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| Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football by John Urschel and Louisa ThomasWhat it's about: John Urschel's adventures in academia (he's currently pursuing a PhD in mathematics at MIT) and athletics (he was a Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman for three seasons).
Read it for: Urschel's infectious enthusiasm for his disparate passions.
Want a taste? "So often, people want to divide the world into two. Matter and energy. Wave and particle. Athlete and mathematician. Why can't something (or someone) be both?" |
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K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches
by Tyler Kepner
What it is: a lively history exploring the origins and evolution of baseball's ten major pitch types.
Why pitches? New York Times national baseball writer Tyler Kepner argues that "pitches are the DNA of baseball [and that] the pitcher controls everything."
Featuring: more than 300 interviews with coaches and players (including 22 Hall of Famers); a gripping discussion of science's role in pitching.
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Full count : the education of a pitcher
by David Cone
A Mets and Yankees All-Star pitcher shares lessons from the World Series and beyond in this essential memoir for baseball fans everywhere. 100,000 first printing.
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From scratch : a memoir of love, Sicily, and finding home
by Tembi Locke
An actress and TEDx speaker describes how her professional chef husband's Sicilian family didn't initially approve of him marrying a black American woman and the three summers she spent with them after he succumbed to cancer. 50,000 first printing.
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Books You Might Have Missed
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| Don't Let Me Down by Erin HosierWhat it's about: how the music of the Beatles shaped author Erin Hosier's complicated relationship with her evangelical father, Jack, during her fraught coming-of-age in 1980s small-town Ohio.
What sets it apart: This evocative two-part memoir, structured as sides of a record (Side One is about Jack, while Side Two is about the author herself), includes chapter headings named after Beatles songs.
Reviewers say: "A vividly rhythmic chronicle of reconciliation couched with a 1960s rock-'n'-roll soundtrack" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir by Victoria RiskinStarring: King Kong star and original scream queen Fay Wray, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Riskin (It Happened One Night), who were happily married until Riskin's 1955 death.
About the author: Writer/producer Victoria Riskin pays affectionate tribute to her parents in this nostalgic portrait of Hollywood's early days.
Read it for: a refreshingly scandal-free Hollywood love story. |
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| Pounding the Rock: Basketball Dreams and Real Life in a Bronx High School by Marc SkeltonWhat it is: a heartwarming and plainspoken account of the Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School Panthers' 2016-2017 championship basketball season, written by Panthers coach Marc Skelton.
Why you might like it: Though the tiny Bronx school is located in the poorest congressional district in America, its basketball team has an almost 100% graduation rate thanks to its players' determination and Skelton's drive to impart skills both on and off the court. |
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| The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary... by W.K. StrattonWhat it's about: Commemorating the 50th anniversary of 1969 revisionist western The Wild Bunch, this engaging making-of delves into director Sam Peckinpah's influences and filmmaking process, including the then-rare decision to cast Mexican actors for the film's Mexican roles.
Why it matters: Released during a tumultuous era marked by riots, assassinations, and the Vietnam War (not to mention Hollywood's overhaul of its archaic ratings system), The Wild Bunch signaled a shift toward more realistic depictions of onscreen violence. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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