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By the Book: There are plenty of baseball books, but football?
Baseball season is coming to a close and football is now upon us. I’ve done columns about baseball books — the classics, like Malamud’s “The Natural,” Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Wait Till Next Year,”...
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By the Book: Some good old words that deserve new life
There aren’t many books you can buy in three different weights — the 100-pound version, the 30-pounder or the three-pound bantam weight — but the Oxford English Dictionary would be one. The 10-volume...
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By the Book: A dose of merriment and Christmas cheer
Christmas is next week, a holy and joyful day filled with memories of the past and dreams for the future. An early memory for me is midnight Mass in the convent on the corner of University Avenue and...
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By the Book: An assessment of a book-filled year
2015! I’m doing quickie overviews of the dozen books the Southold library book club read in 2014 — neither recommending nor dismissing, just personal impressions and conclusions. The year began with...
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By the Book: When dieting, some of us go by the book
January has disappeared around the corner, taking with it the shreds of hundreds, maybe thousands, of New Year’s resolutions. I think any resolution that lasted, say, 13 days, was successful — that’s...
View ArticleBy the Book: A few belated words in praise of the Irish
Just missed St. Patrick’s Day but I’m doing Irish stuff anyway. Before I continue you should know I’m going nowhere near Joyce’s “Ulysses,” which I keep in cold storage alongside “Beowulf.” When books...
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By the Book: April’s foolishness — a dose of drollery
April Fools’ Day was a while back so I’m writing about April Foolishness. If you find anything serious in this, call the authorities. Blond guy answers the phone, listens and says, “It certainly is”...
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By the Book: A trilogy that traces a World War II saga
On a May day, 70 years ago, World War II ended in Europe. Myriad books have been written, among the best “The Liberation Trilogy” by Rick Atkinson, which take us across Africa to Tunisia, into Sicily,...
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By the Book: Gotta love those Christmas animals
Christmas is knocking at the door again. The excitement never seems to go away, maybe not as intense as when I was 7 or 10 or even 13, but the feelings are still in me. I hope they’re still within you...
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By the Book: 2016 report card on book club’s choices
I’m doing mini-reviews of the dozen titles my library book club read last year. The opinions are mine alone. ‘Ladder of Years’ (Anne Tyler): A married woman, on vacation with her family, walks away...
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