June Reading Log

I read a LOT of pages this month (1,967 according to my Goodreads account, which doesn't even count the 60 comic books at the end of this log). And good news...I liked most of what I read! Take a look!

THE OLD BALL GAME by Frank Deford

The conventional wisdom goes that baseball seized the national consciousness with the arrival of Babe Ruth, whose skill and swagger captivated the country and solidified the game as the national pastime. But, as longtime Sports Illustrated luminary Frank Deford explains, another New York ballplayer—and his domineering manager—were the ones who first got America's attention.

The Old Ball Game is the story of Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson and manager John McGraw, whose parallel tenures with the New York Giants from 1902-1916 helped move baseball out of its 19th century pioneering days into something that more closely resembled baseball as we know it today. With almost annual trips to the World Series, the Giants owned the decade, and Mathewson and McGraw were the kings of New York.

While the baseball is naturally what catches readers' initial attention, the book shines most when talking about the unexpected friendship between its two protagonists. Mathewson, "the Christian gentleman," was an exemplar of decency, fair play, and excellence, the sort of athlete parents could rightfully point to as a role model for their children. McGraw, "the little Napoleon," was a pugnacious, controlling sparkplug, never afraid to start a fight with an umpire, league president, or opposing manager. Yet the two were not only fast friends, but housemates, splitting rent on a home they and their wives shared. McGraw's confidence in Mathewson extended beyond professional courtesy to something deeper, and vice versa.

Throughout the book, Deford deftly makes the case that Mathewson, McGraw, and their New York Giants teams brought baseball into modernity and into the spotlight, almost instantly transforming the World Series from a novelty into a national obsession. For baseball fans who know Mathewson's stats and McGraw's reputation but don't know much else, The Old Ball Game is chock full of delightful anecdotes and will leave you better informed about an overlooked era in baseball's past. A great read for fans of our national pastime's history.

THE FEDERALIST PAPERS by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison

"Thomas, that was a real nice declaration / Welcome to the present, we're running a real nation." - Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton

That line from the Hamilton song "Cabinet Battle #1" is a pretty good summary of The Federalist Papers, which I read in full for the first time this month in anticipation of the 4th of July. Written between 1787 and 1788 as a series of 85 articles by Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison (as Hamilton fans will tell you, "John Jay got sick after writing 5. James Madison wrote 29. HAMILTON WROTE THE OTHER 51!!!"), these papers are a defense of the U.S. Constitution, which was in the process of being debated and ratified.

The writers discuss a number of specific issues, from taxation to military conscription to the appropriate relationship between the states and the federal government, but the overall theme is that the state of the Union from 1776-1787, in which the states were more of a loose alliance overseen by the Articles of Confederation, is insufficient and that there must be room for federalism. While the young nation was understandably suspicious of a large federal government or a unitary chief executive, The Federalist Papers convincingly argue that the citizens of the United States are best served if those states are united as one nation.

While I had read excerpts of these essays for a political science class in college, this was my first time reading them in their entirety. The writing is both highfalutin and lawyerly (the authors were, after all, 18th century lawyers), but comprehensible after a strong cup of coffee. I doubt I'll ever read this book cover to cover again, but I'm glad I can cross if off my bucket list. For any American wanting to know our nation's most important primary sources, The Federalist Papers is on the short list of documents with which you must be familiar.

PET SEMATARY by Stephen King

What if, practically in your backyard, there was a place capable of raising the dead? But what if that place wasn't a dream come true, but rather, a nightmare?

That's the elevator pitch for Stephen King's 1983 horror classic Pet Sematary. It tells the story of a doctor who, upon moving to a house in Maine with his family, learns that animals buried in the nearby pet cemetery return to life, but in a diminished, seemingly cursed state. Things are creepy but mostly benign when the doctor resurrects the family cat. But what happens when tragedy strikes and he responds by burying a person in the pet cemetery?

This novel has all the hallmarks of a Stephen King novel, from the compelling plot to the relatable characters to the meandering pace to, yes, the disappointing ending. I'd file this one in the good-not-great category; I certainly enjoyed reading it, but it didn't have me on the edge of my seat like The Shining or Misery. Certainly worth a read for King fans, but not the first thing I'd put in the hands of somebody wanting to give him a try.

THE LOST ART OF SCRIPTURE by Karen Armstrong

What is holy scripture? What does it mean to be a "people of the book?" And why are ancient words passed down through the generations so central to the religions of the world?

These are the questions that Karen Armstrong, a renowned expert on comparative religion, seeks to answer in The Lost Art of Scripture, which looks at the world's major religions through the lens of their sacred texts. Spanning everything from Judaism's Torah and Talmud to Confucianism's Analects to the Holy Bible of Christianity, this is a wide-ranging book that has enough information to leave your head spinning.

Armstrong is an academician, and it shows—while written for a general audience, this book is pretty dry and encyclopedic; it's not something you want to read before bed unless you're using it as cheap Melatonin. And she does occasionally fall into the trap of reductionism when comparing different religions' texts, baptizing humanistic virtues and hinting that all religion can essentially be boiled down to the Golden Rule.

Nevertheless, this is a good primer for those wanting to know more about other faiths' holy texts, a solid reference work that shows how important scripture is to all faiths. A worthy read for those wanting a broader understanding of what other faiths believe and why they believe it.

Y: THE LAST MAN VOL. 1-5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

Suddenly and without warning, every male on the face of the earth drops dead, all except for a young escape artist and his pet monkey. What happens next, and why did they survive?

That's the premise of Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's 60-issue Vertigo series Vertigo which ran from 2002-2008. The series remains Vaughan's best-known and most beloved work, mixing elements of sci-fi, espionage, social commentary, and action-adventure to tell a story full of twists, humor, and heart.

Following the mass "gendercide," protagonist Yorrick Brown quickly teams up with 355, a secret agent for the fictional Culper Ring, and scientist Alison Mann (pun very much intended, as revealed in the series' penultimate arc.) As they go on a series of globetrotting adventures trying to keep Yorrick alive while also figuring out what makes him special, they encounter any number of friends and threats, from an Israeli commando to a Russian cosmonaut to Australian pirates.

Eventually, they learn the secret to Yorrick's survival and the story reaches its conclusion, but this series is a classic case of "it's about the ride, not the destination." Indeed, the ending falls a little flat, something that cannot be said of its buildup. Like any good comic, Y: The Last Man is about keeping you entertained for 20 pages and then leaving you wanting the next issue, and it excels at that.

While this is usually considered Vaughan's opus, I think overall I actually preferred Ex Machina, which I felt was more consistent throughout and stuck the landing better. Nevertheless, Y: The Last Man is a lot of fun and a great dystopian tale. Definitely a great comic to put in the hands of somebody who wants to try the medium but isn't into superheroes.