(Mini) Bookshelf Review: This Never Happened

2021 title

I’ve always been interested in books about the World Wars. There’s a debt to the members of the armed forces than can never adequately be paid. On the other hand, as regular readers of this blog know, I’m not a huge fan of baseball fiction. But whenever there’s something that combines the two, I’ll give […]

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PSA for the PBBC, August 5, 2021

"Bookshelf Conversations"

Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their weekly newsletter. Do take a moment to read the author Q&A. I find them particularly interesting as […]

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(Mini) Bookshelf Review: The Resisters, by Gish Jen

Fiction

Got this one when it came out last year, but given my deep-seated reluctance to deal with baseball fiction, the surprise isn’t that it took so long to read (and write about) it, but that I got to it at all. I have given this hesitancy a name: I call it “The Art of Fielding […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, July 30, 2021

2020 title

New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, July 23, 2021

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New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]

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The Bookshelf Conversations: Dan Epstein

"Bookshelf Conversations"

We last spoke with Dan Epstein for his second book, Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of ‘76 in 2016, which followed his 2014 release, Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ’70s. As you can see from the picture, sandwiched between me and […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, July 16, 2021

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New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]

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PSA for the PBBC, July 16, 2021

2020 title

Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their weekly newsletter. Do take a moment to read the author Q&A. I find them particularly interesting as […]

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Bookshelf Review: Cheated

2021 title

My review of Andy Martino’s Cheated: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing, as per Bookreporter.com.

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PSA for the PBBC, July 8, 2021

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Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their weekly newsletter. Do take a moment to read the author Q&A. I find them particularly interesting as […]

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All-Star Extravaganza: Tattered Cover weekend baseball event

Baseball event

Funny how things work out. If MLB had not changed the venue of the All-Star Game from Atlanta, GA, to Denver, CO, for political reasons, we would not have this wonderful event sponsored by the Tattered Cover, a collection of independent book sellers in that latter city. There are a number of programs, both virtual […]

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Beach reading

Fiction

Hold the beach. Those who have read this blog for any length of time know I’m not much for fiction. But this summer I’m taking a break from the norm and devoting the month of July to reading nothing but baseball novels. I’ve chosen two to begin with: The Resistors, by Gish Jen, and This […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, July 2, 2021

2020 title

What a strange trip it’s been.  As most of you know by now, I was in a rather serious car accident during the Memorial Day Weekend, returning home last week after three weeks in hospital/rehab. Three broken bones in my dominant are makes it difficult to type, but it’s part of my physical therapy so […]

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PSA for the PBBC, June 30, 2021

"Bookshelf Conversations"

Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their weekly newsletter. Do take a moment to read the author Q&A. I find them particularly […]

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The Bookshelf Conversations: Scott Brick

"Bookshelf Conversations"

Sometimes I am surprised at how long I’ve been doing this, a fact that came to my attention when I reconnected with Scott Brick, an award-winning audiobook narrator with whom I first chatted in 2009. According to his bio, Brick “has narrated almost 900 audiobooks including titles such as: Jurassic Park, the Jack Reacher series, Alexander Hamilton, […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, June 25, 2021

2020 title

What a strange trip it’s been.  As most of you know by now, I was in a rather serious car accident during the Memorial Day Weekend, returning home last week after three weeks in hospital/rehab. Three broken bones in my dominant are makes it difficult to type, but it’s part of my physical therapy so […]

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PSA for the PBBC, May 26, 2021

2020 title

Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their weekly newsletter. Do take a moment to read the author Q&A. I find them particularly […]

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Baseball Best-Sellers, May 21, 2021

"Bookshelf Conversations"

New: An asterisk serves to let you know that the author is a member of the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. I enthusiastically recommend you visit the site, sign up for their newsletter, and buy some merch. A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by […]

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PSA for the PBBC, May 19, 2021

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Headnote: In addition to the 12th being the day I water my mini-succulent plants, it’s also time for the latest update from the Pandemic Baseball Book Club. One of the thing I like about the Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all […]

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Bookshelf Reviews via Bookreporter.com

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My annual spring “review roundup” is on Bookreporter.com. This years titles include GATHERING CROWDS: Catching Baseball Fever in the New Era of Free Agency, by Paul Hensler THE RESHAPING OF AMERICA’S GAME: Major League Baseball After the Players’ Strike and AMERICA’S GAME IN THE WILD-CARD ERA: From Strike to Pandemic, both by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte THE […]

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