It's How We Play the Game by Ed Stack

IT'S HOW WE PLAY THE GAME by Ed Stack is the story of the founding and growth of DICK’S Sporting Goods company. Stack begins with tales of how the company was founded in Binghamton, New York with $300 from his dad’s grandmother’s cookie jar.  Throughout, he stresses the importance of family and the impact that family members had on each other.  For example, he writes about his father’s love of sport and how he encouraged Ed to really study and analyze the game of baseball. The idea of taking care of the local community was also always important and Stack says, “[my dad] was making a difference … before I knew it was happening … my dad understood the transcendence of sports – that they can channel kids’ energies, give them focus and goals, keep them out of trouble, reshape their lives.  … He was willing to reach into his own pocket.” Stack has carried forward that legacy and frankly, shocked me with some of the statistics he cited: “In the 1999-2000 school year, 11.3 percent of public high schools in the United States did not offer interscholastic sports. By ten years later, 22 percent of public high schools – more than one in five – no longer fielded sports teams.” Of those that did, forty percent required fees from the players and their families. To raise awareness, Stack began a number of programs including the Sports Matters Initiative. This book chronicles those efforts as well as changes in the business, such as decisions to expand, and DICK’S principled relationships with landlords like Wegman’s and suppliers like Callaway. In addition, you may have read recently in The New York Times or USA Today about how DICK’S destroyed about $5 million in inventory of assault style guns in response to the shooting in Parkland, Florida. The thinking and strategy behind implementing that decision is included in this text, too. Recommended by Adam Silver, Phil Knight, Mark Kelly and others, IT'S HOW WE PLAY THE GAME is definitely worth a read, particularly in light of the shift from shareholder to stakeholder perspective amongst US businesses, as evidenced by the change in Business Roundtable’s mission statement.  

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts

FINDING DOROTHY by Elizabeth Letts is a LibraryReads choice for February 2019 which will definitely appeal to readers of historical fiction and of works by authors like Lisa Wingate, Paula McClain, and Melanie Benjamin. In Letts’ novel, Maud Gage Baum, the widow of L. Frank Baum, is in Hollywood during the 1938-39 filming of The Wizard of Oz, but the story also moves back and forth in time to recount her childhood and married years. It is a fictionalized account filled with real people and events like Maud’s early life near Syracuse, her stint as an undergrad at Cornell and times with her husband in South Dakota and Chicago. As such, the text also offers an informative look at turn of the century America and a more rural time.  In addition, there is a theme of women’s rights – due to connections to Maud’s mother who was a fairly famous suffragette, to dangers of pregnancy, and to later treatment of Hollywood actresses like the young Judy Garland.   

Booklist called Maud “a fascinating character” and I totally concur; I especially enjoyed seeing how elements of her life story may have found their way into Baum’s books. Publishers Weekly gave FINDING DOROTHY a starred review. There are many surprises and much for fans of the movie to enjoy here.

Mysteries!!!

It is holiday time and what could be more fun than sitting down by the roaring fireplace with a good mystery? First, you may want to “investigate” THE BIG BOOK OF FEMALE DETECTIVES edited by Otto Penzler.  This weighty tome (yes, it is 1136 pages!) provides a selection of over seventy short stories from Victorian times to today. More recent authors (like Marcia Muller, Sue Grafton, Faye Kellerman, Carolyn G. Hart, Sara Paretsky, Nevada Barr, Lawrence Block, S.J. Rozan, Laura Lippman, Jeffery Deaver and more) and their characters will likely be familiar to mystery fans and, if not, this collection will provide a worthy introduction. If anything, this collection could be even longer. Like any “list,” Penzler’s selections are notable for what’s missing: Nancy Drew and Miss Marple. A fun gift for mystery readers!

Speaking of guilty holiday pleasures, here’s a sampling of some “cozier” mysteries:

  

The first two titles pictured above were released in October by Crooked Lane Books, a relatively new group specializing in publishing a variety of crime fiction.  DEATH OF A RUSSIAN DOLL by Barbara Early has a very appealing cover and setting: vintage toy shop in upstate New York.  Proprietor Liz McCall is surprised to learn of her boyfriend’s Russian wife and even more shocked when Marya turns up dead (strangled with a hair dryer cord). Liz and her Dad, a former police chief, set out once again to solve a small town mystery in this humorous and fast-paced offering that will keep readers guessing.

THE HOUR OF DEATH by Jane Willan is the second in a series featuring Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn and is set in rural Wales at Gwenafwy Abbey.  This charming village mystery revolves around the suspicious death of unpopular resident Tiffany Reese, her missing painting, and a new visitor to the abbey, Lucy Penoyer who is an artist from America. The many characters, potential motives and possible alibis provide an easy-to-read escape for amateur sleuths.  

WREATH BETWEEN THE LINES (November, Beyond the Page) by Daryl Wood Gerber is a cute, holiday-themed mystery which takes place in Crystal Cove, California. Jenna Hart is busy getting the Cookbook Nook ready for the festivities when her older sister and niece arrive. There’s all kinds of family tension (sibling, parent-child, and marriage) in the background as Jenna seeks to investigate a bizarre death.  Her friend, multi-millionaire Jake, finds his guest impaled on a star and wrapped in Christmas lights. Gerber is a prolific author and Agatha award winner; here, suspects in addition to Jake (or is he perhaps the intended victim?) include Jenna’s brother-in law, a grumpy neighbor and an envious stamp collector. Light and diverting for the holidays.

THE WHISPERED WORD (late November, Kensington) by Ellery Adams is my favorite of the mystery options listed here. I have written about this series, the Secret, Book, and Scone Society, previously and continue to enjoy Adams’ numerous references to other books and authors, plus the strong bond and support which is developing between its four female protagonists, all of whom have experienced serious setbacks in their lives. In this offering, a young girl, Abilene Tyler, appears and needs help, too.  Shy and secretive, she is soon decorating, baking, and even evaluating jewelry at a new business in town. Should they trust her? What was her connection to Amanda Frye, a recently deceased customer? And was that death a suicide or homicide? At Miracle Books, Nora dabbles in bibliotherapy, saying “the unique and magical nature of books is their ability to grant us temporary escape from our reality while also providing ways to cope with that reality when we’re forced to return to it.”

Each chapter of THE WHISPERED WORD begins with a relevant quote, like these: “Great books help you understand and they help you feel understood” (from John Green) or “Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it” (from P.J. O’Rourke). For more ideas, check out the many other mystery reviews on this blog and the various mystery awards, such as the Edgar or Agatha. Enjoy these who-dun-its and be sure to let us know if you have one to recommend!!