A few weeks back I confessed in this column that I am not a technological geek. This week I have yet another personal confession: I am not a sportswoman. Oh, yes, I did climb Mount Washington under extreme duress many years ago, I spent countless summers camping with my family, and I watched them ice skate, race, swim and ski, joining in until I was outclassed. I cheer my adult triathlete daughter on along with the best of parents.
I often get caught up in the World Series Mania in the fall and Superbowl Fever in January. But, yes, I sometimes have to ask dumb questions as I watch. I am, therefore, sadly never to be confused with a true sports fanatic.
So, you might ask, “Are you kidding me? Why is this librarian purchasing the sports books in the library?’”
And I will answer, “It’s a fun job and somebody has to do it.” This spring is especially enjoyable as a plethora of books hit the market and our library shelves and I get to order them. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist
A few weeks back I confessed in this column that I am not a technological geek. This week I
have yet another personal confession: I
am not a sportswoman. Oh, yes, I
did climb Mount Washington under extreme duress many years ago, I spent
countless summers camping with my family, and I watched them ice skate, race,
swim and ski, joining in until I was outclassed. I cheer my adult triathlete daughter on along
with the best of parents. I often get
caught up in the World Series Mania in the fall and Superbowl Fever in January. But, yes, I sometimes have to ask dumb
questions as I watch. I am, therefore,
sadly never to be confused with a true sports fanatic.
So, you
might ask, “Are you kidding me? Why
is this librarian purchasing the sports books in the library?’
And I will answer,
‘It’s a fun job and somebody has to
do it.’ This spring is especially enjoyable as a plethora of books hit the market
and our library shelves and I get to order them.
I do admit,
I recently become a pro golf spectator and for a few practical reasons … the
main one being that in 2007 I married a longtime golfer and avid tournament
watcher. I was an “I can’t watch!” witness
to that dramatic showdown at Torrey Pines last June between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate, glued
the television that Father’s Day weekend. I watched the next day’s play – for a
total of 91 count’em holes – on my computer laptop and bit my nails along with
the best of you, peaking through my fingers at Tiger’s last nervewracking putt
in sudden death. So when I read that Are
You Kidding Me?: The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle with Tiger
Woods at the US Open would be published this May, I smiled in nostalgic
remembrance of that unexpected and unbelievably dramatic fight on the greens in
San Diego.
More
golfing books about this spring. Roland
Merullo, local author of bestsellers Golfing
With God and Breakfast With Buddha,
publishes a new travel memoir on April 28.
The Italian Summer: Golf, Food,
and Family at Lake Como has been described
as “connecting all those who love Italy, wine, food, family outings, and golf”
and Merullo will certainly enchant his audience. What better combination for the
Italian golfer (think Canelli) that I know especially well.
D. J.
Gregory, born with cerebral palsy, learned to live passionately loving
golf. In Walking with Friends: An Inspirational Year on the PGA Tour,
published this May, DJ will recount ‘a sports fantasy unlike any other’ as he
traveled from Maui to Disneyworld and walked every course with the professional
golfers. This is a story of a feat, a
fantasy and a fellowship with pros, with life and with golf.
The range
of books published this spring cover wrestling to falconry, car racing to cycling
and basketball to mountain climbing. Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend
by Bill Russell will be published on May 5th. Yes, it’s a basketball story, but it is also a memoir of a friendship of two men, Bill Russell
and Red Auerback, and a story for all of us.
Halfway to
Heaven: My White-knuckled--and Knuckleheaded--Quest for the Rocky Mountain High
by Mark Obmascik will thrill anyone challenged by
the near impossible. Obmascik takes on
the near-crazy quest of climbing all 54 of Colorado’s Fourteeners – those
incredible peaks over 14,000 feet. Out-of-shape and perhaps out-of-his mind,
the author of the 2005 book, The Big Year:
A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, proves that commitment is often what it takes to
journey a thousand steps or in this case, fifty-four peaks.
But it’s
baseball that comes to us at a fever pitch this spring. Bruce Weber’s As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires, Bill
Reynold’s '78: The
Boston Red Sox, A Historic Game, and a Divided City and Jean
Rhodes’ Becoming Manny: Inside
the Life of Baseball's Most Enigmatic Slugger were all published
last month in March. Peter Golenbeck’s George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built
the Yankee Empire hits the shelves April 13. Bottom
of the Ninth: Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel, and the Daring Scheme to Save
Baseball from Itself by Michael Shapiro will be published May 12. Miracle
Ball : My Hunt for the Shot Heard 'round the World by Brian Beigel, published May 12, may read
somewhat like a novel but it is a work of non-fiction. It is the story of a father and son and a
trip across the country proving the authenticity of a baseball found in a
thrift shop.
This
non-sportwoman/librarian wants you to know that we have all the books you want
to read about sports. You can stop in,
email or call to suggest a book for our sports collection any time - 781-769-0200. Be sure to call the library to sign up for all
your reading needs.
