I'm not a baseball fan. Heck, I'm not any kind of sports fan. But you don't need to be to enjoy Kluger's novels, all of which are set firmly in the world of the dugout and the pitcher's mound. He writes with such wit and insight that he draws you into that world and you're happy to be there.

Changing Pitches explores the world of pitcher Scotty Mackay as his team, the Washington Senators, struggles to climb out of last place. When his catcher is sidelined with a broken arm, a young player whom Mackay despises takes his place. As the season wears on, however, Mackay finds his feelings for Jason Cornell turning into something very disturbing. Could it be . . . love?

As with his other books (Almost Like Being In Love and Last Days of Summer), Kluger develops the plot through letters, bulletin board postings, newspaper articles and other forms of ephemera. Somehow, he makes it work.

Received today for our BC table at Pridefest. Thanks for sharing!

Reserved for a Bookcrossing table at Albuquerque Pridefest on June 14, 2008!

This was leftover after the festival... this may go to my TBR before it moves on...

I enjoyed this book. The format was awesome, I loved the way he was able to create a novel out of the combo of newspaper clippings, message board stickies, and diary entries... I am going to have to find some more Kluger to try out. In the meantime, this great story will be headed to Scoobs-Buddy soon!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending in the mail to Scoobs-buddy! Hope you enjoy!

Thank you very kindly Jare

Witty and fun to read- enjoyed this very much

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

adding to KateKintail's LGBT Bookbox 08

This came to me in my LGBT Bookbox.

I'm not a baseball fan at all (hockey's my sport) but MAN look how well-traveled this book is already!

If no one has any objections, I plan to wild release this one in Washington on Saturday at the Washington D.C. AIDS Walk when I go to volunteer there. Since the book is set in Washington and stars the "Washington Senators" I feel it's appropriate.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I plan to leave this somewhere around Freedom Plaza before AIDS Walk Washington, where I'll be volunteering (as I do every year). Hope it's found and enjoyed!

Congrats and welcome to BookCrossing!
Thank you so much for picking up this book. Please make a journal entry here on this page if you haven’t already done so to let me know that this book has found a good home. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (it is entirely free). If you choose to join, I would love if you could indicate KateKintail referred you.
I really hope you enjoy the book you found! When you’re done reading it, you can make another journal entry with your comments here to let me know what you thought of it. You can keep the book forever and ever or pass it on to someone else. If you’re giving it to someone directly, make another journal entry saying so. If you choose to leave it somewhere “in the wild” for anyone to catch, make release notes that indicate where you left it. If you register, you will be alerted by e-mail each time someone makes another journal entry. It’s all confidential (you’re known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free. Then you can track this book as it goes on its journey!

Came back home with me. I left it in an area that wasn't so well trafficed because police were all over Freedom Plaza and I didn't want it to get tossed in one of our garbage bins. After a few hours of it being unclaimed, I decided to take it back home. Perhaps I'll give it a read before it moves on to another home :-)

Sending this off in emmejo's LGBTQ+ bookbox.

I hope it finds a new, loving reader!

This well-travelled book arrived in the LGBTQ+ bookbox. Unlike KateKintail, baseball is one of the sports I like, so I'll be interested to give this one a go.

This was a fun, and surprisingly compelling, read. Scotty was an interesting fellow to get to know, and a type of hero rarely seen in sports stories, in my experience. His stubbornness and willingness to put in hard work and creative thinking to keep doing his job well as he ages wasn't something I've seen focused on before. The author did a really nice job of developing the personalities of the side characters by meshing Scotty's viewpoint with the chance to see other opinions via articles, messages, and other creative additions. He also writes very convincingly in multiple voices as assorted reporters. The gay aspect is delicately woven in with a slow-burn subtly I appreciated.

One of the books starting the LGBTQ+ Bookbox

I was delighted to see this well-traveled book in the bookbox - Kluger's one of my favorite authors! I've read this one, so I'll leave it for someone else to enjoy, but did want to add my comments.

The main plot of the book did not go where I'd expected given the cover-blurb, but it was a very enjoyable tale nonetheless - a charming and funny look at life from the viewpoint of an increasingly stressed-out and nervous major league pitcher. The format is cute, a mix of conversation, diary entries, bulletin-board snippets from the locker room, and newspaper clippings. Scotty's troubles, which begin with a hint of self-doubt when in bed with his girlfriend and escalate as he tries to work with - and ignore his growing attraction to - the hunky new catcher. [How that all pans out surprised me quite a bit, but worked very well in context.] There are philosophical discussions pretending to be sports-magazine interviews, and practical jokes appear among the "letters from fans" - along with a few letters that must have been copied from actual ones, as they're too strange not to be true: "Dear Mr. MacKay, A couple of years ago, you autographed a baseball for me, but when you started losing all those games, I got mad and threw it at you during a doubleheader with Texas. Can I have it back?" And some hilarious side trips into literature, as when Scotty tries to teach Jason the finer points:

***

"I don't get it," he said, pointing to page one. "'Call me Ishmael.' Is that like 'asshole,' Scotty?"

"Ishmael was his name," I sighed.

Jason frowned. "Why?"

This led to a discussion of Herman Melville, the likes of which I have never encountered before. We took the story apart, piece by piece, then put it back together Jason-style. By the time we were through, the novel began, "Call me Arthur," and promptly went downhill from there. The Pequod was a nuclear submarine, Moby Dick was now a great white shark, and Captain Ahab was portrayed by Robert Shaw.

"See?" He smiled. "If you look under the surface, Scotty, you'll find a lot you never thought was there before."

I'd be fascinated to see what he could do with John Steinbeck.

***

And just wait 'til they tackle Oliver Twist. Very sweet, very funny - recommended!


[Update, 8/22: lynmarenjensen reported claiming this from the bookbox.)

Warning: if you're expecting lots of hot gay sex, you won't get what you're expecting, what you'll get is a wonderful baseball story with a twist on the romance formula, and the baseball crowd will enjoy it as much or more as readers looking for LGBT content. I'm leaving this book in a little free library in Anaheim.

I caught this book when it came to me in the mail in Carson, but I'm releasing it in Anaheim. Instead of putting it in a local little free library, I'm mailing it to San Pedro High School. It's being donated to the school's library, which is providing books for LGBT students and their allies.