Real Life Is Stranger

GERIATRIC SPORTS EPIC

You might not think there’s much call for sports-related novels out there, besides Dick Francis’ best-selling horse-racing murder mysteries. Not so! There are quite a few other successful authors of horse-racing murder mysteries. And most of the remaining sports are covered in fiction, as well: Mickey Rawlings’s baseball murder mysteries; Eddie Muller’s boxing murder mysteries; Charlotte Elkins’s golfing murder mysteries; Dave Klein’s football murder mysteries . . . are we seeing a pattern here? As a mother, I always accepted that sports could be rather dangerous, but how come everyone keeps killing all the fictional athletes, for goodness’ sake?

Dr. Jim

Dear Dr. Jim,

I hope you can help. All my life I’ve been an avid reader; I began reading early (around eighteen months, according to my mother, who claims I would “goo-goo” some semblance of the words on the back of my baby formula cans) and soon realized that books would be my vice. During elementary school my grades suffered (all but English class) because I had my nose stuck in various...

Confession Corner

The Overburdened Book Reviewer

Wait! Miss, uh ma’am. Wait! Don’t . . . step out there! Watch out for that bus! Will you puh-lease close that book and watch where you’re going? I guess I don’t need to ask how you broke your arm. And the bandages on your nose and forehead and...