East of the West: A Country in Stories by Miroslave Penkov (2011) Blurb from Penkov's website: A grandson tries to buy the corpse of Lenin on eBay for his Communist grandfather. A failed wunderkind steals a golden cross from an Orthodox church. A boy meets his cousin (the love of his life) once every five years in the river that divides their village into east and west. These are Miroslav Penkov’s strange, unexpectedly moving visions of his home country, Bulgaria, and they are the stories that make up his charming, deeply felt debut collection. In East of the West, Penkov writes with great empathy of centuries of tumult; his characters mourn the way things were and long for things that will never be. But even as they wrestle with the weight of history, with the debt to family, with the pangs of exile, the stories in East of the West are always light on their feet, animated by Penkov’s unmatched eye for the absurd.
How the states got their shapes, by Mark Stein Stan Musial, by George Vecsey How I killed Pluto, and why it had it coming, by Mike Brown
I got that first book for my younger brother when it came out, and now his kids practically have it memorized (they travel a lot and it geography lessons are good for keeping them occupied). Got the second book earlier this summer for my older brother, who introduced me to the Cardinals when I was a wee lad. Stan the Man remains his all time favorite Cardinal. Pujols leaped passed Orlando Cepada after my brother read this book, though. Albert comes off pretty well.
How good was Stan Musial? Major League Records Held (Through 2010) Total bases - left handed batter: 6134 Home runs - All Star Game: 6 Home runs - doubleheader: 5 (tied) Walk-off home runs: 12 (tied) Major League seasons to lead the league in doubles: 8 (tied) Most seasons to lead majors in extra base hits: 7 (tied) All time highest composite ranking for MLB's 13 hitting categories All time Season League Leader in Different Offensive Categories: 16 Most consecutive seasons with batting average .300+: 16 (3.1 PA) Most seasons with batting average .300+: 17 (tied) Most consecutive seasons to slug .500+: 15 (3.1 PA) Most 5 hit games in a season: 4 (tied) Most season with 300 or more total bases: 13 (tied) Most consecutive seasons to strike out 40 or fewer times: 16 (3.1 PA) Most seasons to lead league in runs created: 9 (tied) Most consecutive seasons to lead league in in runs created: 6 Most consecutive seasons to lead majors in runs created: 4 Most consecutive seasons to record 30+ doubles: 16 Most consecutive seasons to record double digit doubles: 21 (tied) Most consecutive seasons to record double digit triples and home runs: 7 (tied) Most seasons to record .300+ BA / .400+ OBP / .500+ SLG: 14 (3.1 PA) All time highest fielding percentage - 2500+ games in the field: .989 Milestones First player to record 300 HR / 3000 Hits First player to record 300 HR / 3000 Hits / .300 BA First player to accumulate 6000 total bases First player to record double digit home runs for over 20 consecutive seasons First player to record double digit doubles for over 20 consecutive seasons First player to play 100+ games for over 20 consecutive seasons First player to play 1000+ games in both the infield and outfield First player to play a minimum of 10% of career games at 4 different positions. Sixth player to record 400 home runs - Musial is the only 400 Home Run Club member to: > Win 7 or more batting titles > Record more than 700 doubles > Record more than 170 triples > Strike out fewer than 700 times (excludes active players) Only player to be awarded 3 (or more) MVP's each while playing at one of three different fielding postions Only player to record .300+ batting average in first 16 seasons in majors (3.1 PA) Only player to record 20 or more triples and 50 or more doubles in the same season Only player in last 75 years to record over 425 total bases in a season Only player in last 80 years to hit .300+ for more than 16 seasons (3.1 PA) Only player in last 65 years to record more than 170 triples Highest career SLG (.559) and OPS (.976) for members of 3000 Hit Club Oldest player to hit a home run in 4 consecutive at-bats 1815 hits on the road, 1815 hits at home (my favorite) I think this book has got to be on my must-read list. And soon.
My favorite too. Oh, and Viva el Birdos!.* *Okay, that's actually Orlando Cepeda, but given last night's surprise win...
Flatland by Edwin Abbot Abbot Takes place in a two dimensional world, with a three dimensional visitor. Basically it tries to explain the concept of the fourth dimension (while satirizing Victorian social structure). I have a heavily annotated edition that explains the mathematical and cultural references.
for a class I'm teaching: You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier. And for... well, sort of fun: Newman's Unquiet Grave by John Cornwell, a biography of John Henry Cardinal Newman.
Lord of the Flies -- William Golding I read the book in high school, and now that my daughter is in high school and due to read it the next couple of weeks, I thought it would be worth re-reading so we can discuss together. I really hated the book in high school, it seemed oh so obvious, but I've been told repeatedly that the book has far more depth and subtlety than what a high schooler can grasp, so I am looking forward to Friday (I'll be off that day and hope to have several hours free to read). Actually, this reading what my daughter has been reading is turning out to be a great refresher. In the past two years, I've read (for the first time) Raisin in the Sun and Julius Caesar, while rereading Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Elie Wiesel's Night.
The Best of American Erotica 2008 Edited by Susie Bright I was pretty bummed when I learned Susie Bright decided to stop the series. Until I got about 1/2 way through the last book she did in 2008. It's probably a good idea she stopped when she did. I don't know if it was her, and the stories she chose, or maybe there's just not enough to choose from anymore. The first few stories were enjoyable, a bit steamy, but nothing that left me gasping for air, the way these books have in the past. Then the next 80 pages or so just dragged on. They just weren't all that great. Some were silly and unbelievable, and some just didn't scream out erotica to me at all. I'm still working my way through it, but this book falls pretty short of what the series once was. And unfortunately, it's one of the highest rated of the series on Amazon.
I've just finished this: Ann Patchett's bel canto. I had this on the hold list at the library for so long that I couldn't remember what it was about exactly. I decided not to read the dust jacket for clues about the plot and just start in. What a first chapter! I don't recall such a sense of wonderment at what I was reading, a sense of discovery, as with the first part of this book when I didn't have any idea what it was about. Yes, the entire book was good, but I'll never forget that initial joy of discovery.
I read that years ago, then proceeded to read all of her other books. She is a great writer. bel canto is a great book.
Growing up I watched him break the record. I really admired him then and I think even more highly of him today.
Somebody gave me that book a couple of weeks ago. I've been meaning to dig in, but with a new Ha Jin out last Tuesday and a new Haruki Murakami out this Tuesday, it's going to have to wait a bit.
Tonight I'm looking forward to the second episode of the "Case Histories" on Masterpiece Theatre. Good casting in the first Missing Girls episode. The books were really good. DVDs
All depends on how true it is, I suppose; then again, how much worse could she have been than the current incumbent?