Well, it would seem as though I am not drawn to books about sports (that deal directly with them or just touch on them). That is probably not really surprising, but I still expected to find more than four books on my shelves! Stories I thought had something to do with sports in reality didn't. Funny how memory can be so unreliable.
Still, maybe it is better not to have too many to choose from? I did, however, find a few and have one on the way in the mail even now as I type. I'll save that "official" June read for last.
Laura Lippman's sleuth Tess Monaghan came to mind right away as she is a rower. No balls per se, but still sports. I read the first book in the series a few years ago and often think it is time to pick up the second, Charm City. Serendipity since this is how the book description begins: "Reporter-turned-p.i. Tess Monaghan loves every inch of her native Baltimore--a quirky city where baseball reigns, and homicide seems to be the second most popular sport." I really like Tess, she is a little quirky and reminds me of Stephanie Plum a little bit.
Josephine Tey's Miss Pym Disposes is set at a Physical Training College. "Miss Lucy Pym, a popular English psychologist, is guest lecturer at a physical training college. The year's term is nearly over, and Miss Pym -- inquisitive and observant -- detects a furtiveness in the behavior of one student during a final exam. She prevents the girl from cheating by destroying her crib notes. But Miss Pym's cover-up of one crime precipitates another -- a fatal "accident" that only her psychological theories can prove was really murder." I want to read more of Tey's work (and have a biography of her as well). Surely you can't beat a nice Golden Age mystery for a little summer reading, too.
The Break by Pietro Grossi has long been on my reading pile and I remembered it involved billiards. Aside loving the cover illustration for this book, it sounds really, really good. I have a feeling it is a novel that perhaps many have not heard of. "Dino is a placid, unambitious man. Living in a small provincial town, he and his wife spend their time planning journeys to faraway places - journeys they never take. Dino's only passion is billiards, and he spends his evenings in the local billiards hall honing his technique. One day, however, Dino's quiet life is interrupted - his wife falls pregnant. This the first in a series of events that shake him from his slumber and force Dino to test himself for the first time." It sounds like a 'real life' sort of story--the beauty of the everyday, which I know I sometimes forget to look for.
And Brittany Cavallaro's YA novel, A Study in Charlotte features a rugby scholarship student in Connecticut. I think the second book in the series is out, and this one sounds quite delightful, so if I can get moving on it, I will have to get my hands on the second book as well. "Jamie Watson has always been intrigued by Charlotte Holmes; after all, their great-great-grandfathers are one of the most infamous pairs in history. But the Holmes family has always been odd, and Charlotte is no exception. She's inherited Sherlock's volatility and some of his vices--and when Jamie and Charlotte end up at the same Connecticut boarding school, Charlotte makes it clear she's not looking for friends." But when murder ensues, the two find they have to rely on each other. I only wonder what her vices are . . .
I will pick one of these to start now, but I think (thank you Linda!) I have found the perfect June prompt, and without 'cheating' or changing my theme. Doris Kearns Goodwin's Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir comes highly praised and is considered a 'keeper', which by the sounds of it I think I need to own too. "Set in the suburbs of New York in the 1950s, Wait Till Next Year re-creates the postwar era, when the corner store was a place to share stories and neighborhoods were equally divided between Dodger, Giant, and Yankee fans." I can already feel the nostalgia, and coming off seeing the movie about Jane Jacobs, NYC is fresh in my mind, too. Even better, I might just learn something more about the history of baseball to make me appreciate it more!
I seriously have my reading cut out for me this month. I am going to make a very grand attempt at 'getting caught up' with languishing books (there are a few . . . ahem) and my reading projects (there are a couple now in progress). Maybe metaphorically speaking, but . . . time to 'Play Ball'!