The List
(Book Name & Author/Bookmark – Recommended Reading?)
- Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball’s Greatest Forgotten Player by Jeremy Beer/1993 Ted Williams Co. Oscar Charleston – Yes, definitely, if you, like me, are pained about the gap in knowledge about someone Joe Posnanski rated the 5th greatest baseball player of all time. https://booksandbookmarks.com/2020/11/21/oscar-charleston-by-jeremy-beer/
- Fairlane Road by Cody Lakin/2016 Topps Dee Gordon – I liked the story and the characters. Charlie Knox is a great name for a villain. I think Cody Lakin is getting better with each book, and I would guess I’ll recommend the later works higher. https://booksandbookmarks.com/2020/11/21/fairlane-road-by-cody-lakin/
- Anxious People (audiobook) by Fredrik Backman/2007 Topps Morgan Ensberg – I’m going to write something here that I haven’t taken the time to think over whether or not is accurate: Fredrik Backman is my favorite current author of fiction. https://booksandbookmarks.com/2020/11/25/anxious-people-by-fredrik-backman/
- The Searcher by Tana French/1992 Topps Cal Ripken, Jr. – Like The Witch Elm, this book keeps you just curious enough about the mystery to keep you reading. Also like The Witch Elm, French uses some overly convenient tools to weave her mystery, things like amnesia that compounds questions or a kind of “spidey sense” that apparently police officers have allowing them to know when someone is there but unseen. Basically I’d say you won’t regret reading this, but you can certainly skip if you don’t love French already. https://booksandbookmarks.com/2020/12/04/the-searcher-by-tana-french/
- Ready Player Two (audiobook) by Ernest Cline/2016 Topps Wade Davis – I think it gets bogged down with the details of the Oasis worlds and the hunt, but if you liked Ready Player One I doubt you’ll regret reading the sequel. Wil Wheaton narrates the audiobook (as he does for Ready Player One), and I think he’s quite effective. https://booksandbookmarks.com/2020/12/19/ready-player-two-by-ernest-cline/
- The Girl With A Fairy’s Heart by Cody Lakin/1975 Topps John Knox – Charlie Knox returns in Cody Lakin’s third book, his best yet. This is the evolution of a developing author, and I hear his unpublished fourth book is his best. https://booksandbookmarks.com/2020/12/30/the-girl-with-a-fairys-heart-by-cody-lakin/
- Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)/2016 Topps Bartolo Colon – Unless you can’t get over J.K. Rowling’s stance on the Trans community or separate the artist from the art, this, along with the four other Strike novels, is a resounding yes for me. https://booksandbookmarks.com/2021/01/01/troubled-blood-by-robert-galbraith/
- The Last Trial by Scott Turow/1992 Topps Alejandro Pena – Easy read that keeps you curious with the story moving. Not sure if it would be better having read any of the previous Kindle County books by Turow, but it was enjoyable enough. https://booksandbookmarks.com/2021/01/09/the-last-trial-by-scott-turow/
- Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane/1991 Score Wayne Edwards – Wonderfully written story that follows two families over two generations. Not always happy, and the characters definitely get put through the ringer, but they are all likable or find a way to redeem themselves.
