Player Statistics - August Toppler Reporting Thread

[Janice, Moderator]

List your home runs here. Link you book and tell us how it fit the theme.

[Almeta]

Finished Blockade Billy, Stephen King, which also included a short story called Morality. This is a story of Blockade Billy, a professional ball player for a New Jersey team; a story practically erased from history until Stephen King interviewed one of the team's former coaches.

[Lanelle]

I finished Love Bats Last. The main character is a (fictional) major league baseball player for the San Francisco Giants. For me, the best part of the book was the female main character's best friend trying to explain the rules of baseball to her. I thought that was very smart of the author to do. Not too many romance readers are knowledgeable in baseball :)

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished The Journey Home which was unfortunately not a "Home" run. It was a poignant story about a woman with Alzheimer's, remembering her husband.

[Lara]

I read Cursed which I selected since my home town is Chicago, which has two baseball teams that have had supposed curses. As a bonus, a character notes that an office he is visiting has a view of the stadium of the San Diego Padres.

[Ava Catherine]

I read Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of A Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator with the reference to home runs and home plate in the title.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Hit my first home run!! I read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which has home in the title (home run, home plate, home team...). I really enjoyed it and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. I plan to continue with the series and see the movie soon too.

[Ava Catherine]

I read Snow in August by Pete Hamill, which is set in NYC in 1947 when Jackie Robinson was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Baseball (the Dodgers) and Robinson are big themes in this book. It is a lovely book about how an eleven year old boy and a Jewish rabbi are brought together.

[Sam F]

I just finished Out of Orange: A Memoir by Cleary Wolters. It relates to the theme given the number of 'outs' in baseball and Orange is one of the colours for at 3 teams in the MLB. An interesting follow-up read to the book Orange is the New Black.

[Bryn]

Got a home run. I finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It fits with the theme because of the curse of the Bambino. Haha. I tried to think of a way to fit it in for like a week.

[Lanelle]

I just finished my second book, Dinosaur Planet by Anne McCaffrey. It relates to the theme because the Colorado Rockies' mascot is a dinosaur. It is such a good story. I'm trying to decide whether to read the sequel or not. (I probably will.)

[Almeta]

Finished Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston, just before bed time last night,

Hank, the protagonist, is a big baseball fan. He played Little League and Junior Varsity ball and then just when scouts were really interested in him, an injury ended his career. Now, he is in real trouble with a variety of thugs, but through it all he keeps up with the season's scores of his favorite professional teams:. The San Francisco (his home town) Giants (at one time from New York) and the New York (where he lives now) Mets, being two of them. While the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves vie for position. All of them making headlines in the midst of his personal chaos.

Very tense action packed, excellent read! Ordered the next in the series immediately.

[Debra]

Colorado Rockies' mascot is a dinosaur so I read Dinosaur Planet. At first I got confused about all the characters and some of the sci-fi wasn't for me, but then I got into it and really enjoyed it. I love the dinosaur stuff, always have. Will be reading the sequel because the first ends with a bit of a cliffhanger.

Lanelle, I bet you'll read the sequel, too!

[Lara]

Debra, I love the classic McCaffrey books.

[Lara]

Last night I finished , which does have a game in it. However, it is a game of survival, rather different from baseball. It's the second book in the series, and I enjoyed this one more than the first.

[Lanelle]

Debra wrote: "Lanelle, I bet you'll read the sequel, too!"

*grin* I've already started it.

[Ava Catherine]

I read Margaret the First (for the reference to first base in the title).

[Almeta]

I read When Rain Clouds Gather (game delayed because of rain).

Today's Houston Astros versus Baltimore Orioles game has a possibility of a delay or rain-out. "It's expected to be 86° F and with a 61% chance of rain and 9 MPH wind blowing out in Baltimore at 1:35 PM ET. Showers and thunderstorms may lead to an extended delay in Baltimore Sunday afternoon. A light breeze will blow across the diamond from right to left."

[Casceil]

I read Shoeless Joe, the book that inspired the movie "Field of Dreams." An Iowa corn farmer hears a voice telling him, "If you build it, he will come," with the "he" being Shoeless Joe. The farmer builds a baseball field on his farm. The farmer has many odd adventures as he drives to Vermont, where he collects J.D. Salinger, and together they hunt down "Moonlight Graham," who played one inning with the New York Giants back in the day. The book has many magical moments, and is all about baseball.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I finished A Monster Calls with 3 minutes to spare!! Woot! The book was chosen because of the word Monster, which represents the green monster from the Boston Red Sox.

[Bryn]

I also just finished A Monster Calls chosen because of Boston Red Sox's green monster mascot. Totally stole the idea from Kristie. Thanks! Hahah.

[Lara]

Just on time I finished listening to Rookie Privateer, which I chose as a new, young player is called a rookie.

[Lynn]

I read Red Rising

I know very little about Baseball (I'm from the UK and we don't play / watch it over here), so I went with one of the few teams I know - The Red Sox (which because of this Toppler realised they are actually called Boston Red Sox)

Red Sox -> Red Rising

[Amanda (Mandy)]

I finished Follow You Home for home base or home run. I finished it just in time. It was an interesting, yet disturbing story. The character development could have used some work. The story was suspenseful and an interesting premise. However, I found I wanted to know what happened, but not so much about the characters themselves.

[Trudy]

I finished The Strike, with a clear link between the book's title and baseball. The main character was a preteen boy in 1980s India. The most interesting aspect of the book, to me, was the glimpse into a very complex Indian culture. I like that there are multiple words for family relationships, though it was confusing! It gives a sense of the comparative importance of extended family in the Indian culture.

[Lori Z]

Yay! I hit a home run with Bats and Bones. I finished it late last night. I chose this book for the word bats, as in baseball bats. It also is part of my yearly challenge. It was a quick fun cozy mystery about a murder mystery at a campground. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and plan to continue with the series. It even had some good camping tips at the end of each chapter, although I probably won't use them as I'm more of a hotel person then a camper, lol.

[Susan]

Home run with Dial C For Chihuahua in honor of the minor league baseball team, the El Paso Chihuahuas. This one is what I believe is called a "cozy mystery", the first book in a series of mysteries featuring a talking Chihuahua.

Pepe is a former pampered pooch that is abandoned by his celebrity owner when he is no longer in style. His new owner adopts him from a shelter and discovers he can talk - though only to her. Like most real life Chihuahuas, Pepe believes he's tougher than he is and insists on helping her solve the murder they happen upon.

It was cute and a very quick read. I'm not sure it was cute enough to start me on the hunt for the rest of the series though. And you all know how I get about starting a series...

[Kristie, Moderator]

Bryn wrote: "I also just finished A Monster Calls chosen because of Boston Red Sox's green monster mascot. Totally stole the idea from Kristie. Thanks! Hahah."

Glad it worked out for you! :)

[Cherie]

I struck out before finishing my book, but I loved it! I read the same book as the one posted by Casceil.

I want to thank Jmom for making it the "right time" for me to finally read it. It was definitely a home run for me!

[Janice, Moderator]

Does that mean you finished your book before the toppler finished? Or did you "strike out" and not finish it in time?

[Cherie]

I did not finish in time, Janice. I had 29 pages to finish before my time at bat ran out.

[Janice, Moderator]

Bummer! So close.

[Janice, Moderator]

Badges have been posted!

[Kristie, Moderator]

Thanks, Janice! Excellent badge! :)

[Lanelle]

The badge is great, Janice. Thank you.

[Trudy]

Fantastic toppler and fantastic badge! Thanks!

[Almeta]

Janice wrote: "Badges have been posted!"


Janice wrote: ""

[Janice, Moderator]

This girl is on fire! Hehehe!