Tag: Books

A Q&A with Author Harlan Coben

(This story originally appeared in the March 2020 edition of New Jersey Monthly).

Nothing fancy here, just a Q&A with a writer whose work I really enjoy. Harlan Coben’s books aren’t going to win any Pulitzers, but they’re fun and propulsive, and the guy pumps them out with machine-like precision. They’re also really consistent — it’s some kind of amazing that Coben hasn’t run out of ideas or at least motivation.

This Q&A was pulled from about a 50-minute interview, so you cutting it to size was quite a challenge. I really loved our conversation, though, particularly as someone who’s in awe of people who can write novels. I keep trying to find the right idea for one, and keep bailing out. Someday … 

In the meantime, I think this is a fun and quick look at the writing process, and of how a writer continues to find motivation and excitement in a form.

https://njmonthly.com/articles/arts-entertainment/harlan-coben/

Five Minutes With … Jane Leavy

Just a fun, quick interview with Jane Leavy, a terrific journalist who has written three incredible baseball biographies. I was fascinated to talk to her about the fact that the subjects she had chosen over the years — Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle and now Babe Ruth — seemed to me to be so picked over already. Why not a nice biography on Joe McEwing?

One thing that really intrigued me about her latest book, The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, were some of the early descriptions of her search for the story to tell. Several years ago, I went through a similar quixotic journey with The Babe, tracing steps similar to those Ms. Leavy took. Something about The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in Baltimore made my understanding of Ruth hazier instead of clearer. (You can read my attempt to understand his legacy here.)

Anyhow, I highly recommend Leavy’s newest book, as well as her first two.

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