First Monday Book Day

First Monday: Winter Reading List

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There was mention of, and support for, a winter reading list recommendation last month.

So here's what we'll do.  Recommend a book or two below.  At some point, I'll go through and collect all the books, organize by genre (in a very general sense: non-fiction, story collection, graphic novel, etc.) and provide some links in next month's post.  That way I've got something to write about for two months instead of just one.  Everybody wins!

I'll recommend a couple books, some I've read, and some I'm hoping to get to this winter.

The Dead Mountaineer's Inn by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.

This is one that I haven't got to yet, but sounds interesting.  The Strugatskys are best known for science fiction, but here they tackle the mystery genre (an isolated ski resort, a dead body, a quirky list of suspects... you get it).

Today I am a Book by xTx.

I read this story collection back in August and really enjoyed it.  It was the first thing I've really read by xTx and I am in love with her language. The stories were short, the sentences direct, but every time there was something moving just beneath the story. It's the kind of thing that really gets me, every time.

Haints Stay by Colin Winnette.

I can't be recommending books and pass up an opportunity to recommend Winnette, who may well be my favorite author right now.  This is a bizarre book.  It's an "acid western" that's got murderous transgender cowboys, cannibals, a sharpshooting foster mother out for revenge... everything, really. I read it in about 4 hours.

So, what's on your winter reading list?  Or do you have a book that's perfect for someone else's list? Drop them in the LTE's.

How's Infinite Jest going?  Everybody found a copy?  Initial thoughts?

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Twenty-eight

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KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, May 16 (Game 2 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Rich Rollins was 2-for-4 with a run.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a run.

Pitching star:  Dick Stigman struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks.

Opposition stars:  Rene Lachemann was 3-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Jim Landis was 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, scoring once.  Bert Campaneris was 3-for-4 with a stolen base (his ninth) and a run.

The game:  Hall's double with none out in the second scored Killebrew from first base to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Kansas City tied it in the fifth on Ken Harrelson's RBI single and took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on a squeeze bunt.  The Twins loaded the bases with one out in the seventh but could only score once (and that one came in on an error) to tie the score.  The Athletics got the lead back in the eighth on Johnny Klippstein's errant pickoff throw with men on first and third.  Lachemann homered leading off the ninth for an insurance run.  The Twins put men on first and second with one out in the ninth but could do nothing with them.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5.  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-5 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4.  Bob Allison was 0-for-2 with two walks.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 18-10, still second in the American League, two and a half games behind Chicago.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 2

Dutch Zwilling (1888)
Travis Jackson (1903)
Chief Hogsett (1903)
Johnny Vander Meer (1914)
Al Campanis (1916)
Ron Reed (1942)
Tom Paciorek (1946)
Scott Boras (1952)
Paul Hartzell (1953)
Greg Harris (1955)
Willie McGee (1958)
Sam Horn (1963)
Orlando Merced (1966)
Travis Miller (1972)
Orlando Cabrera (1974)
Sidney Ponson (1976)
Wilson Betamit (1981)
Daryl Thompsn (1985)

Dutch Zwilling holds the record for last major leaguer in alphabetical order.

Al Campanis was the general manager of the Dodgers from 1969-1987.

Scott Boras has been a player agent for many years.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 2 →

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Twenty-seven

KANSAS CITY 7, MINNESOTA 4 IN KANSAS CITY (10 INNINGS--GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Sunday, May 16.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh) and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Earl Battey was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Mudcat Grant struck out five in 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks.  Johnny Klippstein pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Dick Green was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his third and fourth) and three RBIs.  Ed Charles was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer (his third) and a triple, scoring twice.  Jim Gentile was 2-for-5 with a home run (his eighth) and a double.

The game:  Green homered in the second to put the Athletics on the board 1-0.  Hall homered in the fourth to tie it and Oliva hit a two-run homer in the fifth to put the Twins ahead 3-1.  Gentile homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Twins got the run back on Battey's RBI double.  It was still 4-2 Twins in the ninth, but Green led off the ninth with his second home run and Charles tripled and scored on a single by Rene Lachemann to tie it 4-4 and send the game to extra innings.  With one out in the tenth, Johnny Blanchard and Green singled and Charles hit a three-run homer off Mel Nelson to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5 with a triple.  Rich Rollins was 0-for-3 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a run, and a stolen base.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-5.  Bob Allison was 0-for-5.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 18-9, still in second place, a game and a half behind Chicago.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.