Tag / Jayson Stark

by jim

2015: The Year In Books

2015booksWith another year coming to an end, it is time to take a look back at the 31 books I read over the past year, an increase of 8 from last year and my highest total ever, surpassing the 27 books I read back in 1992.  Of those 31, 11 were non-fiction and, of the 20 novels, only 3 were TV show tie-ins.  Only 4 of the books came from the “to-read” drawer, and 11 were e-books.  I read a nearly 9200 pages, the most in 1 year since 1992 and my second straight year reaching the 9000 mark.

Once again, a majority of the books I read this year were by authors I’ve never read before. The 19 authors that I read for the first this year were:
Kurt Vonnegut
Jim Bouton
Melissa Joan Hart
Patton Oswalt
Erle Stanley Gardner
Doug Sohn
Kate DeVivo
Paula Hawkins
Jayson Stark
Scott Reifert
Oscar Wilde
Jeff Katz
Felicia Day
George Carlin
Max Allan Collins
Ann Brashares
David Lagercrantz
Graham Greene
Mary Kubica
Martin Short

The ghost writer for Richard Castle was the only author I read multiple titles from during 2015.

Ten books I read were released this year, while 3 of them were released prior to 1980, with one, The Picture of Dorian Gray, dating back to 1890.

Finally, the breakdown by month.  Vacations in March, November, and December certainly helped pad their totals a tad bit. Continue reading →

by admin

Book 11 (of 52) – Wild Pitches

Wild Pitches: Rumblings, Grumblings, and Reflections on the Game I Love - Jayson Stark

Wild Pitches: Rumblings, Grumblings, and Reflections on the Game I Love – Jayson Stark

I must admit, I was a bit disappointed to find out that this wasn’t a new work, but instead a collection of Jayson Stark’s columns from ESPN.com.  It wasn’t bad, but it was mostly columns that I had already read in the past.  That said, it was a good way to wind down spring training and await the beginning of the baseball season.

The book collects Stark’s take on numerous stories over the years, including the collapse of the Cubs following the so-called Steve Bartman incident in 2003 and the White Sox breaking through and winning the World Series in 2005.  The Philadelphia-based Stark also includes numerous takes on the Phillies.