WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.
PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.
1. What are you currently reading? Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son by Paul Dickson. When I was a little girl, Leo was such a big presence on the Chicago landscape I thought he was like a member of our family. Everybody was always talking about Leo. Everyone always had an opinion about him. In my lifetime, only Mike Ditka and Joe Maddon have come close to Leo in terms of cultural impact. But Ditka and Joe actually did what Leo just promised us -- they brought championship trophies to Chicago. So in a way, Leo has always seemed like a tragic figure to me. A big ass, massive WHAT IF?
So I'm enjoying this 350+ page book because it gives me a greater picture of the man. Before he was a big deal in Chicago, he was a big deal in New York and Los Angeles. Before he disrespected our beloved Ernie Banks, he humiliated Babe Ruth. Before he married Chicago royalty -- heiress to the Goldblatt Department Store fortune -- he was married to a movie actress and hung out with Frank Sinatra and Johnny Carson.
He's even in Bartlett's quotations for "nice guys finish last."
All that, and he was one of the winningest managers in baseball history. He's an asshole, for sure, but an entertaining one.
2. What did you recently finish reading? The Fall Girl by Marcia Clark. I was mad when I finished this book. Disappointed ... frustrated ... pissed. And here's why:
Imagine you have just sat down for a big meal. The appetizer is just OK, so you're a little worried about the main course. No need. It's delicious. Now you're looking forward to dessert, and it's crappy. Stale. That's this book. The middle was so good I almost forgot how convoluted the beginning was. Then the ending was so rushed, so derivative, that it left me sorry I picked this book up.
Marcia Clark writes well. Maybe I'll give her another chance, but not anytime soon.
3. What will you read next? I don't know.
