Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Art of Racing in the Rain"

Eric Nadel is the voice of the Texas Rangers. He has been recognized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. He is a longtime associate and friend and he is a reader.

I caught up with him on the Rangers' trip to Baltimore. Nadel not only reads, but believes in supporting the book business, by visiting bookstores and buying books in which he has an interest. Good man.

I have not read "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein, but did a little research after listening to Eric.

This is the story of a dog that believes he has a human soul. In this day and age, that may not be such a lucky situation, but in the case of this dog, Enzo, it apparently works out just fine.

Stein is a writer and film producer. This was his third novel and it caught on big-time.

Books involving dogs are everywhere. Want to hook a reader? Why not put a dog in the story, or better yet, make the dog the star. That is a common idea, so to succeed with a book centered on a dog takes a special written work.

Based on the success of the book, this is a special story.

I told Nadel that his gift of communication came through loud and clear to our videographer, Olivia Witherite, who went out the next day and bought the book.

If Eric gets tired of broadcasting baseball he can be a marketer of books.

Let's let Eric tell the rest.

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." ― Groucho Marx, "The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx"

Gary Thorne is the play-by-play voice of the Orioles on MASN, and the 2017 season is his 11th with the club and 32nd covering Major League Baseball. His blog will appear regularly throughout the season. The Orioles and Sarasota County have partnered on the Big League Reader Program, which rewarded kids who read three books in February with tickets to a Grapefruit League game at Ed Smith Stadium in March.

* Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne. © Copyright 2017 Gary F. Thorne. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Gary F. Thorne and MASNsports.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.