44. The Bromance Book Club by Lissa Kay Adams

listened on Libby/Borrowed from the Library

narrated by Andrew Eiden - nice job; small deeper voiced parts by Maxwell Caulfield didn't work for me, he sounded too old for 29...

Unabridged audio (9:09)
2019
352 pgs.
Adult romance
Finished 5/3/2021
Goodreads rating: 3.92 - 44,157 ratings
My rating: 3.5+
Setting: contemporary Nashville

First line/s: "There was a reason Gavin Scott rarely drank.  He was bad at it."

My comments: A totally fun, eye-rolling romp through a contemporary marriage falling apart and the young, handsome, stuttering major league ball player who doesn't want to lose his wife.  Five of Gavin's teammates - all hot, famous Nashville MLB players, have formed a secret book club where they read regency romance novels to help understand their wives' feelings and needs.  Yes, a totally ridiculous premise, but it sure makes for some hilarious -- as well as ridiculous -- escapades.  Great, predictable fun.

Goodreads synopsis:  The first rule of book club: You don't talk about book club.

          Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.
          Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.
          Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.

115. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

listened on Audible, borrowed from Bosler/CCLS
narrated  by Julia Whelan
Unabridged audio (9:06)
2019 Random House
289 pgs.
Adult Romance
Finished 11/17/2019
Goodreads rating: 3.91 - 38,888
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary small town MAINE

First line/s:  "Go now, or you'll never go, Evvie warned herself."

My comments:  What pulled me in?  Small town Maine: Camden/Wiscasset area.  The cool cover.  Decent reviews.  And what did I think?  It was an okay, fun read, the very epitome of the "romance" genre of previous years, without the graphic sex scenes.  Not my favorite genre, but enjoyable once in awhile, right? 

Goodreads synopsis:  In a small town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth "Evvie" Drake rarely leaves her house. Everyone in town, including her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and she doesn't correct them.
          In New York, Dean Tenney, former major-league pitcher and Andy's childhood friend, is struggling with a case of the "yips": he can't throw straight anymore, and he can't figure out why. An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button.
          When Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house, the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken—and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more.
          But before they can find out what might lie ahead, they'll have to wrestle a few demons: the bonds they've broken, the plans they've changed, and the secrets they've kept. They'll need a lot of help, but in life, as in baseball, there's always a chance—right up until the last out.

MOVIE - Million Dollar Arm

PG (2:04)

Wide Release 5/16/2014

Viewed 7/30/2014 at Kolb cheap theater

RT Critic:  61  Audience:  75

Cag:  5/Loved it! !

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Walt Disney Pictures
Based on a True Story

Jon Hamm, Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, and 3 superb Indian actors

My comments: Okay, I loved this movie for many reasons.  Half of it takes place in India, which I love watching in any way, just to get a glimpse into the culture.  I sure wasn't disappointed. It was about baseball, one of the only sports I can stand watching a movie about.  It was definitely a feel-good movie with a happy ending; always enjoyed by me.  I was totally outside myself for the full two hours and four minutes. There were plenty of guffaws and a few tears in my eye near the end.  Yup, loved it.

Reviews  Based on a true story, Disney's "Million Dollar Arm" follows JB Bernstein, a once-successful sports agent who now finds himself edged out by bigger, slicker competitors. He and his partner Aash (Aasif Mandvi) will have to close their business down for good if JB doesn't come up with something fast. Late one night, while watching cricket being played in India on TV, JB comes up with an idea so radical it just might work. Why not go to there and find the next baseball pitching sensation? Setting off for Mumbai with nothing but a gifted but cantankerous scout (Alan Arkin) in tow, JB stages a televised, nationwide competition called "Million Dollar Arm" where 40,000 hopefuls compete before two 18-year-old finalists, Rinku and Dinesh (Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal), emerge as winners. JB brings them back to the United States to train with legendary pitching coach Tom House (Bill Paxton). The goal: get the boys signed to a major league team. Not only is the game itself difficult to master, but life in the U.S. with a committed bachelor makes things even more complicated-for all of them. While Rinku and Dinesh learn the finer points of baseball and American culture, they in turn teach JB the true meaning of teamwork and commitment. Ultimately, what began as a purely commercial venture becomes something more and leads JB to find the one thing he was never looking for at all-a family.

25. Forced Out - Stephen Frey

audio read by L. J. Ganser
BBC Audiobooks America, 2008
10 unabridged cds (12 hrs.)
480 pgs.
Rating:  I'll settle for 2: see below

Hard to rate – the ending is bizarre and the characters are a bit ridiculous at times....

Jack Barrett, 63 years old…the “old” age thing is brought up over and over and over again, by him and by all sorts of people that he meets. Tiring. And ridiculous. He’s a grouch and way too proud, very unlikable through the first half of the book. He has been fired after many years as a scout for the NY Yankees. He’d been framed and let go but the whole story only comes out in bits and pieces. He now lives with his daughter, Cheryl, in Sarasota. They scrape to get by. She’s in her early 30’s and somehow keep picking lousers to fall in love with. She’s pretty desperate, but loves her father….for some reason…unconditionally.

At the same time, a hit man for a mafia family in NYC has discovered that the young baseball player who SUPPOSEDLY hit and killed the boss’ grandson has discovered his whereabouts and is after him. The story flip flops between characters, adding interesting, yet odd, bits and pieces along the way. Some are left unmentioned and unresolved, and the author throws in information about activities without detailing them…they just “happened,” while others are described in painful detail.

I’m not really thrilled with the writing or the plot. I almost stopped listened three or four times, but wanted to see how it was resolved. I wish I hadn’t wasted my time. Why Mr. Frey added the twists at the end are a mystery to me. Oh well. On to another story.

All Star! Honus Wagner and the Most Famous Baseball Card Ever - Jane Yolen

Illustrated by Jim Burke
Philomel, 2010
32 pages, $17.99
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Facsimiles of baseball cards on light green background

This book really has nothing to do with a baseball card (although his card is worth a fortune, and mentioned near the end), it is a terrific biography of one of America's most famous baseball players, Honus Wagner. Born in 1874 near Pittsburgh, he went to school until he was 12, then worked in the mines with his father. The family played ball after church on Sundays and it eventually became his career. He joined the major league Pittsburgh Pirates in 1900 and the rest is history. Some of his records are still unbroken!

"At sixteen, Honus joined the Mansfield semipro team.
He was 5' 11" and nearly 200 pounds,
and already known for his bowed legs,
long arms, and great barrel chest.
He called his huge hands 'scoops.'
They seemed to large for his baseball glove."

Descriptive verse tells his story, and the reader is left with a real feel for the guy.

Jim Burke's illustrations compliment the text perfectly - they are paintings where you can see how he uses a stroke or dab of paint for shirt creases and shadow. His artist's note at the end tells of his love of baseball, his research of the book, and his observations about Honus Wagner.

The Boys - Jeff Newman

Simon & Schuster Bks for Young Readers, 2010
$15.99
40 pages
"ages 4-8"
Endpapers: red

A wordless picture book that says a lot. A young boy brings his bat, ball, and glove to the playground in his city, but only watches the other kids play. He sits on a bench with four elderly men. The next day he returns, minus his baseball gear. Day by day he joins the men, becoming more and more like them, until, one day.....the old guys aren't too old to have fun and play....they play in the playground, ride bikes, and play ball with the boy. And finally the day comes when the boy is brave enough to join the others of his own age playing ball. His friends, the four elderly gents, stick around to watch.

The five protagonists, though very simply...almost crudely...drawn, have their own wonderful personalities. I could create stories for each of these old guys. They're great!

Clever, clever, fun book.

Henry Aaron's Dream - Matt Tavares

Candlewick, 2010
$16.99
40 pgs.
For: Gr. 2-5
Endpapers: pumpkin pie

Well, this book brought tears to my eyes. It's a powerful picture book biographyt, told in free verse, about Hank Aaron and all he had to go through to become a respected baseball player. It sure wasn't easy...

The illustrations cover 2/3 of the page, leaving the 1st or 4th vertical quarter for the words - on a creamy yellowish beige. They're done in strong, bold watercolors and with ink and pencil. Perfect for the story. Same writer and illustrator - he did a marvelous job.

A High-5 for sure!

Heroes and She-roes - J Patrick Lewis

Poetry
Poems of Amazing and Everyday Heroes
Illustrated by Jim Cooke
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2005
40 pages
for: elementary school kids (and all the rest of us, too)
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Avocado

Poems of heroes in general. Poems about specific heroes. Heroes that I didn't know about. Heroes I never really thought about. There are so many heroes in our lives to consider. This is book to help kids - and us all - remember that!

Each of the 21 poems has information about the person or event that is the subject of the poem, which makes the book even more interesting. The illustrations are portraits: witty, colorful. I can picture an overhead for each page or double page to greet the kids in the morning as they enter the classroom, for reflection, journaling, even handwriting, and of course, for plain old enjoyment!

Heroes and She-roes

Give thanks to the he- and she-roes
Who will turn upon a dime
When occasion calls for action ---
And be there in half the time.

Roll red carpets out for she-roes
And to heroes raise a toast
For extraordinary courage ---
Yet you’ll never hear them boast.

Lend your hand to he- and she-roes,
To the valiant and the brave,
To those simple people know by
Two simple words: The gave.

The Elementary School Teacher

A teacher is a person
Unafraid
To get the third degree
From Second Grade!

Teachers are pathfinders, guides, truth-seekers, champions, role models, and guardians. Some of the greatest heroes and she-roes can be found in classrooms.


(I had to include this. It makes me feel really good...and reminds me of the many teachers and mentors that have helped create the teacher that I am today.)

The Organizer

Cesar Chavez
Migrant Labor Organizer, 1927-1993

Cesar was a peaceable fighter
With his back against the wall.
He was the David to Goliaths,
One worker against them all.

Up from the Mexican culture,
He rallied migrants to unite
And challenged consumers to boycott
Five years for the grape pickers’ plight.

Cesar won and lost many battles
But never resorted to arms,
And the carried the torch for La Causa
Across California farms.

Poor migrants, whose harvest was hunger,
Depended on him to be strong,
To ignite the fight and fight for right
And everywhere right the wrong.


Here are the other subjects included:

The Seeker (Helen Keller)
The Explorers (Meriwether Lewis & William Clark)
The Unknown Rebel (Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, June 5, 1989)
The Wonder Dog (Togo, Alaska, 1925)
The Little Angel of Colombia (Alabeiro Vargas, Columbia South America) REALLY INTERESTING!
The Peacemaker (Mohandas Gandhi)
The Nun (Sister Jeannette Normandin)
The Great One (Roberto Clemente) Includes some unknown-to-me information
The Bareback Rider (Lady Godiva) No kidding - talk about fascinating...
The Preachers (MLK, Jr. & Mahalia Jackson)
The Riveter ("Rosie the Riveter)
The Journalist (Ida Wells-Barnett)
The Soldier (Joan of Arc)
The Steadfast (Rosa Parks)
The Immigrants
The Child Laborer (Iqbal Masih) Whoa! This'll make me dig deeper...


Wonderful. Should be in every 3-6th grade classroom!

72. Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball - David Adler

Cam Jansen Adventure Series #6
Illustrated by Susanna Natti
(recently updated cover art by Joy Allen)
Scholastic, 1982
58 pages
Rating: 3.5
(2.7, 500L, L, 28 DRA)

Cam Jansen is a fifth grader with a photographic memory. Therefore, she's able to solve mysteries, and that's what she does in this story. She and her best friend Eric accompany her parents to a hobby show. While there, an authographed Babe Ruth baseball is stolen. Cam uses her mental abilities and tracks down the thief.

(It would help if you know a little about the history of baseball when reading the story, and have a bit of an idea of who Babe Ruth was.)

The story is simple, simple to read - a second grade level - so is particularly well-suited for 3rd or 4th graders who are having reading difficulties to practice their reading. A somewhat interesting story with details, adventurous, with a mystery to solve.

Testing the Ice - Sharon Robinson

A True Story About Jackie Robinson
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Scholastic Press, 2009
$16.00
40 pgs.
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Dark aqua
Author's Note

This heartwarming true story about the personal life of Jaackie Robinson is written by his daughter, Sharon. It tells of their home and home life in the mid-to-late 1950's. It includes tidbits about Jackie Robinson's entry into the entirely segregated world of Major League Baseball. In the main storyline, Ms. Robinson weaves her dad's courage in and around and through a story of his fear of water and his inability to swim. It's done quite beautifully and makes for really interesting storytelling.

And the illustrations! Oh my goodness, can this man draw! Completely covering the oversized pages, each and every illustrtation is a masterpiece to behold - most especially his depiction of Jackie Robinson.

Super book!

54. Satchel Paige - James Sturm

Striking Out Jim Crow
A Graphic Novel
Illustrated by Rich Tommaso
The Center for Cartoon Studies, 2007
96 pgs.
$16.99
Rating: 4

The title was a little misleading - I thought, for a bit of the beginning, that the protagonist was Satchel Paige. When I figured out it wasn't, at that this was a linear story and not vignettes, I went back and started over, understanding the story.

From the point-of-view of a young black man that faced the pitching of Satchel Paige, we learn of many things - about the great black pitcher, about the lack of any rights for blacks, in baseball or in life, at this point in time (the book goes from 1929 through 1944), and at the life of one sharecropping family in the south during this time.

The introduction by Gerald Early sets up the history of black baseball in America and the true story of Satchel Paige, at the end are short discussions of various pieces of historic information brought up in the book: Wages, The Railroad, Sharecropper Shacks, The Negro National League, African American Press, Bullet Rogan, Paige's Personal Catcher, Paige's Pitches, Rituals and Rhythms, Speek and Daring, Barnstorming, The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Crow's Unwritten Laws, Lynching, The Role of Church, The N-Work, Calling in the Infielders, His Next Gig.

You get a real feel for the man, the time, and this tiny slice of black history - all in graphic novel form.