Howdy

Hey, how about those Panthers winning their playoff game this weekend? Isn't that exciting stuff? I love playoff football. Nothing is better than the playoffs in baseball and football. This next game in Chicago should be a doozy. I can't wait.

More books

I guess I'll wrap up my list of books I've read this year that I especially enjoyed.

The Old Ball Game by Frank Deford. This is the story of the relationship between Christy Mathewson, the stud pitcher on the New York Giants of the early 1900's and his manger, the fiery John McGraw. Not only is it the story of these two remarkable guys it is also the story of early baseball. When these two men ended up on the Giants together professional baseball was still being played in parks that featured wooden grandstands that only encompassed the infield. By the time they parted ways baseball was being played inside concrete and steel cathedrals.

Three Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger. This book was the story of a three game series played between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs in August of 2003. It's an important late season series and the two teams are competing for first place in their division. This is a wonderful book for anyone who would like to know what kind of life a good major league baseball manager leads. No detail is left out.

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. This is the story of a teenage girl living in a restrictive Mennonite community in rural Canada. The story is told from the viewpoint of the main character, Nomi. The narrative is supposed to be a diary she is keeping as part of an English class assignment. Nomi is probably the best character I came across this year. Toews gives her such a personal voice that after a while I felt like I was reading an actual diary and each of her small triumphs and defeats felt too real.

I thought I had more but that is the end of my reading list. It was a good year for reading for me. I finished 27 books. I'd like to do better this year. I want to push that number way up over thirty.

This was the first full year of using the library's Readers Club webpage to keep track of my reading. It really is helpful to keep track of your reading. I had never really done it before. I wish I had started long ago. If you would like your very own personalized reading list at the Readers Club page you can go here.