Review 170: November Road

November Road by Lou Berney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went into this book without knowing much about it. All I knew was the backdrop was the time of Kennedy’s assassination. Turns out that is the reason why a thug (good-looking guy from New Orleans) is on the run from being rubbed out next from his own boss no less, for knowing too much about what happened in Dallas. Then there’s a young wife who’s had too much of her drinking husband and leaves Oklahoma for a life in California taking her two young girls and the epileptic dog with her. Of course these two meet up on the road. The writing is well done, so I stuck with it for the story.

I received a free **signed** copy of this book at a library conference. I was not required to write anything about the book, but felt like it and, of course, the above opinions are my own.

Review 169: Independence Square

Independence Square by A.D. Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Book listed here is slightly out of order of reading. 

It was difficult getting into the book, disorientating and it nearly assumes the reader knows the politics and what happened during this moment in the Ukraine. Perhaps one familiar with the history of the Orange Revolution and what happened in Kiev in 2004-05 will have less trouble with the beginning. I remember the news of this, but not any details. 

It was a bit of a strange one for me. It felt like a spy thriller novel, but it wasn't really that at all. It was hard to understand what was going on for a while. It got slightly better when the characters were defined. It felt like a book that forgot to write the intros or something.

October 5, 2020 – Started Reading

October 8, 2020 – 

page 73

 

 32.02%

October 11, 2020 – Finished Reading

Review 168: The Cold Millions

The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There seemed to be the same character through most of the stories. Not much happens in any of them. They do have a way of placing you quickly in the story, but overall they are okay but not great.

This is a character driven book which pulls you directly into their lives. 

Rye Nolan is the main focus, a young teenager who goes on the hobo road after his parents and other siblings died. He finds his brother Gig (Gregory) and they tramp around until settling for a while in Spokane, WA sleeping on the porch of an old Italian woman, who promised they could buy her backyard orchard land to build their own house. Gig meanwhile is taken up by the IWW (International Workers of the World) and their cause for better pay and working conditions for workers, especially the miners. Rye isn’t sure what to believe, but gets pulled into the action when the police chase and attack them after a drunken night that ended sleeping on a baseball field, and end up in an overstuffed jail. And that is the beginning, as there is so much more to the book.

We get a diverse cast of characters and the point of view shifts to several of these, which was done well. The way Walter writes these individual people you get immersed in each of these individual lives, understand their motivations. This isn’t done with all of the main characters, but enough to give us a more rounded view of this brief moment in time.

It’s an interesting fictionalized version of the real events that happened around the free speech movement and a brief time of the IWW in the beginning of the 20th century.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 167: Always Happy Hour: Stories

Always Happy Hour: Stories by Mary Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There seemed to be the same character through most of the stories. Not much happens in any of them. They do have a way of placing you quickly in the story, but overall they are okay but not great.

Review 166: Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther

Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther by Craig Pittman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

From near extinction the Florida panther was pulled back from the brink to a healthy population. This book is organized well and tells the story of when people weren’t sure the panthers were in Florida or not, to a celebrated animal for the state. There are some wild stories, perhaps something that could only be found in Florida. Although one would expect biologists to support the animal they study, not all went that way. Then there’s the poor scientific published study, with nearly 40% of gathered data thrown out since it didn’t support what the author wanted. As expected, there are the politics and battles for habit versus development nearly wanting to pave everything. There’s even a little bit about Domino’s Pizza in the book!

An interesting read!

Book rating: 4.5 stars

Thanks to Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.


While I got the book from NetGalley I ended up listening to an audio copy from the library. The narrator was handled the material with expertise. Sometimes non-fiction narrators sound bored, but not there, the narrator was engaged with the writing and made the book that much better.

Review 165: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A great book!  It changed my understanding of the Americas, how many people were living here and their accomplishments. Large cities flourished for hundreds of years. The Amazon area was man-made 

Review 164: Ham on Rye

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bukowski isn’t for everyone. He is a "dirty old man" although in this case he is a young kid growing up to be that. There's a lot of foul language and a focus on sex, women, alcohol, fighting, a rough life. He tells the hard truth, the painful side of life and he is smart too. This is my first novel by him, read a few of his poetry collections. Yet this novel is thinly fictionalized version of his life, growing up. It’s painful but realistic. Reading this you get a sense to understand who is Bukowski and why.

It’s brutal too. Yet there is humor inside, you have to listen/read carefully to see it. Yet it's also hard not to feel for him, or at least Henry the main character. Every Saturday his father made him mow the lawn, water, take care of the plants, everything and if one "hair" was not cut, if the lawn wasn't perfect he would get a beating. And of course, every Saturday he would get beaten. It was as if his Father needed an excuse to hit him. It was a different time, the book takes place during the depression era, right up to WWII.

Listened to the audio book and own an eBook copy.