TBR Tuesday - Short review of "The Game"

If you are an avid reader like me, you probably have a lot of books either on your bookshelf or on your e-reader that have been sitting there a long time as you collect even more books.  We call that the TBR, or to-be-read, pile.   A fellow book blogger (http://deesbookblog.com/) came up with an idea to reduce this pile by creating "TBR Tuesday" in which she would review a book that has been on her TBR pile for at least one year and post that on Tuesday.  I decided to do the same thing with some of the book on my TBR list.  These reviews will be shorter, and not always contain all the information in my usual reviews, but it is still a great way to find some of those older books and finally get around to read them.

For my first TBR Tuesday review, this is one that I picked up way back in 2009, when I first recieved my Kindle. I explain the circumstances in the review why I took so long, but considering Jack London is one of my favorite all-time authors, it was worth the wait.  Here is my review of his short story about a boxer, "The Game"

Title/Author:

“The Game” by Jack London

Published:

1913

Rating:

5 of 5 stars (Outstanding)

Review:

I stumbled across this book by accident as Jack London is one of my favorite classic authors and I have read “Call of the Wild” multiple times.  When I received my first Kindle and saw that book was available, I jumped on the chance to pick it up.  However, I also saw that London also wrote a novella titled “The Game” about boxing.  Well, never one to miss the chance to pick up a free book on sports and add the fact that one of my favorite authors wrote it, I picked that up too. Then it sat in the TBR pile for almost 6 years until I decided to reduce this list of books. 

Originally published in 1913, this is a tale of a boxer named Joe who loves his job as a boxer.  He loves the competition in the ring and doesn’t ever stray from that.  Until the night his fiancée Genevieve attends one of his matches. She has loved Joe from the start, but never felt comfortable with his chosen profession. Nevertheless, she goes to his latest bout and the story of what both of them are feeling is a terrific short story. 

The boxing passages are well-written as London gets into the mind of the fighter.  That is why I enjoy books on the “sweet science”, whether fiction or non-fiction.  Good boxing writers will tell about a boxer’s mind and spirit and London does that well for Joe.  It doesn’t stop there, however, as Genevieve is also portrayed as a loyal and loving woman. The portion of the book that tells how they meet and fell in love is a passage any romance reader would enjoy. 

This is a wonderful story of two people in love and yet in deep conflict at the same time.  The language is appropriate for the early 20^th century and is one that I would recommend to any reader.  It is a wonder addition to London’s more well-known works. 

Short review of "Light Tower Power"

I just read a very short story about a manager and his bat he affectionately calls "THOR."  The name is capitalized in the story to emphasize the power in both the bat and its owner.  While "Light Tower Power" by Jon Sindall was very short, it made its point in a big way.  During batting practice the manager decides to take a hack himself with THOR.  What happens leaves a lasting impression.  A baseball fan who wants a quick read will enjoy this title.  Four stars out of five.

It can be found in many electronic formats at www.smashmouth.com

Short review of a short story -The Thin Line

This review will be a new format.  I recently was reading and reviewing novellas of another genres with a much shorter format than the one I use here.  I just read a short story titled The Thin Line by Eric Schmidt.  I decided to use the format on the other blog where I was a guest reviewer here for this story.  Let me know if you like this or if I should keep using the longer form for all books, no matter their length.

Synopsis:

A college student is trying to juggle the three biggest parts of college life - athletics, academics and social life - and still stay healthy and stress free.  He also has an important meet upcoming and needs to train for it.   How is going to manage them all

Rating:

3 1/2 of 5 stars

Review:

This short story about a college runner reads much like other books on young adults.  There is angst, there is a bit of romance (non-sexual, not even a kiss that is more than a peck on the cheek) and a lot of dialogue between the hero (who remains nameless in the book) and his running partner Dan.

I did like that the struggles that were followed were the athletics and the academics instead of the romance.  That was a refreshing change from the usual YA or NA story.  The running scenes, including the important meet, were a bit short as it seemed like they were over in a flash.  Either these runners were all in the class of Usain Bolt or the author shortened this parts considerably.

The ending was completely unexpected and was a nice surprise.  Until then I wasn't really into the story, but after finishing I stopped and gathered my thoughts as it all came together.  It even explained why the hero and his girlfriend(a minor character in the story) were not named.  It made the story a good read and I would recommend it for a good quick read.

As of this posting, the book is available for free in electronic format at www.smashwords.com.

Review of The Prospect - baseball short story

With the end of July and the sports buzz is about baseball's trading deadline, it is only appropriate to finish the month with a baseball story.   This is a review of the short story titled "The Prospect."

Title/Author:             

“The Prospect” by Zack Drisko

Tags: 

Baseball, fiction, short story, Dodgers

Published: 

May 9, 2012

Length:

19 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The story of a young pitcher from a small town who makes a rapid rise to the major leagues, only to suffer a cruel fate while facing the second batter in his major league debut.   This short story is written just the way it should be – tight, not many wasted words, and the reader is quickly engrossed with Austin Colt, the young man whose journey to fame is swift.

The reader will also be feeling much of the elation, confusion and apprehension that any young adult would feel in Austin’s situation.  Do I sign the contract or go to college?   Will I be good enough to face professional hitters?   What will others think of me?   All of these issues are faced by Austin and the reader will be hanging onto every word to see what he will do next.

How Austin’s journey ends felt like a letdown, however. While the years fly by in the last few pages of the story, this isn’t to say the story ends badly or that the ending is poorly written.  Indeed, the reader will still have that connection to Austin and his inner struggles.  I just closed the book feeling like it was a reality check instead of a young man living out his dream.   I believe that was what the author was trying to relay to readers.  I just prefer a different type of story for this type of premise.  Nonetheless, it was still an enjoyable quick read that any baseball fan will enjoy.

 

Did I skim?

No      

Did I feel connected to the characters?  

Yes.  Every kid who puts on a glove or swings a bat dreams of being a major league player and I was no different.  Through Austin’s story, I felt like I was living that dream.

Pace of the story: 

Quick. As expected in a short story, there wasn’t a lot of time to waste.  At times it felt too quick – much like how Austin was feeling during his rise to the majors.

Positives: 

The writer covered a lot of ground with knowledge of baseball strategy, pitching, contract negotiations with young prospects and even medical knowledge.   That is very impressive to put together in such a short package.

Negatives:

The only problem I had was the dash through the minor leagues was truly experienced.  In the story, his experience in Albuquerque, the AAA affiliate for the Dodgers, was a two sentence paragraph.  It felt like he was there not to play for the Isotopes, but instead just to be told by coaches he was going to the majors.  That was a big disconnect with the rest of the story.

Do I recommend? 

Yes, for any baseball fan

 

Book Format Read: 

Ebook (Kindle)

Author Media Links:

http://zackdrisko.com

http://facebook.com/zackdrisko

Product link:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Prospect-ebook/dp/B0081VX57U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1375319345&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Prospect