We all have a role in bringing reading back

Half of all Americans under 44 did not read a book last year, according to Susan Jacoby, the author of a new book on anti-intellectualism in America. She was interviewed earlier in the week on WNYC.

Books Read

The books we've read.

Summer of '49. David Halberstam
Promise Me. Harlen Coben
Tipping Point. Malcolm Gladwell
A History of the World in Six Glasses. Tom Standage
Pistol. The Life of Pete Maravich. Mark Kriegel
Blind Side. Michael Lewis
A Magnificent Catastrophe
Forever. Pete Hamill
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Bill Bryson
Outliers. Malcolm Gladwell
Moonwalking with Einstein, Joshua Foer
Lincoln and His Generals, Kenneth Williams
Over Time, Frank Deford
The Big Short, Michael Lewis
The Execution Channel, Ken McLeod
One Shot, Lee Child
Howard Cosell, The Man, the Myth and the Transformation of American Sports; Mark Ribowsky
Open, An Autobiography;  Andrew Agassi
Await Your Reply, Daniel Chaon
Lone Survivor;  Marcus Luttrell
The Art of Fielding; Chad Harbach
City of Thieves; David Benioff
Unbroken; Laura Hillenbrand
Over Time; My Life as a Broadcaster; Frank Deford
A Civil War; Army-Navy, A year Inside Football's purist rivalry; John Feinstein
Trust Your Eyes; Barclay Linwood
The Shadow Factory; James Bamford
Six Guys from Hackensack; George Kirsch
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian; Sherman Alexie
Devil in the White City; Erik Larson
The Last Newspaperman; Mark Di Ionno
In the Garden of Beasts; Erik Larson
The Boys in the Boat; Daniel James Brown
Green on Blue; Elliot Ackerman
Snowman; Jo Nesbo
The Geography of Bliss; One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World; Eric Weiner
The Big Finish; James W. Hall
Black Mass; Whitey Bulger, the FBI and a Devil's Deal.  By Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill
Spy Secrets that Can Save Your Life; by Jason Hanson.
In the Heart of Everything that Is; The Untold Story of Red Cloud, an American Legend; by Bob Drury
The New New Thing; A Silicon Valley Story; by Michael Lewis
Ghost Soldiers; Hampton Sides
Foreign Agent; Brad Thor
Last Days of Night; Graham Moore
The Secret Game; Scott Ellsworth
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck;  Mark Manson

This is great

I bet the girls book club has nothing like this...

Lets keep it that way, never share your password:) Don't even let them know this site exists....

Pat

Pistol Pete YouTube videos...

If you havn't done so yet check out the Pistol Pete videos on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y5KAaercTI



He was ahead of his time.



Mike

Some "Pistol" Thoughts

To those who haven't finished the book, I'm not giving away anything here (this info is provided in the beginning, in the discussion of Press as a player). I was struck by the "markets" that gave rise to some of the "major" basketball teams in the 30's and 40's - -Fort Wayne, Rochester, Toledo, Harrisburg......I did some research and discovered some other gems, including a bunch of New Jersey teams - - the Newark Mules, the Trenton Moose, the Paterson Crescents, and the Union City Reds. Can you imagine the venues they must have played in? Stinky-socks high school gyms, armories, converted warehouses....Great stuff!

Our Logo

I want to thank Steve Ramos for designing an amazing logo for the club, soon to grace polos, hats etc. Steve is one of the most talented people I know, in addition to being my brother- in-law once removed, sort of....it's complicated. More importantly, he's a good friend and has pledged to make it to one of our meetings soon. Steve - - it's free beer and eats whenever to can break free from lax and all the other stuff you do in the community.

Inaugurating the B & BS Blog

Why a blog? Well, it's kind of a long time between drinks, in every sense. Maplewood's a small place and, if your experience has been like mine, you find yourself bumping into members at social events, picking up their kids at practice or getting bagels on a Saturday morning. And the conversation frequently turns to our most recent selection, with questions that range from those that guage progress ("Did you get your copy yet?", "How far along are you?") to those that address the merits of the book ("Isn't it slow going in the beginning"?, "What did you think of the chapter on.....?"). Anyway, my sense is that people like to talk about what they're reading as they are reading it. So, modern technology being what it is, why wait for our meeting? Granted, intenet discussion is no substitute for the golden elixir and the collegiality that accompanies the clink of our mugs, but it might just serve to enhance the experience of getting together. So I'll be posting here from time to time. Like our meetings, I expect the subject matter, though focused on books (and, in particular, the ones we nominate and read), to be a bit of a smorgasbord (a little sports, a little politics, a little "BS'). Please feel free to post your comments and ruminations, so we can get some momentum going and have some fun....All the best, Mike.