Cannonball Read 11

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Baseball In Japan

You Gotta Have WA by Robert Whiting

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Growing up a big baseball fan, I always knew the sport was popular in Japan. I also always knew it was played differently but I didn’t know why. Not necessarily played differently rules-wise (though there is some of that, like ties for example), but culturally, there were different expectations of the players and the clubs. Robert Whiting smoothly lays the differences out in this book. I worry sometimes that westerners don’t always have a sensitivity to the nuanced differences in respective eastern cultures but he does. Despite things that made my eyes pop out of my head, there was no […]

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Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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8/19/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:80 |

Much better than the cover made me expect

Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross

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From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Annie Lucas’s life is completely upended the moment her dad returns to the major leagues as the new pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. Now she’s living in Missouri (too cold), attending an all-girls school (no boys), and navigating the strange world of professional sports. But Annie has dreams of her own—most of which involve placing first at every track meet…and one starring the Royals’ super-hot rookie pitcher. But nineteen-year-old Jason Brody is completely, utterly, and totally off-limits. Besides, her dad would kill them both several times over. Not to mention Brody has something of a […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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6/21/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:29 |

The crack of the bat, the stench of popcorn, the cheers of the fans!

Fuzzy Baseball Volume 1 by John Steven Gurney

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I learned about Fuzzy Baseball when a Facebook friend of a friend of mine turned out to be the author of the series. John Steven Gurney also commented on the fact I was planning on picking it up by saying he was in talks with our events person to come to the store. Therefore, of course, I had to read this book about baseball. Ah! Baseball! The game with the sticks and hats and balls! That pastime that we sing about. The one that has hard bleachers, overpriced hot dogs, loyal fans and (when you’re 12) really cute bat boys. This great […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/28/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:185 |

Like a Sports Movie, In Reverse

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

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Football is the quintessential American sport. Two disciplined armies meet out on an open field. Highly trained men in uniform wallop the enemy, denying them ground. Our super soldiers bash their brains in—and sometimes break their necks—for our entertainment. And we cheer. Because who doesn’t love a proxy war? It’s tribal. Downright primal. Are you entertained?! *checks notes* Pardon. Apparently, baseball is America’s game. A sport that considers the no-hitter, a game in which absolutely nothing happens, as the pinnacle of the art. A sport that doesn’t honor plays but shames errors by counting them on the scoreboard for all […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/17/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:27 |

Strike Three! You’re caught.

Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #3: Subway Series Surprise by David A. Kelly

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Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #3: Subway Series Surprise by David A. Kelly and illustrated by Mark Meyers, is a to first base story: Mike and Kate are two sleuths and baseball lovers, that have solved several mysteries based around baseball. They are modern-day Encyclopedia Brown meets Babe Ruth. This time they need to find out who not only stole Kate’s moms notes about the book she is writing, but who has been pulling pranks on the Mets! The Subway series between the Yankees and Mets must go on, but can it? Most of this story is stand-alone, however, it would […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Strike Three! You’re caught."

3/19/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:80 |

Next up at bat is a mystery series sure to make a home run!

Ballpark Mysteries #14 The Cardinals Caper by David A. Kelly

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Years ago, I picked up Ballpark Mysteries #01 The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly (illustrated by Mark Meyers). While I was not jumping up and down and yelling, “Kill the Ump!” over it, I was thinking “This is good.” I was recommending the series when it was appropriate. Yet, I never read another in the series until the other day. Sadly, book 14 The Cardinals Caper, was damaged. I picked it up before we had to process it as damaged, and spent a nice lunch reading about how a beloved Dalmatian dog was dognapped by someone who wanted the […]

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11/5/2018 's CBR10 Review No:408 |

The United States v. Jackie Robinson

The United States v. Jackie Robinson by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

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A non-fiction book about Jack Robinson. Or better known as Jackie Robinson. The United States v. Jackie Robinson is not a typical biography of a baseball player. They start out with him being a child growing up as the only black family on their street. His mother’s strength and finally Jackie’s strength in the military. Few probably know that Jackie would not give up his seat on a bus either and it lead to a historic ruling, too. Finally, it ends with some of his baseball career and the Jackie Robinson most people know. The timeline at the end of […]

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5/30/2018 's CBR10 Review No:182 |

College baseball, without Linklater, with the White Whale

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

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The cover drew me in: this book looks like it should be a delicate coming-of-age tale about a boy growing into a man, using baseball as an allegory for the wins and swings-and-misses of life. Given the cover model’s relaxed repose (and likely heavily influenced by the amount of fanfic I read, which, as John Cho says “gets gay fast”), I also assumed it would be a  tale of a young man discovering his homosexuality. Baseball, young men exploring their sexuality: tick, right up my alley. Instead, The Art of Fielding is about ambition. The main characters are a hard-working shortstop with […]

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10/26/2016 's CBR8 Review No:17 |


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