"Alex" by S.M. Shade

There was a lot going on in this book.  Alex is an MMA fighter dealing the sudden death of his lover, the impending execution of his father for killing his mother, homophobic fight opponents, hovering older brothers and their wives, a Hawaiian vacation, unwanted attraction to his straight roommate, roommate's major health scare, and more.  The story was told in the alternating POV of Alex and his roommate, Ian.  The author gave readers lots of angst and partial side stories that could have been pared down a bit.  151 pages (Kindle edition).

"Dad is Fat" by Jim Gaffigan

This book is all about Gaffigan being a father to five children.  We learn their names, ages, how they were born (all home births), and how goofy they can be.  The comedian and his family live in a two bedroom, walk-up apartment in NYC and do not own a car, so you can imagine the craziness.  And he gives all the credit for making it work to his wife, whom he seems to worship.  Even though this book is completely about being a dad, his observational humor can still be appreciated by those of us without kids.  Gaffigan reads the audio version and has a great delivery technique.  I'd like to listen to more of his books.

Audio:  5.5 hours
Print:  288 pages

Ghost by Peter Barsocchini

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

A story of search and self-discovery, a basketball player's father's death, and an orphan.

Audio:  11 hrs. 40 min.

Print:  358 pages

Pit Bull by Scott Ely

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

A pit bull named Alligator is the hope of Jack Purse to get his family land back. The community pot crops have been swept away by storms, drug dealers and addicts in their community group. They now must bet on a dog named Alligator.

Audio:  6 hrs. 50 min.
Print:  224 pages

"Keep Swimming" by Kade Boehme

Cary Whitmore owns a dog treat bakery and works hard to raise his toddler son, Gus, alone after his partner walks out.  Heath Cummings is an off shore oil driller two weeks on and two weeks off, but his dream is to own a charter boat service.  He plans to stay in the closet for another year until he can make enough money to quit the oil rig and escape his homophobic coworkers, but Cary and Gus may make him throw those plans to the wind.  This was a well written story with three dimensional characters and two very likable leads.  Little Gus was adorable and played an integral part in Heath's maturation.  And it was very cute every time he called him, "Heaf."  I enjoyed this author's voice and would like to read more by him.  Luckily, there's a sequel available.  130 page (Kindle edition).

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Fat Charlie (who isn’t really fat) lives in London, works as a bookkeeper, has a fiancée named Rosie, and all-in-all lives a quiet, uneventful, some might say boring, life.  His fiancée insists Charlie invite his father to his wedding.

Now, Charlie doesn’t have good memories of his father, whom he hasn’t seen since he was 10. His father made fun of Charlie, played practical jokes on him, and nicknamed him ‘Fat Charlie’ (even though he isn’t fat). But he dutifully calls his father in Florida to invite him to the wedding, only to be told that his father just died.

Charlie goes to Florida for his father’s funeral, where a neighbor tells him he has a brother. He never knew he had a brother, and asks how to find him. He is told to ask a spider. So he does.

Big mistake! His brother shows up, gets him fired from his job, sleeps with his fiancée, and creates general havoc in his life. However, Fat Charlie’s attempts to get rid of his brother lead to tales of gods, malevolent birds, murder most foul, and other ‘otherworldly’ happenings, as in all Gaiman’s books. If you like fantasy, you will like this book.

416 pages