportunity as well.

Burn Book--#47 finished

 Kara Swisher is a reporter that has covered tech for over 25 years maybe over 30 years.  This is her book about that time.  Lots of interesting thoughts and reflections about companies and personalities in tech during this time.  Steve Jobs gets a lot of mentions and also Elon Musk as well.  Interesting that she basically just reported and did shows/conferences and pod casts during this time--she & her reporting partner Walt Mossberg did not cash in bigtime by joining one of the hot techs as a communication type person.  Sounds like she still has done very well for herself but never wanted to try for the crazy cash in tech is admirable.  Interesting reading.  I first heard Kara on CNN and whenever I see her on at night I try to stay and listen to her thoughts on the issues, usually very insightful and book just reinforced a lot of that.  Glad that I read it.

There are 15 WL for this book on PBS but no hurry at this point to mail off.

Make It Scream, Make It Burn: Essays--#46 finished

 This is a book of essays by Leslie Jamison, it was several years ago that I read her fiction book The Gin Closet and really liked it.  I got this book from PBS a few years ago but put off reading it till now.  Some good stories, sort of like a reporter in the field with also some personal reflections included.  The first few essays had me thinking these were fictional stories and I had to look it up to see that they are non-fiction.  The later stories about her life were the more interesting to me.  Overall a pretty good read.

There is 1 WL for this book on PBS & I was about ready to post but will wait at this point since I have enough credits but I imagine it will get posted within the next month or so.

Shadow of Doubt--#45 finished

 This is the next book in Scot Harvath series.  It picks up as he was flying to Norway to meet up with his girlfriend/fiancee there right after the last book where he was in Ukraine & Russia.  With almost no rest he is back at it with action in Norway & then France.  Good action with spies & moles and killings/assassinations and people being shot & things blowing up.  There is some self reflection going on with Scot about getting older and continuing to put himself in dangerous situations when he has someone he wants to spend rest of his life with.  Series is not ending yet and maybe won't for a while but thought this was sort of interesting foreshadowing just in case.  

There are 18 WL for this book on PBS so will mail off at some point but no hurry to do so right now.

Sugar Run--#44 finished

 Finished this earlier this month but just now logging it in.  A woman gets out of prison sort of unexpectedly, she was in for life for killing her girlfriend.  Because she was 17 & a law changed she is let out early after 18 years.  She travels to her girlfriend's town and finds her younger brother who was being abused by their dad, he is grown up now but seems to be very sheltered.  While tracking him down she finds a mom strung out on drugs that becomes the new girlfriend, the sort of kidnap her 3 kids and with the brother, head back to the main character's hometown in a small hill/mountain town of West Virginia.  Her grandma's home & acreage has been sold to out of town person so they just start squatting there.  The town is in middle of fracking and destroying the mountains while there is also a big drug problem there.  She tried to keep things together but it seemed like everything was on a knife's edge and then it just sort of exploded at the end.  Didn't say what finally became of main character but have to believe it wasn't good.

There are 3 WL for this book on PBS so will post & mail at some point.  I have built my credits up to 20 so no hurry now to mail off books.

Farm City--#43 finished

 The rest of the title: The Education of an Urban Farmer.  A husband & wife move from Seattle to Oakland, CA into a rougher part of town.  The rent a part of the duplex with an empty lot next to it and she starts a garden and bees and expands to chickens, geese & turkeys.  The adds rabbits--for food not pets and then later adds 2 pigs--again for food.  Good read about the people and area as well as what she grows and what she learns about her urban farm.  Really enjoyed hearing about when she observed a local chef on processing a pig and then he assisted her on one of the pigs she grew.  

There is 1 WL for this book in PBS but not sure if mailing this one or keeping or exchanging with friends yet.  Will have to see.

Killer Summer--#42 finished

This is the 3rd book in series by a St Louis author but story is about a Sheriff in Sun Valley Idaho.  This is an very exclusive and rich person's playland and sheriff and people around him have to police it as best as they can.  Big wine auction happening there and a crew of bad guys in town attempting a theft but the object being stolen is sort of a mystery at first.  Throw in a couple teenagers getting where they are not supposed to be and there is your story.  A good read, page turner of sorts.  

There are 4 copies in PBS already & this is the mass market book so no reason to post it.  Will probably take it & first 2 back to my mom that likes to read, she might enjoy the series. 

Killing the SS--#41 finished

 The rest of the title:  The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History.  This is a kind of series of books by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard--Bill being the former Inside Edition & then Fox News host that I think has reappeared on a smaller conservative/pro maga network.  If I remember right he was pushed out at Fox because of sexual harassment claims and since he is older, I am kind of surprised he made it back to TV, oh well.  I bought this book as an ex-library book so it was 50 cents--I figure none going back to Bill so was okay with it.  A good quick read about some of the investigations and searches done after WWII into finding Nazis and SS that were hiding.  Some talk of the Nuremberg trials and people involved too.  Nothing really too indepth but still a lot of information in the book.  I have read one or two of these Killing.... books and are about the same.

There was 1 WL for this book on PBS & I posted it & has been accepted so will be mailing it off later this week.

Whipping Boy--#40 finished

 The rest of the title is: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully.  The author was sent to a boarding school in the Alps of Europe and for that 1 year he was terrorized by especially one boy and a few followers of him.  The author's father had left him a very nice watch that these boys through out the window & was lost in the snow, that along with the other instances of bullying really stuck with him.  The author left the school that spring & didn't return, his mother re-married and life went on with lots of changes for him.  The author though as he got older could not let it go what the bully had done and as he became an adult and a writer used his research abilities to find out what became of the bully.  This is where the story really begins because the bully was part of a very elaborate scan/con that basically stole money from people desperate for business loans they hooked up with the bully leading them to a sort of European consortium that promised big but stole their interest money and more.  The group was caught and prosecuted in the US and the bully and a couple others did time.  The author tracked down the bully and met with him a few times over a few years not letting on that he knew the bully's details of this or that he tracked him down because he was the bully.  Eventually before the book was written that author did come clean about it & well makes for an interesting ending.  Good read and very interesting story, also very impressive how much research and interviews went into this.

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

The Automobile Club of Egypt--#39 finished

 This is a story about a family in postwar Egypt, late 1940s maybe.  They were landowners & had some wealth living in Northern Egypt but had to sell off the land and lost their wealth.  They moved to Cairo where the father found a job at the Automobile Club there--it was a club for the wealthy foreigners and the royalty of Egypt.  The story revolves around this family & the struggles working at the club and their lives.  Is a really good and interesting read about the time and politics of Egypt.  It does take a while to get the story moving and I am still not sure what the beginning with a modern writer being visited by characters he has written about have to do with this story.  It took a few weeks for me to finish this book & that beginning was confusing and never referred to again so maybe my memory of it is a little off but I thought it was off when I started it too.  Otherwise a good and interesting story.

There is 1 WL for this book on PBS so I will probably post & mail off at some point.

Throw Like a Girl: Stories--#38 finished

This is a short story book that I have had on my shelf for years and finally got around to reading it.  There are some good stories with a midwestern, small time vibe.  The writer was long time professor at University of Illinois so right in her wheel house.  As I was reading the stories, it seemed like a sentence or maybe a couple really hit me, I wish I would have written them down.  She seems to have a knack for that because each story seemed to have that powerful or thoughtful sentence that just struck me.  Good read overall.

I will go ahead and post it on PBS, there are no copies now so could move or could sit like many of my books.  I did get a big order on PBS late last week where I posted one and the person requested 5 more from my bookshelf moving some that had been there for years.  Glad to see them off to someone else.

Family Law--#37 finished

This is a book about a female lawyer in Alabama in late 1970s & early 1980s that befriends a young girl.  They met when the girl's mother was looking for a lawyer to get divorced.  The mother decides on a different lawyer but still the lawyer & young girl become friends, maybe mentor type.  Book looks at struggles each has over a few years leading up to a time when lawyer's house is shot up while lawyer and the girl were both at house.  An interesting read but just seemed like more was needed.  I enjoyed earlier book by author about people caught in a zoo when gunmen took over.  I guess connection between the two wasn't as strong and action seemed a little off but still some good story inside here.

There is 1 WL for this book so will probably post & try to mail off soon.

Enough--#36 finished

This is a book by former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson who became famous during the Jan 6th House investigation.  She worked under Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and was his go to person for getting a lot of things done.  She testified to what she saw leading up to Jan 6 and what happened on that day.  Book goes into her life leading up to that and then her life after Jan 6 and then through the investigation.  Sad that she delivered on the information which was damning in the sense that a lot of what happened was premeditated and was certainly allowed to go on with little effort to stop the invasion.  Why Trump is our president now is just baffling.  I am glad to have read this book and wish more people would also read this book as well as the many others out there about our president.

There are 22 WL for this book on PBS.  Not sure if will mail through PBS or maybe hold onto as I have with a lot of my other Trump books.  Will just have to see.

She Wants It--#35 finished

The rest of the title is: Desire, Power and Toppling the Patriarchy.  This is a book by the creator/producer of the streaming show Transparent.  I never saw the show but had heard of it.  I read Jeffrey Tabor book a couple years back which was more of his life than about this show.  I thought this would be more Hollywood type book but was really more about the struggles and changes the author was going through.  The show is based off her writing about her father who came out as trans to female.  Her sister also helped on the show and is a lesbian and during this show/book the writer Jill divorced her husband and became involved with a woman.  Jill also was becoming more butch and then toward end of book non-binary.  After I finished I checked wikipedia and Jill now goes by Joey and probably more identifying as trans--sorry if I am confusing this or getting it wrong working off memory of a quick read from yesterday.  Anyway was not expecting this much of their life changing while also working on this show.  Interesting read in many ways.

There are no copies of this book on PBS but right now putting on a pile since one of my work development goals was to read books about DEI topics and this one fits there.  Will probably post on PBS later.

They Can't Kill Us All--#34 finished

 The rest of the title is:  Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement.  This is a book by a Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery who covered Ferguson and Michael Brown's death, then followed that to Cleveland and Tamir Rice, and to other places where mostly young African American men were killed by police officers.  Lots of info on the local movements that started up with these killings and also sort of started the Black Lives Matter movement too.  Also a point he makes is that it is not just about the individual that is murdered but about how the people in area felt with their interactions with the police.  There was a great mistrust and for this reason even if shooting could be justified the people would not believe it.  

The author does have a 2nd book published in 2023 and I have it on WL on PBS.  Interested in knowing what he sees with today's political environment and especially the Trump admin forcefully removing DEI programs.  

There are 3 WL for this book on PBS but for now is a keeper for me.

Celine--#33 finished

This is another Peter Heller book but this one is not connected to the others.  Celine is a more elderly lady that is a private investigator that focuses on finding missing family.  There is some back story with her being part of an original Mayflower family and having that old money even though her mom divorced her first husband.  Celine also had a child back in high school and gave it up for adoption with her older son trying to get this story--mom Celine will not talk about it.  The main story is finding what really happened to a famous photographer about 20 years ago--he was ruled to have died from a bear attack just outside Yellowstone National Park.  She & her husband do some research and find clues that no one else pieced together--didn't really make sense to me.  Also someone was tracking them--not sure why after so long this was happening.  Spoiler, the photographer took incriminating photos of US involvement in Allende overthrow in Chile so I guess CIA still cared--I didn't really buy this but oh well.  They find photographer has been holed up in remote cabin this whole time.  Again didn't really make sense either but that is what it is.  I have enjoyed Peter Heller's books and did enjoy this one too for some reasons but the main story just seemed weak or maybe forced, oh well.

There are 4 WL for this book on PBS and again will mail it off at some point but no hurry right now.

The Madwoman and the Roomba--#32 finished

The author documents a year or so of her life and is pretty funny in many ways and also sort of crazy in many ways.  She is a professor in CA and also has radio spots on what sounds like a local NPR station where she throws in some comedy with her science.  Funny to read about just normal things confronting her and then throw in her 2nd husband inviting a Buddhist group to stay at their house.  I guess she has a couple earlier books that I didn't know about or then obviously hadn't read either.  I hadn't heard of her before picking up this book at at library sale--50 cents well spent.  Needed a lighter sort of read and this one fit the bill.

There are 3 WL for the book on PBS but since have enough credits for now will wait till later to post.  This book was also finished in March but just now getting around to logging it in.

Lovely One--#31 finished

 This is a memoir by Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.  A really interesting life and read.  I really knew nothing about her before reading this & now have great respect for the work she has put in to getting to where she is at.  She had some struggles like any working person with education, family life, etc but that has helped develop her to who she is.  I think she brings a great perspective to our court.  Really glad I read this.  Had started it in Feb during African American History month & finished during Women's History month, figure sort of appropriate.

There are 10 WL for this book in PBS but no hurry to post it, will sort of be a keeper for now.

Guts--#30 finished

This is a book by TV actress Kristen Johnston, of 3rd Rock from the Sun fame and later Mom.  She is also an accomplished stage actress too and some films but those 2 are the ones I know her from.  This is her story about her life and addictions and how while in London getting ready for a stage performance her guts literally exploded.  She was layed up for weeks & then months and even after that was done she had to take steps to address her addictions.  While writing about this it is both a little shocking & humorous.  It is a quick and easy read.  This was written in 2012 so before her time on Mom too.

I have posted it on PBS & is the only copy in system so might get moved at some point.

The Hermit King--#29 finished

 This story was written in the 1980s but is about a time in the 1940s in Alabama.  Two young kids around teenagers are at small town for a summer.  They boy lives there with his mother that can barely function and his grandma that runs the house.  The girl is a little older and has been sent there by her father to live with two older unmarried aunts.  The girl's mother had passed away and father needed someone to help out in raising her.  The two become friends and get into mischief there.  A blow up causes them to run away into the swamps.  A good story, at times a little tough to read because times were changing, I guess they are always changing to one degree or another but in the south right after the war was a time.  There are other short stories at the end of this book too, interesting from what I remember.

I have posted this book on PBS & is only copy so could move at some point.  Funny enough that I had posted this book earlier on PBS for probably a year or so & never got requested.  When I was cleaning off my bookshelf I saw it again & figured I would read it this time & so here we are.

The Chaos Agent--#28 finished

This is the next in the Gray Man series, Court and his Russian girlfriend Zoya are in hiding & traveling in South & Central America when they get pulled back in.  The action this time is with leading AI scientists being assassinated.  Basically comes down to a big time AI expert, multi-billionaire wants to change the world and thinks he has developed the perfect learning AI and wants it to take over.  It is building a robot army that it can lead and while this expert guy thinks he could still control it, he really cannot.  Court, Zoya and a bunch of US commando types invade the Cuban compound and save the day.  Still good action and interesting storyline.  Zoya is captured and taken by Chinese operatives at end so setting up the next book.

There are 22 WL for this book so I will post & mail off, will try to do so with the earlier one too that I still have.

Nomadland--#27 finished

This is the book that the movie was based off.  I saw the movie a little more than a year ago and really enjoyed the movie.  I have had this book for a year or so too but just now got around to reading it.  While the movie was visually appealing it was harder to show how many people this really involved--at least from my memory.  I remember it mostly about a few people that keep meeting up and their difficult circumstances.  In the book, there are more people you learn about and can extrapolate beyond them to the hundreds or thousands more out there at this time.  This is a few years removed from the 2008 financial crisis, it sounds like many lost jobs and struggled for a couple years before they had to sort of pack it in & become these nomads on wheels.  Really interesting reading about how they have learned to survive.  I would like a sort of followup if possible about what happened to them now years later.

The other thing this book made me think about & it touched on it at the end is the great wealth disparity in our country.  It is sort of in the background throughout the book like whenever Amazon is mentioned and how poorly the employees are treated and paid but because of desperate circumstances there are plenty of people wanting these jobs.  While thinking about Amazon being owned by one of the very richest people on our planet.  Also mentioned is that one of the Amazon workers feels most of the stuff they are stocking is throw away items that will be in a landfill within a year--just a very sick thought on our out of control consumerism.  A couple mentions of not buying big box/internet stuff & instead looking to mom & pop type places was nice to hear as well.

There are 7 WL for this book on PBS but might go to my loan out to friends pile to see if anyone else would be interested.

Wicked Women--#26 finished

The rest of the title: Black Widows, Child Killers, and Other Women in Crime.  I thought this would be a little more in depth about a few truly wicked women but was instead more chapters about the above list and with a paragraph or two about different women in the category.  Not really that interesting.  There was some discussion about sentencing of women vs men but even that was more just a discussion that really hashing it out.  It is an older book too, published in 2000 so that also factored into my feeling that was I am just not sure how much of this is still accurate today.  Oh well.

I have posted it on PBS & it is the only copy so maybe will get requested, will see.

Big Vape--#25 finished

This is about the rise & fall of Juul, of e-cigarette fame.  It starts with the founders of the company at Stanford graduate level business school with both being smokers and talking about how they didn't like the non-cigarette options on market.  They did a paper and and kept going developing a product and continuing to develop and modify it.  Their first product was Pax and basically became a marijuana vap while Juul became the nicotine vap.  As I am not a smoker, I really didn't know much of anything about all this.  Juul was huge for a couple years but as the company expanded/grew beyond the leadership's ability to control this problems came.  Advertising that matched cigarette ads from the '50s to '70s when big cigarette companies got in trouble targeting youth, was a big one for Juul.  Quality control, pissing off the FDA, use of influencers, teenagers using & abusing their product, other companies copying and taking market share on their pods with different flavors, the problems were numerous and company generally did poor job of responding.  Company took big investment for major cigarette company was a big change and this basically handed over the company to them but was needed to actually solve the problems.  Some cashed out big but Juul as company kept shrinking.  I wikipediaed it & company still there but vaping not as popular anymore so no longer a big deal I guess.  Really interesting story with plenty of what ifs that author touched on as well.

I have posted it on PBS, it is only copy and since such a good read I think someone will find it and request at some point.

Why the Right Went Wrong--#24 finished

 This book took a long time to get through.  Just a lot of information about politics since the 1960s & Goldwater's race for the Presidency and up through to Trump running for President the first time.  The rest of the title is:  Conservatism--From Goldwater to Trump and Beyond.  EJ Dionne is a liberal columnist but points out correctly that in the 1960s, '70s and even '80s there were liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats, it has only been recently that the parties have become so insular to their side of the aisle and spectrum.  He hits on the Tea Party and how they are similar to the right wing John Bircher's almost in the 1960s.  How in the 1960s these right winger's were kept on the fringe but today they have overtaken the party--an interesting point I thought.  Also because the right wing or maybe Tea party types have taken over the party they have pushed out moderates--the ones that would look to find common ground with the Democrats and is a big reason for our divided government.  Book was published in 2016 so writing was basically done early in 2016 during the primary season when Trump was taking over--last chapter touches on this.  So not as much about how or where Trump is taking the Republican party but still a lot of interesting stuff in the book.

This is one that will go on my keeper shelf/shelves, not so much for what was written but that it is an autographed copy--author signed it and dated it on 10/8/16--right before Trump's election.  Just a fun thing to think about.  Of course it was signed to a Myra so can't say it was for me obviously--ha ha.

Cane and Abe--#23 finished

 I needed to have a smaller book--mass market paperback--to have while waiting at a doctor's appointment for myself and then to have at the hospital while my son had a procedure done.  This is one that I had gotten from my mom a year or so ago and figured it was time.  A homicide prosecutor in Miami area is involved with FBI on a serial killer case when suddenly his wife is involved and then as sudden disappears.  While he is looking for his wife, he is kept out of the investigation because he is a suspect in her disappearance.  Several moving kind of investigations with this & some bad guys but out of the woodwork they did find the serial killer but didn't solve everything.  Wife comes back from hiding but still questions in this.  Book does sort of end there leaving some stuff hanging.

I have posted this on PBS & is the only paperback copy but since there is a hard back copy not sure if this will move or not.   

Love and Theft--#22 finished

I needed a good action fiction book and this one was sitting in a pile from a recent library sale that I picked up and seemed like it would fit the bill.  It was a little strange how it went together but overall a good enough read.  Started with a bill theft job in Las Vegas and then broke out into the main character and him meeting up with the love interest.  There was a history there that only he realized from way back.  Well then they jumped to a vacation in Mexico where a lot more stuff went down and rest of book sort of tumbled out from there.  A quick and interesting read but also one of those books that I think could have gone several different ways at some points and made a better read but oh well, this was the way it got published.

There are 2 WL for this book on PBS so will probably post & send off at some point.  My credits were actually almost in single digits so I have mailed a few books off lately.  At 10 right now & have 3 books on their way so still okay for now. 

Who Is Alex Trebek?--#21 finished

This is a biography of Alex Trebek, not sure if authorized.  Just checked his wikipedia page & looks like he had a memoir that came out about the same time as this book.  It is a good quick read with some insights into Alex Trebek, I watched Jeopardy but probably more so in the 1990s and sporadic since then.  He sounds like an interesting and caring person but he was also able to do what he loves.  A good life and a good person.

I was going to post & mail off on PBS but when reading it I found a few pages where something was spilled on them & stained.  This makes in no longer postable on PBS so will go on my give away pile instead.

Chaos Theory--#20 finished

This is an older book, published in 2001 so takes place in late 1990s.  A couple high school kids drive into a bad part of Washington DC looking to buy drugs.  A dealer type guy comes up to them & has a gone & after a sort of struggle, the gun is fired, hitting the car floor and the dealer guy is drug into a parked car.  Later it comes out that the dealer guy was an undercover police officer and people other than just police are looking for these 2 high school guys.  A decent fast paced type story, plenty here that you can decide to not buy & book/story becomes stupid, but just go along for ride & remember what late '90s was like and then not too bad.

This was another 2nd book ordered, that the original PBS person didn't have & it rolled over to next person who sent it.  Tried to help out person sending books to me by doing a multiple order & didn't work out.  I have posted this back on PBS & there is 1 copy ahead of it so who knows if it will move or not.

The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher--#19 finished

This is a book of short stories by an English author Hilary Mantel.  I didn't know anything about the author, this was a 2nd book ordered if I remember right, from PBS.  This is where I am offered a book on my Wish List & I look through other books the member has posted & I picked this one out.  I like finding short story books and this one had an unusual title so there you have it.  Some interesting stories, the Margaret Thatcher one was about a sniper trying to shoot her as she was leaving a hospital after eye surgery.  Since didn't follow English politics much, not sure if a sort of true story or not--the sniper was IRA so that has some truthful feeling to it.  Overall an okay short story book.

I have posted it back on PBS, there is 1 copy ahead of it so might not ever move, will just have to see.  

French Braid--#18 finished

This is a book by Anne Tyler, I have read a couple other of her books and enjoyed them.  This one was a different sort.  About a family starting in the '50s I guess and going through to today's time.  It only hits in snippets of time or happenings with the family so you have to sort of guess/figure out what was going on in between.  The family had issues but never really went into those issues.  Made it a different sort of read.  Hard to like the characters and get into what they were doing with their life the way it was written.  Not a bad read but just seems like too much was missing to make it a story I would have cared about.

There are 10 WL for this book so I will post & mail off at some point.

Hail Mary--#17 finished

The rest of the title is: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League.  This is a league that I have to admit that I had never heard of before reading this book.  It talked about the history of women's football leading up to a sort of league in late '60s and then in to the formation of this league--NWFL.  Teams in Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit and that area, then teams in OK, Dallas area and then teams around LA.  Not sure about calling it a professional league, sounds almost semi-pro in that little pay and few people watching it.  It did get some coverage in a women's sport magazine that Billie Jean King started but otherwise seems like mostly out of the major news.  The writers did a nice job of interviewing and getting stories on the league and players from 40-50 years ago.  Interesting read of again something I hadn't heard about before.

I have already posted this book on PBS, only copy in system and has not been requested.  Who knows if it will move or not but there if someone else can find it.

This is What America Looks Like--#16 finished

 The rest of the title: My Journey From Refugee to Congresswoman.  This is a memoir by Ilhan Omar, one of the so called Squad in Congress.  Far left liberal women in Congress.  A good read about where she comes from & her struggles to get where she is today.  She & her family were forced from their home in Somali when she was 8 and were lucky to get to a refugee camp in Kenya.  They were there for 4 years struggling to survive until they received refugee status & able to come to the US.  Her struggles in school, struggles with their community and as she got older the patriarchal part of the community too.  Her struggles with love life & raising a family, she truly had to juggle a lot to keep going to get her where she is today.  Even if you don't agree with her politics, she is a true American success story and shows how our country is a great country.  A great country even if not everything about our country is great.  I enjoyed this read.

There is 1 WL for this book in PBS so plan to post & mail off hopefully soon.  Too much bad weather--cold and snow--to do so right now though. 

The Fourth Protocol--#15 finished

This is a Frederick Forsyth book written in the mid 1980s.  Forsyth is one of those writers I enjoyed when I first started reading back in junior high time--Day of the Jackal and Dogs of War were 2 I remember reading and being enthralled.  Also didn't know we had Peacock until around Christmas so watched the first season of Day of the Jackal and really liked it too.  This book is about the inner workings & an investigation about an internal spy in England along with what was going on in USSR to work to cause a major disruption in England and maybe turn them over to far left liberals starting them toward communism.  A very good read and interesting with how things turn on little things.  The details in his books are sometimes amazing to think about--especially in how things are investigated.  Really enjoyed the book.

There are already like 10 copies in PBS so I will not be posting it.  While I enjoyed it, the book is not a keeper for me.  I will look to donate it away.

Lord of the Pies--#14 finished

 This is the 2nd book in that short mystery series about an American chef in Kensington Palace.  As I think I mentioned in the other review, I don't usually read these types of books but this one I had gotten from my mom and figured why not.  It is a sort of cutesy quick read about that American chef that helps try to solve 2 murders that occurred where she was sort of involved.  Some investigation, some romance and worries about her job pushed the story along.  A nice kind of quick read.

I posted it & the 1st in series at same time.  This one has already been requested but they didn't need the first book, oh well.  Will get it mailed off today or tomorrow.

After All--#13 finished

 This is Mary Tyler Moore's memoir of her life.  I remember watching her show--The Mary Tyler Moore show, I guess this was on repeats when I saw it.  I never saw the Dick Van Dyke show but from a few clips, seems like a funny 1960s kind of show.  I didn't know really anything about her personal life--3 marriages, her son's early death but a gun accident while he was holding the gun, her younger sister dying of a drug overdose, really a lot of tragedies in her life.  Still her book is a mostly positive book on life.  I had to wikipedia her and she has passed away in 2017, this book was written in 1995.  She had several health issues so her career was mostly over by the time of this book.  An interesting read and an interesting time in TV as well.

There is 1 copy of PBS and I will go ahead and post this one as well.  Not sure if it will move or not but could I guess.

American War--#12 finished

 This is a futuristic novel about a family in Louisiana during a 2nd American civil war.  The time is 2070s and on.  It isn't spelled out exactly what happened but temperatures have risen and sounds like icecaps have melted, large areas of the coasts are now under water.  The south is Georgia, Alabama & Mississippi with South Carolina in quarantine from a chemical attack.  Mexico has taken large parts of the southwest and what is left is the north.  The new capital is Columbus, OH and for the south it is Atlanta.  The story follows a girl, Sarat, and her family forced into a refugee center that is eventually overrun by the north and a massacre happens.  She survives and becomes a rogue fighter for the south.  A really interesting book with a lot of makes you think scenarios.

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

So You Want to Talk About Race--#11 finished

 An interesting read about race and issues in America.  White privilege, white supremacy, police issues, etc--a lot of topics about race and the many issues here.  It is informative and certainly makes you think.  Reading this while DJT was being sworn in again as our president and the craziness that has started since then, this was just a reminder of how far we still have to go in this country.  This is not to say our country is a great country--I believe it is but there are many areas to improve and race is certainly one of them.  

It shows 8 WL for this book on PBS but this might be one to re-read or maybe hand off to one of my kids so is a keeper at this point. 

Burr--#10 finished

 This is Gore Vidal's historical fiction of Aaron Burr.  A pretty good and interesting read, I just wondered throughout how much was real and the afterward kind of goes over that.  An interesting life and interesting person.  He really doesn't like Thomas Jefferson and sounds like the feelings were mutual.  The book really brings out a division in the new USA of Virginians vs almost everyone else.  The rest of the south sort of siding with Virginia while many others were against them.  Interesting in that I hadn't heard this before--not sure if Vidal sort of made this up or if it was a real thing.  Of course slavery would be part of this north south issue as well.  This is a long read and at many times hard to fight through but was still good read with an interesting perspective on the time.

I had a day of jury duty on Jan 2nd and needed a paperback that I could easily carry or stuff in pocket and this is the one I chose.  Wish at time I had picked something smaller/shorter in pages but now glad that I did read this book--it had been on my shelf for more than a few years.

It is an older paperback and I think there is 1 copy in system for this edition but probably more in other editions.  I will not bother in putting on PBS, this one will go in my donate away pile.

Kale to the Queen--#9 finished

 This is a sort of mystery book.  A young chef gets hired to her dream job--being the chef to the British royal family.  She leaves Chicago and her boyfriend and starts at Kensington Palace right away and right away bad things happen--one of her assistants is murdered & the chef is the one to find the body.  While she is still trying to find her way at the job, she has to deal with everything else going on and her other assistant is arrested for the murder.  Chef believes he is innocent and starts sort of investigating things as well.  Throw in an unfortunate surprise visit by boyfriend and a smaller kitchen to use and other bumps along the way, it does make for an easy and nice read.  

I had the 2nd book in this series--so far only the 2 also from what I see--so that is why I ordered this book from PBS.  This mystery type is not really my thing but figured why not and it filled the need of an easy to read book.

There are no copies on PBS now but will probably wait to post with the 2nd book in series hoping someone would want both at once.

Rez Life--#8 finished

 A very good read about life on Indian Reservations.  The author grew up on MN reservations and talked primarily about those but also mentioned some others in CA, OK, SD & WI.  Interesting read about some of the history of these and the treaties signed forming them.  Also about the rights and problems with rights on the reservations.  Basically just awful in most places until recently when casinos were started on some reservations but still a lot of poverty and issues that go with poverty in many of the reservations.  It was hard reading about lots of the lives and their struggles.  Book was written in 2012 but not sure much has changed on many reservations since then.

There are 3 WL for this book but like I have said before--have enough credits right now so no hurry to mail it off yet.

The Darkest Game--#7 finished

 This is 3rd in series about an LA homicide detective--he was studying for a Phd and decided to drop that & join the LA police force.  He was older than most new officers so didn't really fit in and then a new program allowed him to apply for the detective position which he got.  He still has problems fitting in but has areas of knowledge that his partner and others don't have.  So anyway now on 3rd book, they have a murder of a guy who works at a large museum.  He is one that brings in/gets donations to the museum and then he also decides what is museum worthy as well.  The investigation leads to Catalina Island where a 2nd murder happens--one of the suspects into the first murder.  In the end the detective is nearly killed when finding out who was behind these murders but is able to kill the person.  Overall a good quick read with enough entertaining little story lines going on beside the investigation as well.

There is 1 WL for this book so will post & send off at some point.

Also like the previous book, I was reading this one during the LA fires and again hard to just imagine what that area is going through at this time.

She Rides Shotgun--#6 finished

 This is a violent type book.  An 11 year old girl is picked up at school one day by here dad that had been in prison for last 6 years.  Come to find out that he got out because of a unexpected legal ruling that allowed him out early.  Unfortunately while in prison others found out he was getting out and wanted him to join their gang on the outside.  He refused and during fight killed a prisoner but did get away with it but the gang knew.  They put a hit on him and his family.  He had gone first to his now ex-wife's house & found her murdered with her new husband.  That is why he picked up daughter at school to protect her.  He feels best way to stay alive is to take fight to the gang and does some training with his daughter as well.  They hit the gang's drug house and also a few other places.  Overall a pretty violent book, the child being 11 really seems too young for the actions being done in this book.  Some interesting insights into the whole gang system/drugs in the LA area.  

Was reading this when the LA fires started so sort of felt for the people in the areas mentioned in the book as well.

There are 2 WL for this book and will probably post & send off at some point.  I haven't mailed a book in probably a month but still have enough credits for now.  It is very cold and snow/ice still on ground so no reason to hit post office at this point.

Zoo Nebraska--#5 finished

This is a strange sort of story that happened only about an hour & half away from where I grew up.  A guy that grew up in Royal, NE town of 80 some people and was around 10 years older than me, was fascinated by apes, gorillas, chimpanzees and other monkeys from learning about them in school.  He goes to UNL--U Neb Lincoln and after getting degree works at the local zoo with the monkeys.  His real desire is to go to Africa and work and study them there but this becomes derailed.  The main chimp he was working with needed to be moved and he sets up a plan to make a zoo in his hometown and brings the chimp with him.  This was late 1980s into early 1990s.  He becomes the zoo director and eventually secures some funding--mostly from Johnny Carson--his hometown of Norfolk, NE was only about half hour or so away.  The zoo hangs on and Dick Haskin--the guy who started this eventually becomes burned out and is basically forced or decided to get out of it.  He finds a couple to take over and while some small improvements happen is still too much of a struggle.  The leadership devolves into locals that really don't have experience or training to take over.  Zoo ends after first chimp and 3 others get out an open door and terrorize the little zoo and town.  3 chimps are shot and  killed while other had returned to cage.  Book finishes with the complete ending with equipment sales, land sales and court fight over it.  Just a strange story that I hadn't heard of before finding this book.

There are 2 WL for this book on PBS but it is a keeper for me since about NE. 

Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions--#4 finished

This is one of those library pickups I did for 50 cents and wasn't too sure about.  I have had it for probably over a year and kept looking at it and finally decided to read it.  Needing something a little easier to read instead of the Trump book and Burr--that I have been slowing reading the last couple weeks too and not getting too far.  This is about a widow that moved from Germany to Sicily where she has sisters and other relatives.  She is retired and her plan was to drink herself to the end while watching the ocean.  She found a house in a small village and was on her way there but a young man that was helping her restore this house went missing and then she found him dead--murdered.  Her husband was a detective and maybe her father so to her it was in her blood to investigate this.  She sort of works for and against the lead investigator and they sort of become an item and then not.  She meets with a lot of people and buts herself into situations but in the end she figures it out.  This is a series and this is the first book.  Not sure if I will continue this though, I have plenty of other books around to read instead.

I have posted this book on PBS & it is the only copy so it might move at some point.

I Alone Can Fix It--#3 finished

This is a book at Trump's last year as President--unfortunately, the last year of his now first term.  Reading this is just crazy to see how awful he was at being our President during Covid and then the election season and then Jan 6th.  Reading about this all again was like remembering parts of a nightmare that you had filed away.  Just how little he spent in governing and instead worrying about the election and how he looked.  Also that names that came up and that are coming up again with positions in his incoming cabinet or staff.  It is just sickening that he was elected again.  I can understand not liking the Democrats, I can understand wanting tax cuts or deregulation or a fear of trans or gay youths but even given that if someone was at all decently informed, how could you want this guy back.  I really don't get it.  While I am glad I read this book and all the stuff that went on then, it is also depressing to read this book and realize we are going back into this with this guy for 4 more years.  Just awful.

There are no copies in PBS system but I am not ready to post this book, it is a large hardcover and again I have enough credits so no hurry to post this one.  I have kept some of my other Trump admin books so will probably add this to that pile for now.

Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea--#2 finished

 This is the 2nd book by comedienne Chelsea Handler.  She was a E channel host and a stand up comedienne that had a hot run for a decade or so I guess.  This book was from 2008.  I saw her a year maybe 2 ago hosting some movie/TV awards show on the WB if I remember right--so not a big time awards show.  She was funny enough then for an award show host & I ordered her first book.  It was funny but also pretty raunchy if I again remember right so I sort of stayed away from her other books.  It was a month or two ago that I was looking at the PBS list for most traded/mailed books & I ordered this one since it had been moved 5 times already.  I also needed some more light & funny reading and figured it would fit.  It did that, didn't seem as much jump into bed type stories but more how awful I am and I also have some crazy type friends.  Easy sort of light read.  I did also order another book of hers as well--I had too many credits on PBS & needed to use up some of them.  I will get around to reading that other book at some point too.

I have posted this one back on PBS, there are 13 copies ahead of it but if someone else finds that most traveled list I guess they could request this one.  That is sort of a needle in haystack type thinking.  I am guessing will be on my list for a long time.

Fortune's Children--#1 finished

 First book of 2025 finished.  This one was a long time in getting it done, I had started it sometime around Thanksgiving.  The rest of the title is: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt.  This is a book about the Vanderbilt family & how the Commodore back in the 1880s was probably the richest person in the world, at least for sure in the US.  The next generation did well in growing their money but also started some of the spending and splitting up of the money that caused it to dwindle then over the next couple generations.  The author mentions in the introduction that in 1973 when the first family reunion happened a 120 descendants gathered none of them were millionaires.  Now does this mean a few that didn't come were millionaires--maybe but still a kind of shocking result.  Reading this book it is crazy to think but this family sort of with a few other families, defined the Gilded Age in the US.  They built crazy large mansions and each family usually built at least 2 and probably 3 with a large farm/estate figured as well.  As the years went these mansions were too expensive to maintain & most have been tore down or donated off as museums, a university, etc.  The ones in New York around 5th street were tore down because the land underneath was more valuable than the enormous mansion.  Just a sad overall story of a super sized wealth and what became of it and especially the people. 

This makes you think about the super wealthy today the Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, etc and what a couple generations later it will look like.  It does seem some of them are trying to set the politics up to help them grown and maintain their wealth, something the Vanderbilts never really did.

There are 12 WL for this book so I will probably post & send off at some point but since don't need credits right now, am in no hurry to do so.