When All is Said--#14 finished

This is about an old man kind of retelling his life in a series of toasts to people that were important to him.  He is sitting at a bar in a hotel--formerly a house of the rich family in area--giving the toasts in silence I guess to his son.  His son moved to America as an adult and the dad is in Ireland.  A good mix of people in his story and some real feelings positive and negative to him as well.  He had a hatred for the rich family and by end maybe a little softening.  While could see the end coming, not sure it really fit in my opinion.  A good read, author's first book so a lot of credit for this because it is an interesting story.

There are 26 WL for this book on PBS so will go on my shelf to get mailed off at some point if I ever need the credits.  

Vera Kelly is not a Mystery--#13 finished

This is the 2nd book of the Vera Kelly books by author.  They are set in the 1960s.  In the first book Vera was part of the CIA in Argentina and had to find her way out after getting stuck there during a coup.  This book she is in New York and being out of a job starts a private eye business.  The one case she has is to track down a boy.  His parents caught up in the Dominican Republic coup/political mess sent him to New York to avoid enemies.  Being 1960s things seem slower and probably easier to disappear.  A good read and also touches on her relationships with girlfriends--she is a lesbian and her relationship with her mother.  A good quick read, will try to track down the next book in series.

There are no WL and no copies in system at PBS.  I might post it but still have way too many credits and no offers coming to use them up so might just set aside at this point.

The Moroccan Girl--#12 finished

A kind of spy book.  A British author is recruited to help out the British government on a trip to Morocco.  The author was going to a book festival where he was speaking on a panel.  He writes about spies and all that kind of stuff, his father worked in that before too but was pushed out at one point.  The author, Kit, agrees to help out.  He does a meeting at a restaurant and was then supposed to look for a lady & give her something if he finds her.  It ends up he does find her but at same time the CIA & Russians are also looking for her and Kit realizes that his British contact may not in fact be from the British Agency but instead helping someone else--probably Russians.  A good story with a lot of twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing.  The actual writer has a few other books so will probably see about tracking some down.

There are no copies on PBS but the pages while not stained are a little stiff--not sure why but for that reason will not post on PBS and instead see about putting in a free library or something like that.

You Never Know--#11 finished

This is Tom Selleck's memoir an interesting read about his life and some of the shows he was on.  Magnum PI is the most talked about but at end touches on Blue Bloods--I didn't either of these shows.  Growing up I think CBS was seen as more old person shows--not sure why but just what I remember so never watched Magnum.  Kind of wish maybe I did but not going to track this down either.  Not really sure why I had grabbed this book to read, it was on my shelf and I knew of Tom Selleck, I think I had seen a couple of his movies but was still interesting about how he got into TV & movies and just his life in general.   Good interesting, quick kind of read.

There are 30 WL for this book on PBS but still have a bunch of credits so not posting anything at this point.

A Blaze of Glory--#10 finished

This is the 2nd series by author--he did a 3 book series on the eastern part of the Civil War, this is another 3 book series but on the western part.  This first book is on the Battle of Shiloh.  Back in college days on a trip to Nashville with a couple buddies, we veered off & went to the Civil War site of Shiloh.  This was about 30 years ago and I still remember parts of that, reading this book reminded me.  Lots of trees with also open fields between.  The bloody pond, the peach trees and the Tennessee River where Grant was with no way out unless on boats.  The river was just a kind of reminder that if the Confederates had succeeded in pushing the Union back to the river, the whole outcome of the Civil War changes--Grant's western army would be in pieces and Grant probably replaced & would never see taking over the whole army.  This is a very good telling of the story--obviously fictional in many ways but truthful in outcomes.  Good read about a very important time in our US history.

This is a keeper book for me, just need to make time to get to the next 2 books in series.

When Skateboards Will Be Free--#9 finished

This is a memoir by Said Sayrafiezadeh, he has a Jewish American mom and an Iranian father but both were socialists if not communists.  His dad left him at around 4 I think and so did his older brother & sister--they went to stay with the dad.  Said was left with his mother and they lived in poverty in the 1970s.  Eventually they moved to Pittsburgh and while in junior high the Iran hostage crisis happened.  His dad was then in Iran and his mother was supporting Iran in their overthrow of the Shah and the imperialist powers--US included.  He voiced this opinion at school and basically lost his friends.  The book is written between talking about growing up and what he was doing at time he was writing book.  Sounds like still a lot of socialist ideas are supported but also doesn't sound all that political either.  His life was/is a struggle but sounds like has gotten better, by end of book is dating and planning future with his girlfriend.  Just can see in pages where the ideas pushed on him made his life very difficult.

There are no copies on PBS but this copy isn't stained by is does have yellow spots on majority of pages.  I got it from PBS but worry about posting & someone not accepting it.  Not sure if will post or not yet.

D is for Deadbeat--#8 finished

This was next on my re-reading of the Kinsey Milhone mysteries.  Things always come together at end which is nice.  Enough bad guys to kind of make you wonder about the kind of low life people in your neighborhood but hopefully not as much crime going on as happening for Kinsey.  A drunk driver that killed 5 people is just out of jail and hires Kinsey to deliver a cashier check to a 15 year old boy--the boy that lost his family in the accident.  The guy is soon found dead and there starts the investigation.  Good quick read.

This series is on my keeper shelf so this book will go back there.  Will pull next one when I am looking for another quick read.

Midnight Black--#7 finished

This is the next in the Gray Man series.  It is a really good series and is staying timely as well with the action being in Russia and Ukraine.  The Gray Man, Court, is trying to get into Russia with a crazy attempt to rescue the woman he loves.  He comes to find out she has not been executed but is instead located in a prison in Russia, the same woman's prison where the wife of a dissident is also located.  The dissident that ran for president of Russian against the Putin in the story is in prison 10-15 miles away.  With help from US, a band of ex-Russian fighters and Ukrainians a plan is formed to invade Russia on this rescue.  Court inside Russia with some fighters there, all work together to free hostages and make it back out.  Lots of good details and fighting.  Story will continue too, interesting to see where could be going next.

There are 18 WL for this book on PBS so it will go onto my shelf to post at some point.  Still have too many credits so not posting anything right now.  Did get a request for a book on shelf so mailing that one off in next day or so.

Exile on Main St--#6 finished

The rest of the title: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones.  The Rolling Stones just left England for tax reasons, I guess people that own their songs, etc haven't been paying taxes & now the band owes them--maybe not too sure about that.  Keith Richards has rented a mansion in south France and rest of band gets places nearby.  Not as much in the book about the making of this album, sounds like some songs came from earlier sessions but didn't make the earlier records.  A lot of talk about the people and going ons at the mansion--the drug use, crazy happenings, crazy hours, etc.  Just a different time with the end of the '60s and many many people around them all becoming addicts too.  I thought I would enjoy this book more since I really like this album but was just okay.  Still a good dive into what was happening back then.

There are no copies in PBS system but this will go as a keeper with some other Rolling Stones books I have. 

The Angel of Rome and Other Stories--#5 finished

A really good short story book by Jess Walter.  I haven't read anything by him before but will have to look for more of his stuff.  A lot of fun stories here, the title story about a college student stuck at home that his mom finds a way to get him to Rome to study Latin and while there bumps into a movie set & meets an American actor and fun just continues.  Some of the stories are like this more light-hearted but with a good story and others more serious.  Like I said just a really good short story book.

There are 7 WL for this book on PBS but since have plenty of credits & few books getting sent to me, no hurry to send off and might just put on a keeper shelf anyway.

Terrorist--#4 finished

I hadn't read a John Updike book in a long while and this is one had for a couple years on my shelf so figured now was the time.  Written in 2006 so after 9/11 and while into the wars in the Middle East.  A serious high school student being raised by his single mother and Irish nurse after his father left when he was very young.  His father was Egyptian and a Muslim and this drew him to a mosque when he was 11.  The inman there helped him study and from these studies came to embrace Islam and reject the western world, especially the consumerism of the US.  A high school guidance counselor encourages him to go to college and continue his education but he has already decided to become a truck driver from advice from the inman.  The inman sets up him with a job that a few months into it is going to trigger a terrorist bombing with him as suicide driver.  The guidance counselor after cheating on his wife with the boy's mother, hears about a possible attack and tracks down the boy as he is driving the truck.  In the end he talks him out of the attack.  The ending seemed a little quick and unlikely but overall the writing was very good, good characters and descriptions.  A good read overall.

There are already 8 copies of this book on PBS and a few more as paperbacks.  I will not add to that.  I will put in the give away pile I have and hope someone else can enjoy it.

Molly Brown--#3 finished

This is the Titanic famous Molly Brown, even though she was probably never called Molly until after her death--Margaret or maybe Maggie.  The rest of the title: Unraveling the Myth.  This is really an amazing book, the amount of research that it had to take to get the details of Margaret Brown's life is astounding.  Really amazing what she is most famous for her actions on the Titanic but really more the myth of her actions then are just a small, small part to the person she was.  Growing up in Hannibal, MO and moving to Colorado at first Leadville and then once her husband strikes riches to Denver.  Probably because she grew up poor to middle class--however that define in the late 1800s, she did not forget about the poor and working class people.  She helped the miners in CO both the mines she was part owner of as well as union miners fighting for better everything later.  She helped the Catholic church with fundraising, she helped orphans and was eventually a big time supporter of women's suffrage.  She also was as a woman an individual that had to deal with separation from her husband--he had become a different person in mind after a stroke but she would not divorce him.  As a woman at that time she traveled alone or in a group all around the world, she took her children to Europe and put them in boarding schools there or on east coast.  She lived as part of the moneyed Gilded Age in Newport, RI with the other famous families of that time.  A really remarkable person for the time.

My copy of this book is water damaged and has stains on pages, just a bad copy.  I cannot put on PBS but might be a keeper at least for now.  It also has small font which made reading this that much tougher especially at times it seems the stories repeated themselves so it was a long read but info was very interesting.

Days of Grace--#2 finished

This is a memoir by Arthur Ashe a famous African American tennis pro from 1970s and then coach & commentator about tennis after that.  He was also one of the first athletes to find out they had HIV and then AIDS--his from a blood transmission after a heart surgery in the 1980s.  I knew he had a St Louis connection but this wasn't really discussed in this book.  I didn't know he had written a few other books before this one so they might have covered that St Louis part more.  This one was written right before he died of AIDS and reading the book with that in mind was always sad.  He talks a lot about his life and his health and the time after he retired from tennis.  Maybe not what I was expecting but still a good read.  This is a book that was on my shelf for a few years so figured now was time to get it read.

There are copies already on PBS so I will not post this one there.  I will put it in my give away pile.

Adjustment Day--#1 finished

The first book finished for 2026.  I finished it a few days ago but just now logging in.  This is a strange book by Chuck Palahniuk who also wrote Fight Club.  I have not read that book but saw the movie & is a strange movie.  This is about young men sort of fighting back against the powers of politicians, media, elites and I guess everyone else.  For some reason police, fire fighters and military all step aside and let this group kill off all leadership of our country and then divide the country into a Black country in Southeast, a gay country in California and rest a white country.  Black country flourishes without white people around in a kind of Wakanda way.  Gay country is where multi racial families moved to avoid being split up but have to live as gay in hiding or something like that.  The white leadership is around Portland in book and he becomes like a medieval knight/king.  

I thought interesting for a while since Trump and supporters were able to attract that young white male group to vote for them and there was a sort of similarity to this.  Other than that rest is just a strange book that I generally didn't really like.

This copy is a large print copy so no WL for this one but there are WL for the regular hardcopy and paperback in PBS.  Not sure if will post or not since still have plenty of credits and few books getting offered to me in PBS.