Juicy piece of fiction
By Karlsie
(Second in a series of "Hot Stove Reading")
With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror and Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa looming large in the headlights, what's a woman to do? In my case, it's curl up under a blanket on a rainy day and re-read a classic book: "Shoeless Joe" by WP Kinsella. For those of you unfamiliar with "Shoeless Joe," it was the basis of a little movie called "Field of Dreams." As much as I like that movie, the book is a million times better.
In the book, the author kidnapped is J. D. Salinger - famous recluse hidden in the woods of New Hampshire. He was livid that Kinsella used him as a character in the book and refused to sign off on his name, image or likeness in any way, shape or form for the movie - thus opening the door for James Earl Jones to step in.
But it's not Kinsella's only book about baseball. "The Iowa Basball Confederacy," a slightly mystical book about the world's longest baseball game that never happened - which combines Kinsella's love of baseball and American Indians; "The Thrill of the Grass," a collection of short stories (including my favorite, "How I Got My Nickname") and many, many others grace reading lists everywhere.
Kinsella understands the magic of baseball - not just as a sport but also as a spiritual endeavor. The thought that baseball can restore broken spirits, reach across time and space and raise us all above the petty little details of life that hold us down is something that real baseball fans can understand. In Kinsella's world, fallen heroes are restored and average people are redeemed.
If you are a fan, or are trying to find something for the fan on your list, this is the author you need to have in your personal library.
Next up: for the love of the game - non-fiction historical pieces that are as moist and succulent as an expertly cooked turkey.
