lindapanzo's 2016 Spring Training read

It's that time of year, the best time of the year, the start of Spring Training. Now Cubs pitchers and catchers haven't reported officially yet but some places have. Kyle Schwarber homered and broke a car's windshield.

Welcome to the annual Spring Training read. What baseball books are you reading?

I'm hoping to read (and, as usually, will probably be too optimistic):

--The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn--COMPLETED
--The Echoing Green by Joshua Prager
--The Game Must Go On by John Klima--COMPLETED
--The Cardinals Way by Howard Megdal

Up to 2 or 3 others, to be determined. I'm usually eager to read some new baseball books but haven't seen too many of interest this year. I do have a pair of baseball ER books that are overdue, so there's that.

Yay! I've got this thread starred. I'm not sure what I'll read yet.

Hooray for Spring Training! Go Cubbies!!

On the wiki...

Hi Terri, Mark, and Jim. Good to see you here.

Two sure signs of spring in this part of Chicagoland are (1) the Dog n Suds Drive In opening for the season (one of them opens on Feb 26) and (2) Cubs pitchers and catchers report to spring training. The second one isn't official yet, but many have.

>1 lindapanzo: I was able to check out an Overdrive e-book of The Boys of Summer, so if you start out with that one, Linda, I'll be reading it with you.

>6 tymfos: Yes, Terri, I did start it but I'm only 2 to 3 percent into it. It'll be nice to have someone else reading it. I've read other books about the Brooklyn Dodgers but this is said to be THE book. Doris Kearns Goodwin and her team memories, if I'm remembering.

The other definite for me is: The Game Must Go On by John Klima.

The others are more iffy. The ER baseball books, for instance, depend on whether they arrive.

Happy Friday, Linda! Wow! Is it gusty out there. Glad I am sitting, at home, in my cozy spot.

Hope the work day went well.

It did though I took a late lunch and, while at the place, the lights were flickering and the restaurant door kept opening. The owner recommended having a beverage refill and waiting til the gusts died down. Finally got out to my car and it felt like the wind was going to pick it up.

I saw fences down and debris in the roadway. A tree looked like it was about ready to collapse so I hurried through.

Usually, I don't head home til later and so the wind ought to have died down by then.

Looking forward to seeing you again on Sunday, my friend. I think it's been at least two years since our last meet up and maybe three. Could that be right? I think it was when you had us over and we had Home Run Inn and were watching a Hawks playoff game.

Terri, I've finished the mystery I've been reading and will now focus on The Boys of Summer. Currently, I'm 15% into it.

Roger Kahn is one of the top baseball writers and, alas, until now, I've read only one of his other books. The Era, 1947-1957.

In this one, there's a lot of information about his life at home but I'm finally getting into his early years at the newspaper and also covering the Brooklyn Dodgers.

I think we're in about the same place, Linda.

Happy Saturday, Linda. Hope the week went well. Looks like a nice weekend ahead.

How about that Dexter Fowler deal?

Mark, the Cubs look like they're really stockpiling good players this year. Hope they all stay healthy.

Speaking of the Cubs, for the first time in probably 20 years, we had to buy our tickets on the "single game on-sale" date but we managed to get every game we wanted. Eight games in all, evenly mixed between Fridays and Sundays. First game is May 6th.

Terri, I'm up to about 25 percent in the Kahn book now. It's interesting to hear about his days as a copy boy and his early days as a reporter. Even though he knew baseball, he didn't know how to "write baseball."

I've gotten halfway through The Boys of Summer. During the first half, Kahn talks of growing up with the Dodgers and also of his days as a New York newspaper reporter travelling with the team.

In the second half, he's meeting with the old time Brooklyn Dodgers. First off, pitcher Clem Labine.

Enjoying it.

I'm sitting in the college parking lot facing the practice field, waiting for my son, reading The Boys of Summer and watching the college baseball team practice. Nice.

>15 tymfos: That is a nice image.

I'd been hearing for a long time how this is a great baseball book. In the first half, I didn't think so but I love the oral history approach in the second half, hearing about how the players turned out after their playing careers are over. Enjoying hearing them think back but hearing what they thought of others and the game is quite interesting.

I'm at about 70% in, reading Carl Furillo's comments at the time the book was written was quite interesting. Not just about the game but in terms of what he was doing at the time, in terms of later historical events. It sounds like he might have been a bit more prickly than the others.

I'm not quite that far. I'm on the chapter when he visits Preacher Roe.

I think I read that a little earlier today. We're pretty close.

I was thinking I'd finish today but I just had my rescheduled birthday dinner. Maybe finish tomorrow.

Hi, Linda! I just keeping thinking about those warm temps coming. It gets me through the day.

King Leopold's Ghost has been excellent. Talk about a disaster book. This one is both astounding and appalling. A Must Read.

>19 msf59: I'll have to look for that one. The Lost Garden arrived today--I'm looking forward to that one.

Still trying to decide what other baseball books to read this month, once I finish the Brooklyn Dodgers book.

My e-book of Boys of Summer was driving me crazy -- I read on the phone app when I'm out, the tablet when home, and they weren't syncing. The first chapters are so long, it was impossible to find my place.

I was able to get a hard-copy book at the college library. I'm enjoying reading that much more. It's the kind of book where I want to really turn the pages . . .

I watched a Pirates spring training game today. It ended in a tie. Only in spring training . . .

I'm trying to decide what baseball book to read next.

My reading focus this month is on the World War 2 home front so I might go with The Game Must Go On.

I am happy to have found this thread! I do have some baseball books in my TBR pile though I don't know if I will manage to get through more than one before summer. I am not a fast reader and am trying to keep up with a few other challenges, as well. But my number one book that I am looking forward to is called Up, Up, & Away by Jonah Keri (the crazy touchstone links to Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I am just going to ignore that) It is about my late, lamented Montreal Expos (I am originally from Montreal) and I have heard great things about this book.

I also have a bio of Derek Jeter that I am looking forward to.

My Toronto Blue Jays will go all t he way this year; that's my prediction.... ;-)

>23 jessibud2: Hello and welcome. I never saw any games in Montreal but saw a few Blue Jays games. We got a hotel room overlooking the field and watched a game from there and also saw a regular game.

This past Tuesday, I had a day off of work and was glad to see a ballgame on TV. The Blue Jays were playing and I was happy to see one of my favorite Cubs players, Darwin Barney, playing for Toronto now.

Oh good! He was a great addition at the end of last year but I wasn't sure if he\d be back.

I have to say, Jose Bautista is a fun player to watch but he has totally lost my respect when, at the beginning of spring training, he issued what amounted to an ultimatum to the club, that after this, his final year of contract, if he isn't offered a massive, obscene amount of money to stay, he won't. Geez. Why is it always about the money? Isn't he already making enough? How much is enough? I love baseball, but the money for so many pro players is so disgustingly obscene, that it makes me want to just turn it off, sometimes.

Ok, end of rant. I really can't wait for the season to begin

Cubs have their Opening Day on April 4th, one month from today!! They play the Angels. Sadly, at 9:05 pm, Chicago time.

Oh and here's a listing of some of the brand new baseball books.

http://sabr.org/content/sabr-bookshelf-winter-2016

Now that I've finished The Boys of Summer. I'm starting on The Game Must Go On by John Klima. I think I'm going to like it. In the foreward, he says he's read far too many baseball books by authors who don't know a thing about World War 2 and far too many WW2 books by authors who don't know anything about baseball.

I've read plenty on both topics and that's always bothered me so I'm eager to read a book about baseball during the war by someone who knows both.

I'm trying to decide which baseball book to read next. I have a bunch on my shelf, but there's a book called The Cellar Dwellers (no touchstone) in the college library that intrigues me. It's about the dozen worst team seasons in baseball, going way back in history. It's not in LT at all, but has good reviews on Amazon.

Possibilities on my shelf:
(there are so many, I really should read one of these)
non-fiction:
I Had a Hammer by Hank Aaron
It's Good to Be Alive by Roy Campanella
56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports by Kostya Kennedy
A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency by Brad Snyder
Josh Gibson: A Life in the Negro Leagues by William Brashler
27 Men Out: Baseball's Perfect Games by Michael Coffey
The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca, and the Shot Heard Round the World by Joshua Prager
We Would Have Played for Nothing by Fay Vincent
Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan by Scott Simon
Remembering Harry Kalas by Rich Wolfe
Phillies Confidential by Gary Matthews
Field of Screams: Haunted tales from the Baseball Diamond, the Locker Room, and Beyond by Mickey Bradley.

novels:
Murder at Ebbets Field by Troy Soos
Under the Baseball Moon by John H. Ritter

Some of the non-fiction books dovetail with Boys of Summer. Not sure I want more of that now. Not sure I want a memoir or bio. Novels, well I have too many already that I plan to read this month.

I might go with Field of Screams, just to read something different. Or maybe I should save that one for October?

>27 lindapanzo: Linda, I like your logic for choosing your next book. I also like what you quoted from Klima talking about too many baseball books by authors who don't know a thing about World War 2 and far too many WW2 books by authors who don't know anything about baseball.

Do you have any advice/suggestions about what I should read next? I've summed up the obvious candidates in the post above, though there are others I could get via library sources.

>29 tymfos: Terri, I'll actually had a few of the books on your list to my TBR. The Roy Campanella one, for instance.

I own, but haven't read The Echoing Green and, in fact, that's one I'm considering to read soon, along with The Greatest Ballpark Ever, which is about Ebbets Field. I think I'd like to stay in that era for awhile.

In my WW2 book, I was just reading this morning about how desperate organized baseball was for players during the war. I'd heard about the one-armed Pete Gray and he's a focus of the book, along with Hank Greenberg and a few others. One person mentioned was the 15-year old (and still youngest player ever) Joe Nuxhall. I think I'd like to see if there are any books about him. Interestingly, he made it back to the majors many years later and had a long MLB career and a really long career as a baseball announcer.

I love the Troy Soos baseball mysteries and have read them all. I've read and enjoyed the Scott Simon book. I think I also read the Hank Aaron autobiography though I'd have to doublecheck. Hmmm, it says I haven't read it though I could've sworn I had. I've got long-running books read records but can't swear that the older records are complete.

With baseball books, it always feels like, no matter how many I read, I find way more than I can ever get to. I do like to read about the 1940's through the 1970's though.

>20 lindapanzo: Funny, I know a bit more about football during WWII than I do about baseball. I know the Eagles and Steelers combined teams during the war. It was mentioned in Art Rooney's book, and I have a book about the combined team -- the Steagles(?) I think they were called -- on my Overdrive wishlist. But I know little about how baseball dealt with the war, except that I know many major-league careers were abruptly interrupted by military service.

I have a baseball ER book that I need to read and review so I might read that one next, about a baseball scout. A Scout’s Report by George Genovese.

At this point, I'm about a third of the way through the WW2 book on baseball.

If I can finish the WW2 book, the baseball scout book, and maybe a fourth shorter baseball book, it will have been a good spring training reading season for me.

>28 tymfos: - I read the Hank Aaron book from your list many years ago and really enjoyed it.

Apart from the book I plan to read on the Expos (Up, Up & Away, the touchstone does't work), I have 4 other baseball books on my shelf at the moment, 3 of which I have not yet read.

All I Thought About Was Baseball edited by Humber and St. James
Triumph and Tragedy by Stephen Jay Gould (touchstone screwy again)
First Class Citizenship - the Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson
and Gift of the Bambino by Jerry Amernic (what??! the touchstone for this isn't even close!). I read and loved this one (a novel) a few years ago

>1 lindapanzo: Cool thread! I am glad to have baseball returning soon.

Another couple to consider are Throwback by Jason Kendall and You Gotta Have Wa by Robert Whiting.

Just realized I hadn't posted this here.

The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn (read both e-book and hard copy)

Roger Kahn's baseball classic starts off with memories of his childhood growing up as a baseball fan in Brooklyn, and eventual entry into journalism, starting as a copy boy for the now-defunct New York Tribune and occasionally as a stringer for Associated Press.

Things start to get really interesting when he's assigned to cover the Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 1950's -- during the era of Jackie Robinson -- traveling with the team. The true gold comes when he looks up the members of that team years later, and explores their memories.

This is an eloquent and insightful look at our national pastime in an era of great change in our nation.

I checked out that Cellar Dweller book, but I think my son is going to wind up reading it insted of me . . .

>33 jessibud2: I'll have to check out the books on your list.

>34 brodiew2: I'm old school and have wanted to read Throwback.

>35 tymfos: Thanks, Terri. I should post mine here too.

Any interest in starting The Echoing Green sometime next week?

I've been keeping tabs on my reading since 1976. This is my 307th baseball book since then. There are probably at least that many more that I want to read.

The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn--finished on 3/5/16

This is considered to be one of the classic baseball books so it was surprising that I'd never read it. It's been sitting on my shelf for years and I finally got to it.

In a nutshell, the first half--in which the author talks about his childhood growing up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and of his years covering the Brooklyn Dodgers as a newspaper reporter in the 1950s--was just ok for me.

The second half, in which he talks to many of the old Brooklyn Dodgers, including Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Pee Wee Reese, in the late 1960s was tremendous. The reader learns about what happened to them, what they thought of their teammates, and how they got their start in baseball, among many other things.

I knew, for instance, that Roy Campanella was paralyzed in a car accident and ended up a quadriplegic so hearing his story was fascinating. The same was true for Carl Furillo, who sued at the end of his career because he was released when on the disabled list and so was shunned and became bitter.

A highly recommended book, though I would advise anyone reading it to stay with it til at least half way.

I'm game for trying The Echoing Green. The "Cellar Dweller" book is fun to browse through, but a little too dry for me to read cover-to-cover.

>39 tymfos: I'm about 40% through the WW2 baseball book. Hoping to finish over the weekend or Monday. I'm heading to the Loop for an opera on Sunday and don't usually bring my Kindle so that'll be a missed reading day, at least on the WW2 book.

If I'm remembering right, The Echoing Green was notable because it broke the news that the Giants had someone in the scoreboard relaying signs to their batter, such as Bobby Thomson when he hit his famous homer.

>40 lindapanzo: Yes, that's exactly what I recall that I read about that book.

I'm really enjoying The Game Must Go On by John Klima.

I'd always assumed that the first "Green Light Letter" from FDR gave organized baseball the go-ahead to play baseball throughout the war. I never realized that they need such approval before every single season and that it got harder and harder to get the approval each year.

Very informative book, yet personalized by focusing on a handful of people, such as star Hank Greenberg, one-armed outfielder, Pete Gray, and Billy Southworth Jr, the son of the St Louis Cardinals manager.

Occasional typos and odd phrasings bug me a tad though. At lunch, I was reading about Pete Gray's first at bat in the big leagues and how the opposing manager was "sitting on the edge of his pants." Surely, he meant sitting on the edge of his seat.

42 LOL! I'd love to see how the "edge of his pants" pose would work!

Finished my second baseball book of Spring Training!!

The Game Must Go On by John Klima - finished on 3/13/16

I've read other books about baseball during World War 2 but this is probably the best of the bunch. Plenty of books talk about the war and mention baseball. Some books talk about baseball and mention the war. This one skillfully weaves the two together by focusing on star Hank Greenberg, one-armed outfielder, Pete Gray, and the son of a major league manager who didn't make it to the majors but was a bomber pilot.

Besides the athletes' experiences in the military during the war, there was quite a bit of talk about the issues owners faced in trying to field a competitive team.

I also knew that Commissioner Landis asked FDR whether baseball should go on during the war. I never realized that each subsequent season was in doubt, until baseball got the OK.

An excellent book.

I started The Echoing Green this evening. So far, I'm enjoying it.

I'll start it in the morning, Terri. Looking forward to it.

Linda, I may put The Echoing Green on the back burner for a while. I found a book at Ollies that fits both baseball and this month's travel focus of the Nonfiction readers thread: I Don't Care if we Never Get Back, which is about visiting 30 ball parks in 30 days, or something like that. It looks like it might be fun. I do intend to resume The Echoing Green, or even read the books simultaneously, since they are very different from each other.

>47 tymfos: I'm reading The Echoing Green and a few others and so probably won't move too far too fast.

Just finished I don't care if we never get back while watching March Madness. Quick easy read, I'm still processing my thoughts on it. Back to The Echoing Green.

>49 tymfos: - It isn't non-fiction but your title reminded me of a terrific book I read years ago by Darryl Brock called If I Never Get Back. It's a great time travel story and I just loved it. There is a sequel which I also own Two in the Field but haven't read yet.

Incidentally, the other day I was in the bookstore and bought a new book by Buck Martinez called Change Up (the touchstone for this is totally wrong). Martinez was a catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays for 6 years, went on to manage for a couple of years and has been the play-by-play commentator for the Blue Jays tv coverage for the past many years. I love this guy and was pleased to see this book

>50 jessibud2: That's what I thought of, too, when I saw Terri's title. I know I read the Darryl Brock time travel book and thought this was the name.

Different books, but Terri's book was been on my LT "Christmas Wishlist" for awhile.

Have you read the next book after If I Never Get Back? I think it's called Two in the Field.

I Don't Care If We Never Get Back by Ben Blatt and Eric Brewster

A baseball stat nerd, Ben, talks his best friend, Eric, into a frenzied 30-day tour of all the 30 major-league ballparks. (Eric doesn't like baseball, but says he'll go to "see America" -- really, he's going to help his friend.)

The pronouns in this book made me a bit dizzy. The story is told by the two who made the trip. Joint activity is told with first-person plural pronouns ("we" did this together) but discussion of individual acts is done third-person ("Eric" drove, "he" got pulled over for speeding; "Ben" made a mistake; "he" was upset).

I can't help but think that Ben is either OCD or is on the autism spectrum somewhere, or darn close to it; his insistence on particular "rules" for the trip to "count" (being present for every inning of every game on the trip, for instance, or even that the trip was a failure if not done within 30 days) definitely showed an obsessive streak beyond the norm. Heck, the whole idea of this trip was pretty far beyond the norm. Frankly, it wasn't safe (too much driving, too fast, with too little sleep) and it really wasn't enjoyable. It turned Ben's beloved game of baseball into a chore -- kind of like when I get too caught up in reading challenges and, as a result, don't enjoy my books; but with a lot more effort, inconvenience, expense, and risk.

This was a quick, easy read, with a chapter for each ballpark (and the trip to get there from the previous park). I enjoyed some of the details in the ballpark descriptions.

>52 tymfos: - Thanks, I think I'll pass on that one. Did they make it to Toronto's SkyDome (officially called The Rogers Centre but most of us still call it by its original name)? It really is a cool stadium, especially being in your seat as the roof opens or closes

>51 lindapanzo: - Yes I read the first book and LOVED it but though I own the second one, I haven't read it yet. I really ought to pull it out now!

>53 jessibud2: For a number of years, my goal was to try to get to all the MLB ballparks. I didn't quite succeed but got to most of them. There seem to be quite a few books on visiting all the parks.

Terri, I am plodding along with The Echoing Green. I think a better title would've been The History of Cheating in Baseball.

It should be an interesting topic and, don't get me wrong, it has its moments, but I'm thinking that, so far, it's just an average baseball book.

Just saw this. RIP, Joe

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/joe-garagiola-obit-1.3505140

Hadn't seen that. Sad news...

Just finished Jeter Unfiltered by Derek Jeter. This is a hard cover book, mostly photos in both colour and black and white, with mostly very short captions or paragraphs, about Jeter's final year playing major league baseball. He is one of the only members of the Yankees to have played his entire career (20 years) with the same team, and to have reached the milestone of 3000 hits. Jeter is also, in my opinion, one of the few players of class, that is, a decent human being both on and off the field. In this age of baseball being more a business and less a real game of *fun*, and with so many spoiled, egotistical and money greedy players, the Derek Jeters of the game are almost non-existent any more. I was never a Yankees fan but was always a Jeter fan. The respect paid him by fans and ball clubs throughout the entire baseball system during his final year, speaks volumes about the man.

This is a coffee table type of book but easily read in one sitting

I was sorry to hear the news about Joe Garagiola. Always liked him and his sense of humor as an announcer (too young to have seen him play).

Still plodding away on The Echoing Green but it's getting better as the author is talking more about Branca and Thomson and not just the concept of cheating.

>58 lindapanzo: - Your mention of Branca reminded me of a terrific audiobook I listened to a few years ago, by Ralph Branca, called A Moment in Time. I think he narrated it, too, but I can't remember for sure. Anyhow, it was excellent.

Another touchstone miss....

>59 jessibud2: I thought I'd read that one, but I hadn't. I do own a Kindle copy and definitely need to get to A Moment in Time soon.

>60 lindapanzo: - This is what the touchstone SHOULD lead to: http://www.amazon.com/Moment-Time-American-Baseball-Heartbreak-ebook/dp/B004T4KQ...

;-p

I've really hardly gotten started on The Echoing Green. Just not much reading time.

I've still barely started The Echoing Green, and I want to get to my Autism Awareness Month reads for April. (The thread is up.)

I think I'm going to just put it back on the shelf and try again some other time. Maybe wait until next year?

Thanks for hosting the Spring Training thread again this year, LInda! I'm glad to have finally read The Boys of Summer.

Glad everyone could join me here. I'll probably talk about baseball books here from time to time.

Baseball starts for real on Sunday/Monday. I always take off on opening day to watch all the games I can.

Terri, I am about halfway through that book. I like it but it's not grabbing my interest all that much. I'll certainly finish it but it's not my main book to read at this point.

I just read about this this morning. Ken Burns' 2-part, 4-hour doc on Jackie Robinson, on PBS tonight and tomorrow!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/john-doyle-jackie-robinson-doc-de...

I was hoping to watch the Jackie Robinson special but tonight is the Cubs Home Opener. I'll probably watch it on demand soon.

Thanks for the reminder.

Every so often, I try to read a bit of The Echoing Green. Halfway through and I'm finally up to the start of the "big day" the day of the third game of the pennant playoff.

The Echoing Green by Joshua Prager--finished on 4/16/16

The focus of this book is on the famous 1951 baseball playoff in which the New York Giants' Bobby Thomson hit a walk off home run to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers.

I was somewhat bored with the early portions dealing with the history of cheating in baseball though it was a bit more interesting when the author addressed how the Giants came up with, and implemented, their cheating system. They used a telescope and a buzzer and relayed the other team's signs to their batters, including Thomson.

The detail about the 3-game playoff series, particularly about the pivotal third game, was fascinating, not only for the game details but also as a look at the time.

Most interesting of all, though, was the portion of the book dealing with the aftermath as Thomson and pitcher Ralph Branca, who threw the pitch to Thomson, have been forever linked. How they each handled the immediate aftermath and beyond but, especially, how they handled the knowledge of the cheating scandal.

Excellent book, even if you're not a baseball fan.

After finishing the Prager book, I'm now about a third of the way through an ER book about baseball, a look a the life and baseball career of baseball scout George Genovese. At this point, I've read about his minor league career and his "cup of coffee" in the majors. At this point, he's just beginning his managerial career in the minors.

Interesting look at that baseball era (his brief major league call-up was in 1950) but most, so far, has focused on the 1940s.

>67 lindapanzo: - Have you read Branco's autobiog, A Moment in Time? I listened to the audiobook of it and it was excellent! (touchstone wrong)

Speaking of cheating, just yesterday, one of our Toronto Blue Jays, Chris Colabello, was suspended for 80 games, with no pay, for testing positive for a banned steroid. He was one of the quality players, I thought, and it really is a pity. Why, oh why, do players do this? Why do they think they won't get caught? I thought he'd have been smarter than that. It's just so disappointing

Oops, just noticed above in >59 jessibud2:, that I mentioned the Branca book.

I am about half way through a new book, written by the Jays play by play broadcaster and former catcher, then manager, of the Jays, Buck Martinez. it's called Change Up and is about the actual game of baseball, how it has changed over the years, for better and for worse. I am really enjoying it. (touchstone wrong for this one, too. )

Happy Saturday, Linda! Another big sports night, eh? We are going out for dinner and drinks, with a bunch of my work friends, including some retirees. It is usually a good time.

Go Hawks! Go Cubs!

>69 jessibud2: I put the Branca book on the top of my Kindle but will probably read about some other baseball topics first.

Enjoy, Mark. I had the Cubs on but am switching over to the Hawks game now. The other day, I stayed with the Cubs game to see Arrieta's no hitter.

I'm glad to see that you enjoyed The Echoing Green, Linda, and that it got better further in than it was in the beginning. I'll get back to it eventually -- this month, just too wrapped up in Autism Awareness and Inter-Library Loan reads with what little reading time I had.