My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege, 221 pages.
We did this for a special book group earlier this year. It's a very interesting book; the author sees a book by her biological mother and through reading it discovers many things, some disturbing, about her family and her past. Chief among the disturbing things is the fact that her maternal grandfather was Amon Goth, the Butcher of Plaszow. Recommended for readers of memoir, personal history and anyone who likes an interesting story.

If Beale Street Could Talk

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin, 197 pages.

I read this when the movie came out in early 2019 and then again with our book group when UMSL chose it as their Common Read. We read it, we showed the movie version, there were speakers about the book and about the author at UMSL and at Wash U. Our book group liked it quite a bit. There are very strong characters and the plight of the main characters is upsetting and told in such a way that the novel flows quickly. Fonny and Tish have embarked on a shared life together after having been friends their whole lives. There is a bit of drama from each of their families, but the focus quickly shifts to a racist police officer in the neighborhood who is intent upon ruining Fonny's life. A great novel.

Melmoth

Melmoth by Sarah Perry, 271 pages.
I read this for a committee I was on in 2018. Well I read most of it in 2018 and then finished it in 2019. There's a being out of legend that causes one (or tries to convince one) to wander in despair for time without measure. Melmoth is that character's name and it first appeared in 1820 in Gothic novel. In this story / version, Melmoth had been mentioned in certain biblical tales and other legends and stories that our protagonist finds in the library while she is researching. She soon meets someone who has interacted with Melmoth and soon our protagonist is herself in danger.
It was a good book, but a lot of it has faded from my memory and I am here at the end of the year with some 100 books to still blog about so . . .
That's what I recall and there's no time now to go back and find out.more about it. Sorta scary, good pacing, interesting plot.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, 312 pages.

I can't believe that it took me so long to read this book. It's been on my list of to-be-read since it came out in 2010. Every word of it rings more true now than it seemed to (to me, in my bubble, anyway). Everything about this book is devastating. I feel like I have heard every (well, almost every) part of this book before, in one forma or another, but having all of the details of how racist, horrible and unfair our justice system is shocking and  depressing. Alexander does an excellent job of marshaling her facts and lays out a compelling case that things must change.

The Friend

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, 212 pages.

Short, sweet, and moving. The story of a dead author, his close friend, his ex-wives, and his dog.

So, I'm down to ten days left in the year and somewhere about one hundred books or so to blog about.

I enjoyed this book, but have to admit that I don't remember much of the plot at the remove of several months.

Affairs, friendship and a dog. Well-written and fun to read.