Man, I seem to be on a screwed up time schedule here - I promise to be back on track tomorrow!
The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn. This is a classic for a reason, as it profiles the 1950s Dodgers like no other book. I think a lot of literary types might have let it pass them by though as they think it is a sports book only and have no interest in baseball, so that's it. Really though, Kahn has done an amazing thing with this title providing a memoir about growing up in Brooklyn, a sports story about the Dodgers in the Jackie Robinson era and then an amazing follow-up with the players 20 years later that is by far the most wonderful part of the book. In a lot of ways this book is just about men, good men, and what it takes to be a good man. I loved it.
Hockey Sur Glace by Peter LaSalle. This collection of hockey stories has been sadly overlooked and I can only think it is because no one thinks that fiction and hockey go together. (Please see the fantastic movie Mystery, Alaska for proof of how wrong that idea is.) I bought the book originally for my father as LaSalle was from his hometown and my father's high school is clearly the source for many of the stories. I thought the collection was overall very good - some stories better than others - but mostly was impressed by how well it captured a hockey town feeling. There are not enough books like this out there.
A Great and Glorious Game by A. Bartlett Giamatti. I reviewed this book for Baseball DIY earlier this year and it is one of my favorite essay collections ever. Giamatti was brilliant and in his brief sojourn as Baseball Commissioner he proved how much he loved the game by banning Pete Rose for life. His reasons for doing that are in an included essay, along with many other glorious pieces about the game. Please read this - buy this - treasure this. It's a lesson is writing well.
Surfing San Onofre to Point Dume by Don James. This collection of surf photographs taken between 1936 and 1942 in CA is simple and perfect. As someone who loved the water (the Atlantic!!) I can't get enough of these pictures of people doing what they loved - what I loved. It's nostalgic and beautiful and utterly original. I grabbed it the moment I saw it and I still think I'm lucky for getting a copy.
Seabiscuit: Illustrated Edition by Lauren Hillenbrand. You have heard of the book I'm sure (or the movie), but the illustrated edition is really the way to go with this title. There are tons of great shots in here of the horse and all the people who loved him and they add a necessary element to the story - they make it more appreciable. I also recommend getting your hands on a copy of Best American Magazine Writing 2004 and reading about Hillenbrand's struggle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and how she wrote the book largely flat on her back in bed. I don't know what she is working on now, but the fact that she completed such a deeply researched book in her condition is amazing.
A Day of Light and Shadows by Jonathan Schwartz. This 54 page essay is partly about the 1978 playoff game between the Red Sox and the Yankees and mostly about the life of a fan and that one particular day. I don't really know how to describe it, other than to say it is critical reading for any Red Sox fan certainly and any baseball fan generally. It's a gem, plain and simple - a perfect little gem.
Today we listened to Elton John's favorite Christmas songs from a CD bought at Starbucks. It's great - Springsteen, U2, Chuck Berry, The Band, The Eagles...and on and on. There's a really cool song from The Flaming Lips, a band I've never heard of but I'm certainly turned on to now. You should get a copy of this CD if you can - part of the proceeds goes to John's AIDs charity. And the music is very cool, so what more could you want for the holidays?
