Alexander McCall Smith on NYT Book Review podcast

• Alexander McCall Smith talks about his latest efforts on the NYT Book Review podcast.

Lovers of Alexander McCall Smith's books may want to tune in (so to speak) on the audio interview with him by the New York Times Book Review podcast.

Here's the page with all the podcast links going back to 2006, and you can go directly to the podcast with this link.

Smith is famous for his Number One Ladies Detective Agency stories -- among others.

Wolhwend in the NYT

Good friend Chris Wohlwend has an article in the New York Times about University of Tennessee footballer Jackie Walker, one of the first black players for the Vols in the late sixties and early seventies. Walker's take is a sad one, but he finally getting some of the recognition that should have been his years ago. Congratulations to Chris on a fine article.

Good writing from a baseball insider

• When is the last time you called a major league baseball player a good writer?

Lots of talented authors have written superbly about baseball. Among all our national games, baseball is a game that lends itself easily to good wordsmiths. But rare among those smithies is an author who has played the game at the highest level. Now we have one.

Doug Glanville played major league baseball for nine years for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers. He is bringing all that experience to bear in a series of occasional pieces for the New York Times.

He is also bringing an easy, readable style that is all the more remarkable when you find out that he has an engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

His latest offering, It Gets Lake Early Out There, is now on the New York Times web site. You can find links to his two previous pieces there, too.

Good column, good game, good stuff.