From the category archives:

Author Profile / interview

Bits and pieces, Nov. 18, 2015

November 18, 2015

Been a bit busy lately with the two author events, so I know I’ve fallen behind. You never know where inspiration will come from. According to this public radio story, Haruki Murakami came up with the idea for his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, as the result of a 1978 pro game in Japan, […]

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NOTE: I have been posting these things long enough now that a few have commented that the introductory section isn’t necessary anymore. But I’m leaving it in because, to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio when asked why he played so hard all the time, there may be people who’ve never read the best-seller entries before. So on […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Notice how at this time of year “mainstream” (i.e., non-sports) writers and media in general come up with all sorts of “interesting” features about baseball? Here’s one about the “fine art” of scorekeeping now that the LA Dodgers are in the postseason. W.P. Kisnella‘s Shoeless Joe is listed among “5 books that influenced lives in […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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The Sports Illustrated for Kids blog ran this Q&A with Dick Flavin, public address announcer for the Boston Red Sox and author of Red Sox Rhymes: Verses and Curses. The Kansas City Star ran this profile on W.P. Kinsella, author of too many great baseball stories to mention. The Desert News posted this review of […]

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Been following the adventures of Brad Balukjian, who’s traveling the country in search of his baseball heroes for a book project. He was a guest on a recent edition of Slate’s excellent sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen. We had a Bookshelf Conversation prior to his departure and I hope to have another one upon his […]

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Rob Neyer occasionally posts “book club” entries as part of his Just a  Bit Outside site. This one was put up shortly after the passing of Alison Gordon, a sportswriter who covered the Toronto Blue Jays and chronicled the experience in her book Foul Ball!: Five Years in the American League. This piece from BaseballEssential […]

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Grantland recently aired Spyball, one of those 30 for 30 short documentaries produced by the folks at ESPN. Spyball is the story of Moe Berg, one of the most interesting characters to play in the Majors. A very quick recap of Berg’s career: He was a brilliant scholar, linguist, lawyer, etc., as well as mediocre […]

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Submitted for your interest, this feature by Jacob Kamaras at JNS.org on John Klima’slatest baseball book, The Game Must Go On: Hank Greenberg, Pete Gray, and the Great Days of Baseball on the Home Front in WWII. * * * Baseball fans might most vividly remember Hank Greenberg for his chase of Babe Ruth’s single-season […]

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Another in a series of feeble attempts to catch up on older items. You will forgive the possible occasional duplication from previous entries. First off, well, this is kind of insulting to baseball and books. * Ed Lucas received a lot of attention for his recent memoir, and rightly so. I had a great conversation […]

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As much as I love listening to interview with authors, it gets to a point where they’re pretty much the same. I don’t know whether that’s a function of publicists sending out “talking points,” ostensibly to make the hosts’ jobs easier. I don’t know if the interviewers actually read all the stuff they get in […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Bits and pieces, March 16

March 16, 2015

Curt Smith, author of several fine volumes about baseball broadcasters and broadcasting, offers this nostalgic essay on “Spring training: Baseball’s Brigadoon” in the Irondequoit Post. Publishers Weekly published their annual list of new baseball topics. Unfortunately, it’s only available to subscribers. I’ll see if I can find an end-around at some point. “Spring inevitably means […]

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One of the things authors are called on to do more and more these days is create a web presence. Some are better than others, especially if they’re done by the publisher (but those are usually for high profile writers), but they all serve the common purpose of introducing their work to the public. I […]

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Bits and Pieces, Oct. 24

October 24, 2014

Haven’t done one of these in awhile. Of course, I haven’t done much of anything for awhile what with working on the new non-baseball sports book. So here are a few items from recent weeks. If people knew how Michael Lewis got the inspiration to write Moneyball, I wonder if that would have made a […]

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Bits and pieces, Sept. 5

September 5, 2014

Vince McKee will discuss his book,  Jacobs Field: History and Tradition at The Jake, at the  Lakewood Public Library, Lakewood, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. Another author(s) appearance: Springfield (Mass.)’s Bring It Home baseball committee will feature local writers Richard Andersen and Marty Dobrow in an Authors Night presentation on Sunday, Sept. […]

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