Junior Bear And Me

The Watcher

Hailed for her “excellent prose” and “beautifully drawn” queer characters, the award-winning author of The Scamp introduces a new series with an unforgettable female detective (Lambda Literary). A searing literary noir set in upstate New York about what it means to live on the margins of society—and what happens when no one is watching? Pearl Jenkins is a nobody. She was a woman who lived as a hermit in the woods. One day, she’s nowhere to be found, and all that's left behind is a pool of blood and a child no one knew existed, raised completely off the grid and in the grip of Pearl’s manic paranoia. Kateri Fisher is used to being an outsider. Now, she’s the only female detective in the tiny upstate New York town of Spring Falls, where everyone knows everyone, but no one will talk. It’s fitting that she takes the case that no one else wants. But as Kateri struggles to navigate the harsh rules of a new town while trying to learn the truth about the Jenkins family, only one thing becomes clear: neither she nor Pearl are as invisible as she first thought. Someone's always watching.

Hockey Night in Canada Junior

Out of the Park

During the Golden Age of baseball, as many as 59 minor leagues operated in a single season, and hundreds of G.I.s returning home from World War II competed in them for the big break that would land them one of only 400 spots on 16 teams in the majors. These were truly the days when athletes played purely for the love of the game, motivated by goals that seemed always just beyond their fingertips. Among the many men who endured shocking extremes in pursuit of that diamond-plate dream was first baseman Ed Mickelson. This book relates the entirety of his 11-year struggle against the odds of success. A talented athlete from his early youth, Mickelson followed the game he loved across continental America, winning some and losing some, but always persevering. While a recruit for Lynchburg in the Class B Piedmont League, Mickelson maintained a league-leading .393 batting average. When traded to the Southeastern League in Montgomery, Alabama, he scaled his previous statistic to achieve an average of .417. In his first major league start, an ailing Stan Musial provided the opportunity for Ed to get one of only two hits against Hall of Famer Warren Spahn. After batting .335 and driving in 139 runs at Shreveport, Louisiana, in the Texas League, Ed was honored to become first pick among 8500 players in the Minor League draft in 1954, making him a Portland Beaver in the Pacific Coast League. This book captures the fierceness of his struggle throughout his career before the man who drove in the last run of the St. Louis Browns would eventually hand over his bat and go home. Despite his impressive statistics--the second highest batting average in the Pacific Coast League and the best fielding percentage among first basemen--Mickelson traded in professional baseball for a career of high school counseling and coaching young athletes, some becoming professionals themselves. His story is told here for veterans, scholars and fans alike, revealing first-hand the both difficult and rewarding challenges of the big game.