Bookstores and Baseball

In 2011, my two favorite bookstores put out a call for old and new zinesters to make at least one more zine. With the help of my son, I put together the first inning of Bookstores and Baseball, a perzine about our travels during the summer of 2009 when we visited some of our bookstores and attended some baseball games along the way. We had so much fun, we turned a one-summer event into a yearly pilgrimage to bookstores and stadiums large, small, and imaginary.

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The Tenth Inning

36 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

During the summer of 2017, we drove around visited the Southwest and California, and our "hometown" Astros won the World Series. The 10th Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
Writefest
The Dallas Book Festival
Coas Books
Reader's Oasis
The Naked Bookseller
Changing Hands Bookstore
Readmore Books
Austin Bookstores

Baseball:
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The Los Angeles Angels
The Houston Astros

Bonus:
Disneyland a conversation with Olivia
A Capitol Adventure - Part V by Gabe
Championship Parade by Gabe

The Ninth Inning

48 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

During the summer of 2016, we drove around Texas and took a trip back home to Alabama. The 10th Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
Writefest
The Twig Bookshop
BookPeople
Book Woman
Deep Vellum Bookstore
The Dallas Book Festival
Square Books
Little Professor Book Center
Lorelei Books
Dallas Zine Party

Baseball:
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The University of Houston Cougars
The San Antonio Missions (AA)
The Round Rock Express (AAA)
The Birmingham Barons (AAA)
The Mississippi Braves (AAA)
The Texas Rangers

Bonus:
Jose Canseco by Gabe
Stadium Seats
Jalapeno Eating Contest by Gabe

The Eighth Inning

56 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

During the summer of 2015, we drove to Nashville and Gabe went to college. The 8th Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
The Texas Center for Working-Class Studies
MenilFest (Houston Indie Book Festival)
Printers Row Lit Fest by Gabe
Wordsworth Books & Co.
Parnassus Books
New Orleans Bookstores
Dallas Zine Party
Zine Fest Houston by Gabe

Baseball:
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The Houston Astros
The Arkansas Travelers (AA)
The Nashville Sounds (AAA)
The New Orleans Zephyrs (AAA)
Sugar Land Skeeters (Independent) by Gabe

Bonus:
Hank Aaron's Home by Gabe
"A Capitol Adventure -IV" by Gabe
Waiting for Zito by Gabe
The Playoffs: Pity for a Poor A's Fan by Gabe

The Seventh Inning

56 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

During the summer of 2014, we drove to "home" to Oakland. The 7th Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
Dallas Literary One Night Stand
Alabama Book Festival
MenilFest (Houston Indie Book Festival)
City Lights
Booksmith
Stories Books and Cafe
Antigone Books
The Book Stop
Brazos Books
Lucky Dog Books
The Wild Detectives

Baseball:
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The Mississippi Braves (AA)
The Houston Astros
The Texas Rangers
The Las Vegas 51s (AAA)
The Sacramento Rivercats (AAA)
The Oakland A's
The Los Angeles Dodgers
The El Paso Chihuahuas (AAA)

Bonus:
"A Capitol Adventure - III" by Gabe

The Sixth Inning

52 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

During the summer of 2013, we drove to Baltimore for a reading of our anthology: Fan Interference - A Collection of Rants and Reflections from 14 years of Zisk zine. The 6th Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
Kaboom Books
Domy
Houston Indie Book Festival
Steve's Books and Magazines
Left Bank Books
Boxcar Books
The Book Loft
Amazing Books
Atomic Books
Kramerbooks
One Stop News
Burke's Books

Baseball:
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The Houston Astros
The Springfield Cardinals (AA)
The Pittsburgh Pirates
The Baltimore Orioles
The Memphis Redbirds (AAA)
The Texas Rangers

Bonus:
"It Still Counts" (excerpt) by David
"A Capitol Adventure - II" by Gabe

The Fifth Inning

28 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

The summer of 2012 was broken into two mini-vacations: a trip to KC and a trip to Miami. The 5th Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
Houston Indie Book Festival
Prospero's Books
Bob's Books and News

Baseball:
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The Texas Rangers
The Kansas City Royals
The Jacksonville Suns
The Miami Marlins (AA)

Bonus:
The Negro Leagues Museum
"A Capitol Adventure" by Gabe

The Fourth Inning

42 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

In our fourth summer vacation spent visiting bookstores and baseball teams we chronicle our trip back to Los Angeles during the summer of 2011. The 4th Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
Houston Indie Book Festival
Arkansas Literary Festival
Domy Books (Austin)
BookPeople
The Texas Book Festival

Baseball:
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The Tucson Padres (AAA)
The Los Angeles Angels
The Arizona Diamondbacks
The Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA)
The Fort Worth Cats (Independent)
The Texas Rangers

Bonus:
"Ray Winder Field (Arkansas)" by Gabe
"Mascots and Me," by Gabe

The Third Inning

40 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

Our third summer vacation of visiting bookstores and baseball was released April 2012. This summer (2010) we went back home to Alabama, by way of St. Louis. Join us for the ultimate American vacation: Mom, baseball, and MoonPies. The 3rd Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
The Houston Indie Book Festival
Steve's Books and Magazines
Left Bank Books
Carmichael's Bookstore
Rock Point Books
The Decatur Book Festival

Baseball:
The Houston Astros
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The Oklahoma City Redhawks (AAA)
The Tulsa Drillers (AA)
The St. Louis Cardinals
The Louisville Bats (AAA)
The Chattanooga Lookouts (AA)
The Montgomery Biscuits (AA)
The Birmingham Barons (AA)

Bonus:
"I See Dead Ballparks," by Gabe

The Second Inning: The Moneyball Issue

32 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

The second inning of Bookstores and Baseball was published in September 2011. Subtitled, The Moneyball Issue, in reference to Michael Lewis's fantastic book - and conveniently timed with the release of the movie adaptation - this issue chronicles our quest to visit the teams of the Oakland Athletics farm system. The 2nd Inning includes:

Bookstores (Festivals):
The Houston Indie Book Festival
Domy Books
Skylight Books
Legacy Bookstore
The Decatur Book Festival

Baseball:
The Houston Astros
The Texas Rangers
The Midland Rockhounds (AA)
The Oakland Athletics
The Sacramento Rivercats (AAA)
The Stockton Ports (A)
The Frisco Roughriders (AA)
The Oklahoma City Redhawks (AAA)

The First Inning

32 pages / Color / Saddle Stitch

The 1st Inning includes our travels during the summer of 2009:

Bookstores (Festivals):
Arkansas Literary Festival
Left Bank Books
Quimby's
Prairie Lights
Atlanta Bookstores
Steve's Sundry Books & Magazines
Downtown Books and Malaprop's
Burke's Books
The Texas Book Festival

Baseball:
The Arkansas Travelers (AA)
The St. Louis Cardinals
The Chicago Cubs
The Iowa Cubs (AAA)
The Kansas City Royals
The Atlanta Braves
The Texas Rangers