The Greatest Love Story Ever Told--#96 finished

This is a book by celebrity couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.  Megan was on Will & Grace and Nick later became famous on Parks & Rec.  I liked both of these characters and thought it was funny they were married since I saw Megan on Parks & Rec as Nick's crazy ex.  This is a book that I got through Thriftbooks just a few weeks ago and started reading right away as a kind of light funny read.  It was light but only sometimes funny.  Was written more as a back and forth interview between them on different topics.  Some interesting things about their backgrounds but just seemed they tried too hard to be funny.  Oh well, I now know more about them and their lives.

There are 6 WL for this book on PBS so will probably post & mail off at some point but I am back to where I have enough credits so in no hurry to post anything.

Ordinary Hazards--#95 finished

This was the fiction book I was reading, it was one that I picked up fairly recently so kind of surprised myself when it became the one I started reading a few weeks ago.  I never know what I will be in mood for and this was it.  All that being said this was an interesting book.  I liked the style that the chapters went by as hours in a bar after work.  The characters seemed real enough and also were small townish that also worked with main character being a moneyed New York/CT type that seemed to not like her type.  There were conflicts but it was also building to something that kind of kept you guessing at too.  It did get pretty sad but ended on a note of maybe they will get through it afterall.  Good read and a little different from other stuff that I have been reading--probably why I grabbed it when I did.

There were no copies in PBS system so I posted it right away & it has already been requested.  Will probably mail off this weekend.

Homegrown--#94 finished

The rest of the title: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism.  The author Jeffrey Toobin looks back at Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing of the federal building there.  The right wing thoughts of McVeigh that included Waco and the Idaho shooting of Weaver.  Also being the 1990s there was no social media propelling things so McVeigh never really found others he fit with but today's extremists do not have that problem.  At end he looks at some of what has happened since and looking at that to Jan 6th.  This was written in 2023 so almost wanting a update for him to discuss what has happened since but in 2 years will be wanting this again.  Election is happening with early voting now and election day next week will see what changes come.  I think another thing that has to be dealt with is there will always be the extremists--how do we deal with them??  There is a question waiting for an answer.

There are 4 WL for this book on PBS but it is going onto a keeper shelf for me for now.

The Truth Is...My Life in Love and Music--#93 finished

This is a memoir by Melissa Etheridge.  I have to admit I really didn't know much about her, I know I had heard some of her songs but I never searched them out.  This was written in 2001 so a lot has happened since then.  A good history of her growing up and then getting started in music and relationships.  I did do a wikipedia search on her and sounds like she has a lot of success but also some real hardships with recently losing her young adult son to a drug overdose.  

I pulled up UTube while typing this & am listening to some of her songs, a couple I recognize.  I am more of a classic rock guy so have missed a lot of her music but I do like what I am hearing.  Might have to make room in a rotation.

I have posted this book on PBS, it is only copy in system so will see if goes anywhere.  I had too many books on my PBS bookshelf so removed a few that I figured were never going anywhere--will now be donated away instead.

Juliet in August--#92 finished

Juliet is a small town in Saskatchewan Canada.  This is about the lives of people in this small town.  It is a really small town in a farming ranching area also with a desert nearby.  It is a tough life there and really gets into some of the struggles of the people as well as living in a kind of isolated place.  I grew up in small town NE.  While the farming more and no ranching but the small town thoughts seemed similar.  I really enjoyed this book, was a fun read.

There are no copies on PBS so I will go ahead and post it there.  Like sending out good books to people that want to read them.

Drunk Mom--#91 finished

This was a tough read, it is a memoir by Jowita Bydlowska.  She is an alcoholic and was 3+ years sober when after the birth of her baby in a kind of celebration she has some champagne.  That is the start of her drinking again.  This really gets into her mindset as an alcoholic--where she wants to drink to try to control it, how she hides bottles, goes on walks with the baby in a stroller and knows where all the liquor stores are on the route.  In the end she is back at AA and sober but with all she has gone through me as the reader worry about her and her family's future.  I did wikipedia her a week or so ago and not much detail there but has success as writer so hopefully her and her family are doing good.

I did get this copy from PBS but is kind of warped a little from water so not really postable on PBS.  I will put this in my donate away pile instead.

"You Just Need to Lose Weight" and 19 Other Myths About Fat People--#90 finished

That is probably the longest book title I have typed on my title line.  I ordered this book as part of a Wishlist Multipies list on PBS--where you order usually at least 2 or 3 books that others have on their WL and maybe ones you have.  This is a way to save mailing cost by mailing 3 books for 3 credits in one mailing instead of 3 separate mailings.  I usually look there when my credits pile up or if nothing is going on as far as requests or ones to mail.  Anyway this is one that looking at title I thought might be a kind of comedy take on people harassing fat people, instead it is more of a you need to treat us better kind of read.  A lot of good information about fat people and how it is not simple to just lose weight and how often diets just make things worse once off the diet.  Good information about just respecting people and not attacking them.  I am overweight, maybe obese by BMI but book also points out how basically useless the BMI rating is too.  It does seem like parts of the book are just kind of repeated but still a worthwhile read.

There are 6 WL for this book on PBS and since my credits are now under 10 finally, I will go ahead and post this book to mail out.

Heretic--#89 finished

This is a book by a woman that is now a lecturer at Harvard but grew up in Somalia before moving a few times and getting to the Netherlands.  Here she was able to study and go to college and learned about a way of life outside of the life in Islamic lands.  She looks at Islam as needing a Reformation like Catholicism needed one at the time of Luther.  It is a very good and interesting book with a lot of information and accounts to backup her arguments.  This book was published in 2015 so already 10 years have passed and seemingly nothing has really changed.  Taliban have retaken Afghanistan, wars continue in the Middle East and women's rights there have changed little.  I see changes I want to see in the Catholic church and hope they do change over time--I am sort of optimistic that they will change for more openness to LGQBT+ people, opening ordinations to married people and women among other things.  I hope that if the Catholic church moves in these areas it might spur others to look at these areas as well--Islam, political parties, leaders of countries that oppress these people and just people in general. 

There are no copies in system right now in PBS but this is going on a keeper shelf for now.

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.

American Gun--#81 finished

The author of this book Chris Kyle served in Iraq and probably Afghanistan too and was a top sniper there and wrote a book I read years ago I think was American Sniper--yep just looked it up.  A movie was made and Chris was a kind of famous person.  Just as this book finished up Chris and a friend were killed, it says trying to help another veteran.  If I remember right I think the guy had ptsd and shot up a firing range--not sure and will probably try looking up after typing this up.  This book is about 10 guns that influenced the US from it's very beginning to present day.  Good stories and writeups on each gun as well as talking about other similar guns or guns the opponents were using.  I am not much of a gun guy so was just a good read for me, people with real interest in guns probably enjoy this book much more.

There are no copies on PBS but at this point not posting it either.  Not sure if keeper since a lot good information here or maybe post or maybe donate away.  No hurry to decide. 

Taylor Made--#80 finished

This is a locally published kind of self published book.  The author started her own publishing company and this book came from it.  It is a rough book, rough story, 4 girls starting in middle school and going through high school and then college in St Louis in North St Louis are involved with young men that are dealing drugs and raking in a bunch of cash.  The language is rough, a ton of n-words or variations of that.  The years are late 1980s into the early 1990s which is when I came to St Louis so time and setting seem a little familiar but don't know this area or the in & outs of this life at all.  This is the first book by this author and it seems like it too.  Story gets confusing, introducing people and roles and not really sure how everyone fits at points.  Oh well a good story that reminds me that the crack epidemic of that time was really a tough time.

I have posted it on PBS, not sure if it will get requested but figure will post & see.  Might get donated away if stays on my PBS list too long.

An Unfinished Love Story--#79 finished

This is the first book I have read by the historian Doris Kearns Goodwin & it is really good.  The rest of the title is: A Personal History of the 1960s.  Her and her husband didn't meet until the 1970s but each played a somewhat important role in the politics of the 1960s.  Her husband Dick Goodwin was older and had more roles starting with JFK and his election to President and then staying on with LBJ and helping push through many of the Great Society bills.  He left LBJ to teach but also split with him on the Vietnam war.  He was back in politics help McCarthy and then his good friend RFK until he was assassinated.  Meanwhile Doris was a college student & then Phd as well that got a position in DC that eventually turned into a kind of personal assistant to LBJ.  She was with him till end of his Presidency and then continued to work on his memoirs.  This was told as a look back for them both going through boxes of material they had saved.  Unfortunately Dick made it through the boxes but died from cancer before writing the book so Doris had to do that on her own.  Just a really in depth look at politics in the US in the turbulent 1960s from an insider type perspective. 

There are 32 WL for this book on PBS so might get mailed at some point but might also loan out to friends as well or maybe just put on a keeper shelf here. 

Taking Down Backpage--#78 finished

This is by a former CA prosecutor that led the effort to take down the Craigslist of escorts and prostitutes called Backpage.  I kind of remember hearing about this years back.  Reading about Backpage and thinking this was before the MeToo movement and the Epstein files, all of those just make you wonder what the hell were we thinking.  I am sure sex trafficking is still going on, pimps and prostitutes and all that but the people running these things should be locked away for a long time and help given to the victims.  Shame at least for the customers.  Just a really sad state.  Tough to read about some of the victims in this book but glad to see it was taken down and some of the people at least went to justice.

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

"I" is for Innocent--#77 finished

This is the next in the series, it is a re-read series for me and while parts of the story come back to me, many details had been forgotten.  I guess that is typical, just funny though.  I have no idea how people memorize lines or poems and can repeat them back--that is so not me.  Kinsey has been kicked out/fired from her insurance company office and lands an office with lawyer Lonnie Kingman.  She has to take over an investigation for an upcoming trail that another PI was working but he just died.  Going through his work and following leads with again just interesting characters in all directions, this is a good story.  A fun read that pushes along this series.

There are plenty of copies in system, in fact I had just ordered this one when I realized I did not have it.  I am not sure if I had loaned my copy out or maybe I had checked it out from library--just don't know.  I know I read this one years ago but don't know what happened to the book.  Oh well, this series is a keeper so I will put with the others and grab the next when I feel time.