… this formed the paradox at the heart of baseball, or football, or any other sport. You loved it because you considered it an art: an apparently pointless affair, undertaken by people with a special aptitude, which sidestepped attempts to paraphrase its value yet somehow seemed to communicate something true or even crucial about The Human Condition. The Human Condition being, basically, that we’re alive and have access to beauty, can even erratically create it, but will someday be dead and will not …

- Chad Harbach, The Art of Fielding

3 notes | July 10, 2012

I can’t put this book down. 

I can’t put this book down. 

June 29, 2012

Sports Books

Posted by bryankalbroskysucks | Filed under chad harbach,r.a. dickey,frank deford,tim wendel,david halberstam,sportswriting,sports,bill simmons,the art of fielding,wherever i wind up,over time,the summer of '68,the breaks of the game,

“The same goes for my favorite sports books. You can’t learn how to write unless you’re constantly reading, just like you can’t learn how to play music unless you listen to hundreds of different albums, or you can’t learn to speak a second language unless you actually go to a foreign country and practice it. For whatever reason, many aspiring sportswriters either don’t understand this, or they dismiss it altogether. In fact, I’ve had conversations at bars with younger people who have approached me, asked me for advice, and when I ask them what their favorite sports books are, they give me the Peyton Manning Face. I’m always astonished by this. How can you aspire to become a sportswriter without reading as many different styles and perspectives as you can?” -Bill Simmons “Best Sports Book Series”, 3/30/2006


So you think I did anything to solve this? Here’s a list of books that I bought today. Thanks, mom and dad, for the Amazon gift card!

  • “The Art of Fielding” (2011) by Chad Harbach
  • “Wherever I Wind Up” (2012) by R.A. Dickey
  • “Over Time” (2012) by Frank DeFord
  • “The Summer of ‘68” (2012) by Tim Wendel
  • “The Breaks of the Game” (1981) by David Halberstam

1 note | May 12, 2012