2009 Livingston Reads!
March 1 - May 31, 2009
Play Ball!
Play Ball!
ALL THE STARS CAME OUT THAT NIGHT by Kevin KingKevin King's debut novel, All The Stars Came Out That Night, is a vivid portrait of a Depression-era America written in a voice at once humorous and poetic. Set at Boston's Fenway Park on October 20, 1943 All The Stars Came Out That Night imagines a late-night baseball game bankrolled by Henry Ford, pitting Dizzy Dean's all-white all-stars against Satchel Paige's black all-stars. Not a contest waged for money or trophies, the outcome of this game carries with it both the weight of a historic barring of blacks from baseball the promise of vidication and redemption.
THE FINAL SEASON: FATHERS, SONS AND ONE LAST SEASON IN A CLASSIC AMERICAN BALLPARK by Tom Stanton Growing up in the 60's and 70's, Tom Staton lived for his Detroit Tigers. When Tiger Stadium began its 88th final season, he vowed to attend all 81 home games in order to explore his attachment to the place where four generations of his family have shared baseball. Join him as he encounters idols, cojures decades past, and discovers the mysteries of a park where Cobb and Ruth played. Come along and sit beside Al Kaline on the dugout bench, eat popcorn with Elmore Leonard... By the autumn of his odyssey, Stanton comes to realize that his anguish isn't just about his dad's mortality, for the heart of his story is the love between fathers and sons--a theme that resonates with baseball fans of all ages.
Livingston Reads is a “One Book, One Community” project offered by the six Livingston County Libraries (Brighton, Fowlerville, Hamburg, Hartland, Howell and Pinckney), and is a program to encourage residents to read for pleasure, to create community through reading, and to promote the exploration of ideas, knowledge and the fun of that All American Sport, baseball! Now in its fifth year, we hope to present the Livingston County libraries as centers for culture, entertainment and enlightenment, and to position our libraries as leaders in promoting the joy of reading.
This year, we have two book selections; nonfiction and fiction. Our nonfiction selection is The Final Season: Fathers, Sons and One Last Season in a Classic American Ballpark by Michigan Author Award winner, Tom Stanton. This is the story of how he attended every game of the final season of the Old Tiger Stadium; and explores his feelings for baseball, Tiger Stadium, and his love for his father; who introduced him to this most American of sports. Our fiction selection is All the Stars Came Out that Night by Kevin King. This tells of a Depression Era ball game promoted by Henry Ford between the Dizzy Dean’s all-white all-stars and Satchel Paige’s black all-stars; a time when ball ballplayers were banned from the sport.
Livingston Reads will run from March 1 through May 31, 2000 and copies of the books will be available at each of the six participating libraries. Each library will have programs that reflect on the themes of these books. For more information, please check out our website at http://www.livingstonreads.org/. Events are listed under a link on the left hand side of the page. Or leave your impressions of the books on our links to the authors' blogs.
This year, we have two book selections; nonfiction and fiction. Our nonfiction selection is The Final Season: Fathers, Sons and One Last Season in a Classic American Ballpark by Michigan Author Award winner, Tom Stanton. This is the story of how he attended every game of the final season of the Old Tiger Stadium; and explores his feelings for baseball, Tiger Stadium, and his love for his father; who introduced him to this most American of sports. Our fiction selection is All the Stars Came Out that Night by Kevin King. This tells of a Depression Era ball game promoted by Henry Ford between the Dizzy Dean’s all-white all-stars and Satchel Paige’s black all-stars; a time when ball ballplayers were banned from the sport.
Livingston Reads will run from March 1 through May 31, 2000 and copies of the books will be available at each of the six participating libraries. Each library will have programs that reflect on the themes of these books. For more information, please check out our website at http://www.livingstonreads.org/. Events are listed under a link on the left hand side of the page. Or leave your impressions of the books on our links to the authors' blogs.
Please join us and the other Livingston County Libraries at our upcoming events!
