The Book Beat's blog

It sounds like the plot of way too many sports movies: An old-style, hardline coach molds a group of underachieving players into a team that, despite individual character flaws, holds together long enough to win a state championship.

In this case, the story is true.

As an avid fan of "Top Chef," I often found myself wondering what bus boys, servers and maitre d's thought about working with the chefs at four-star restaurants.

Now I know.

Just finished reading President-elect Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope," which mixes autobiographical passages with his ideas for making America a better and stronger country. Obama writes fluid, graceful prose that generally steers clear of self-indulgence, even in the autobiographical sections, and he makes strong arguments for his ideas without being strident. If you followed his presidential campaign and are wondering how he'll perform as president, this book is a good place to start.

If you're interested in books -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- then I'm glad to welcome you aboard. I'm looking forward to lively discussions of books, reading and anything else that comes to mind.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite activities was going down to the local bookshop and spending hours browsing through its selection. I found endless treasures there, from Anne Lamott's novel "Rosie" to my first copy of Tennessee Williams' classic play "A Streetcar Named Desire." I spent way too much money there, but I usually came away with food for my mind and -- if I was especially lucky -- my soul.