I never would have guessed he was from Canada. I think I always assumed he was an Iowan. (But then, I didn't realize how broad his literary catalog is. He's done a lot more than just baseball writing.)

FWIW, I prefer The Iowa Baseball Confederacy to Shoeless Joe. I lived within spitting distance of the Black Angel in Iowa City for almost 2 years, and loved walking through the graveyard at night thinking about the book.

FWIW, I prefer The Iowa Baseball Confederacy to Shoeless Joe.

I do, too.

That said, I loved "Field of Dreams", and I don't think they could make TIBC into a movie.

Yeah, it's a little too broad in scope to turn into a movie (though with CGI available, you could probably do justice to the ending).

I didn't really care for "Field of Dreams", though I think it was mostly because I couldn't stop comparing it with the book.

I never would have guessed he was from Canada.

While not entirely about the sport, baseball featured prominently in his book Box Socials, set in a small town in Western Canada.

I didn't really care for "Field of Dreams", though I think it was mostly because I couldn't stop comparing it with the book.

I enjoyed the movie, but it can't touch the book. The only thing I liked better in the movie was the wife. In the book, she was pretty much a cardboard character who's only role was to stand by her man. The movie made her a real character. But pretty much everything else in the book was better.

I was actually quite disappointed in the book (I am a fan of the film). Usually, I prefer the book versions, though.

I third the pro-Iowa Baseball Confederacy sentiment. I've read a number of his baseball-related short stories too, which I also enjoyed. Seems like there'd be a market for a complete collection of those.

The movie is simpler and sweeter, which aren't altogether bad things in fiction. It was also made for a decidedly different audience, which makes a big difference as well.

One thing that gets me about these awards: Shoeless Joe was written 30 years ago - and the guy's getting awarded for it now. I've never quite understood these practices, like in the Nobel Prizes where they award a physicist in 2010 for work he did in 1989 (I'm pulling these dates out of a hat). I get you need a historical perspective to figure out what really sticks, but jeez.

Amy Madigan is an underrated actress.

I've never quite understood these practices, like in the Nobel Prizes where they award a physicist in 2010 for work he did in 1989 (I'm pulling these dates out of a hat).

Ernst Ruska got a Nobel in 1986 for the electron microscope (1936).

1982? I thought it was written in the 50's.

1982? I thought it was written in the 50's.

You may have been thinking of The Natural?

Did the voters just get hit in the kindles this year? Where have they been, Waiting for Posthumous?

probable except from acceptance speech: "Well, I came up with the idea while in a creative writing seminar in grad school" {strokes white beard}