Flawed Dogs by Berkeley Breathed

This was an adorably dark book that made me tear up more than once. A little dachshund with a ladle for a leg is being put in a dog fighting ring. He sees what he's up against and just lays down to die.

This is how we start the book!

We flashback to how Sam the Lion wiener dog is actually bought and paid for by Mrs. Nutbush for the sole purpose of winning the Westminster Dog Show. Fortunately for Sam, he spies an girl, Heidy, who looks like she should be his human. Heidy is an orphan, going to live with her uncle. Sam escapes Nutbush and ends up chasing down Heidy, who keeps him. Because, who wouldn't?

In Heidy's new home, there is Cassius, a French Poodle who is evil (aren't they all?) and Cassius wants Sam gone so he can have Heidy's love for himself. Cassius actually crafts a plan to be rid of Sam, that results in Sam being shot and left for dead.

Sam survives and ends up at the National Last-Ditch Dog Depository with other flawed and misfit dogs. Sam is scarred up, missing a leg, and has been through hell. We come back to the dog fight and Sam's story continues from there.

Sam and his misfit friends are adorable, sad, and awesome. The drawings in the book just emphasize the crazy that this book is but they are heartbreaking too. Sam comes out on top, flawed as he is.

Perfection is overrated.

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

This book of essays came highly recommended by Jenny Lawson, and since I love Jenny, I assumed I would love this book. I was right!

Samantha Irby is insanely funny and vulgar. She starts off this collection with her Bachelorette Application that introduces her to us.

“You know, what I really need is someone who remembers to rotate this meaty pre-corpse toward the sun every couple of days and tries to get me to stop spending my money like a goddamn NBA lottery pick.” 

And we just go running from there. A few things she mentioned sounded crazy familiar, so I looked her up. Yup, she has Crohn's Disease. I had Ulcerative Colitis (a cousin to Crohn's) and I truly feel her pain. One of the fascinating things about people with IBD is the ability to speak plainly and often about butts and poop. Samantha is no exception, so if butthole talk makes you nervous, well.....

How about lesbian talk? Her essay on her first girl encounter, referencing an open-face, medium rare, roast beef sandwich and soft serve ice cream, is a visual. For real.

She details her "dumpster fire" of a childhood. Saying she had it rough is a bit of an understatement but she has the ability to make you laugh as her dad's ashes end up in her mouth instead of the river (damn wind!).

“I am a simple person. Kind of. I mean, I don’t really have any dreams beyond comfortable pants and unlimited sparkling water.” 

Neon Prey by John Sandford

I love real books. Dead tree type books. But I also like my Kindle because when I hear the ding on Prey release day, I know I have instant happiness. And like that *snapping fingers*, the new Lucas Davenport book was in my hot little hands.

This is the 29th Davenport book and it really doesn't show it's age at all. Don't get me wrong, Lucas is aging. When his description said he was 52, for some reason, I was really surprised. But, I'm 43 and now 50s really don't seem that old. Maybe his chases are slowing a bit but his mind is still whirring at top speed, intelligence and humor were always his best points.

Deese is a killer. Not only that, he's a cannibal (the opening BBQ scenes take on a totally different feel when you know this fact). Not only is he a killer cannibal, he's out on the loose and Davenport, along with Rae and Bob, are brought in to find him. They start off in New Orleans, but tips lead them out to LA and Las Vegas. Sandford can write excellent characters. Rae and Bob are ideal sidekicks to Lucas and they stand up fully in their own right, much like Virgil Flowers.

Deese ends up with his brother, Marion, and his home invasion gang. He's surrounded by some nasty folks and it would seem they are brought down pretty quick. Honestly, it felt really easy in the beginning, good tips, cooperative cops, happening upon the right house, etc. Even Bob and Rae felt this was easy.

It was too easy.

A gunfight between cops and gang leads to some perilous results.

In the end, I'm going to say we're at a "typical" Prey ending but dammit, they are all GOOD. I only meant to read this a bit at a time but devoured it in 2 nights. I love Davenport. I love who he is, I love what he does, I love his complexities. He's not perfect, he can royally screw things up, but his intelligence brings him back to the top.

I Liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi

This was an interesting premise. Maddy, a seemingly perfect mom/housewife, jumps to her death off of a building and everyone is left to wonder why. Maddy herself is in another realm watching over her husband and teenage daughter, trying to make life better for them now that she is gone.

This could have easily went south and dark but it actually didn't. I admit to being irritated with Maddy. "Why are you playing God with your family now when you chose to leave them?" That thought kept playing in my head as Maddy manipulated feelings and situations to get the outcome she wanted.

Her husband, Brady......I'm shocked anyone stayed married to him, to be honest. Eve, her 17 year old daughter, was a typical selfish teenager. But Eve was the one who really reflected and worked on understanding her mom's suicide. Eve's transformation was partially sad and partially amazing. Brady stays an ass for a while :)

I felt the ending was a bit forced but I'll leave that for you to discover and make your own opinions on! Overall though, this was a really good book that made me reflect on how I treat my loved ones and what I would need to change to make people feel appreciated while they are still here.

Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

I was pleasantly surprised to see this on the new book shelf at the library. I had no idea there was a sequel to Moloka'i, which I read back in 2008. I vividly remembered the book and it became one of my favorites that I recommend to everyone. It took me forever to read this thanks to work and many late nights and weekends taken from me. I had to schedule car repair and sit in a waiting room for 2 hours just to get time to finish.

Little Ruth is taken to an orphanage immediately after being born to Rachel (the main character in the first book). People with Hanson's Disease (or leprosy)  were not allowed to be with their children and babies were immediately removed from Moloka'i to avoid contracting the disease.

Ruth is spirited, to say the least, and is eventually adopted by a Japanese family. Ruth's is a hapa, half Hawaiian and half Japanese. She endures a lot of teasing and bullying growing up due to her halfness. The family moves to California to work on Uncle Jiro's farm. This was right before Pearl Harbor and even then, the racism was terrible. Once Pearl Harbor happened, it got much much worse.

Ruth, now a wife and mother, ends up imprisoned in Manzanar, an interment camp for anyone who looks Japanese, even if they were born in the US. This really happened, people. Our government really did this to Americans because of how they looked and it's sickening. With all the hysteria happening today, I sincerely hope we never become this horrible again.

Ruth is in the prison (camp is to nice and not realistic) with her parents and immediate family. The atrocities that happened, with the the fatality of one family member, are horrible. Once the government gets it's brain back, the families are allowed to leave and try to regain their livlihoods. Back home, however, anything Japanese, including homes and businesses, were torched by white idiots.

Ruth and family start gaining back their lives, when a letter arrives from Hawaii. Rachel, now cured of Hanson's Disease (and on "parole" from Moloka'i) thanks to Sulfa, wants to hear from Ruth. Ruth was never told about why she was given up for adoption and, with her mother's blessing, meets her birth mother.

This was another fantastic book that was real and raw and lovingly written. Read both in order, they are well worth your time.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

I started listening to this in January. The length of time it's taken me to read is not a reflection of the book, just a reflection of my chaotic, messy life right now. I appreciated the Obamas as a First Family, even if I didn't always agree with President Obama's policies all the time. The entire family, Michelle's mom included, seemed like a classy group and getting through 2 terms with nary a scandal in sight, seemed to prove that.

In Becoming, Michelle recounts her childhood, growing up on the South side of Chicago, living in a small apartment in her aunt's house, her father's battle with MS, trekking to school and doing her best to make sure she went to college. She studied law because it seemed like the right thing to do (100% understand her thinking here) and became a junior partner after graduating. Thankfully for us, and her, she stuck it out for a bit even when she realized that a big time lawyer isn't the path she really wanted keeping going down. Barack Obama ended up at her law firm as an intern. And the two quickly become enamored of each other.

Barack had political aspirations and quickly pursued all of them, ultimately ending up as POTUS. Michelle had her own path to follow and left the law firm to work in the public sector, even if that meant a pay cut. She talks candidly about using IVF to have Malia and Sasha. She also talks candidly about what it meant to be a politician's wife: the long hours waiting for the husband to get home, essentially being a single working parent, having to balance the plates of mother, wife, and Director at the same time. There were a few places in the book that really shows what working mothers deal with. Dads have a focus, their job, but the extras that make up family life are usually left up to mom.

Michelle eventually gave up her career to go with Barack to the White House. She gives great detail of life in the White House, most of which I had no idea. I had no idea the POTUS and FLOTUS gets a bill every month for the food and supplies they consume. I don't know why that surprised me.

Michelle details her time as FLOTUS, doing a job that had no job description. She was up front and making changes during her eight years in the White House, and it shows. The White House garden is still there, just ignored by the current administration, and she definitely made her stamp during the eight years.

The Obama family are still people I admire, but I greatly respect Michelle.

The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow

I was reading some book reviews and saw The Border by Don Winslow being praised. As per usual, I went to Goodreads to add it to my To-Read pile (that will still be there after I die, it's so large) and discovered that it was third in a series.

We all know my trouble with starting a series in the wrong spot.

I did my research and ended up getting book #1, The Power of the Dog, from the library. Work is making it increasingly difficult to just sit down and read. My mind wanders, thinking about all the work I should be doing, instead of relaxing and escaping reality. The Power of the Dog caught me right from the start and tried so hard to make me just sit and read. It turns out, I had to read this in fleeting moments, mostly waiting in waiting rooms for appointments or kept in my car and purse for quiet minutes before a dinner or stuck in traffic. Any chance I had, I read.

“Deliver my soul from the sword; my love from the power of the dog. Psalms 22:20” 

I would be incorrect to say this was just a novel about the Mexican drug cartel. It's Irish Mafia, Russians, American DEA, Italian Mafia, Hookers, Priests, drug lords, Columbians and the American government out for their own agenda. It's every-fricking-thing.

It's Art Keller. A Mexican-American kid grown up to be DEA. It's Adan Barrera and his brother, Raul. Their uncle is in charge of Operation Condor, in 1975, that destroys the poppy fields in Mexico, taking out the main source of heroin. Tio Barrera delivers the main drug lord to the Americans and makes it appear the operation was a success. But Tio has other plans. Instead of heroin, he brings together a federation of drug dealers (suppliers, soon to be millionaires), including his nephews, to start producing crack cocaine and distributing it across the border to the US. Two thousand miles of border is split up so every area is covered. And soon, America has a crack epidemic.

In New York, we have O-Bop and Callan, two Irish kids, who run into the wrong side of the Irish mob. The Italian Mafia wants to start bringing in crack to the area to make more money and run into the Irish kids. Callan turns out to be a killer...literally. O-Bop comes along for the ride but it's really Callan's show. The Italians start using and investing in the kids.

The book moves along the years to follow all of the players, and there are a lot. Starting off in 1975 and ending 2004, we cover a lot of, often bloody, ground. I was amazed at the detail, not necessarily the gory details. The human beings caught up in events they really don't want to participate in, trying to get away from the mafia and have a normal life, agreeing to do things knowing that if they don't, the Barrera brothers will torture or kill them and their families. How drugs make it past the border (and don't you think a wall is going to help with this!), how the American government looks the other way when it needs something and how the Mexican government pretends nothing is wrong because of the drug money kickbacks being handed over by the Barrera's for "protection".

Corruption is ripe in this novel and it's almost disheartening. Even our protagonist, Art, has to make some sketchy decisions that move him from the right side towards the more morally gray area.

Damn good book. Really looking forward to continuing the trilogy.