Shoeless Joe

As a baseball fan, Field of Dreams is at the top of my list for baseball films that showcase the love of the game. It goes without saying then that I would eventually find my way to the novel that inspired the film.

Shoeless Joe is different from the film in many ways, but at its core it is about a man who is called to follow his passion. And that has always been what has resonated with me. We can go through life just biding time, or we can choose to take risks and build baseball fields in Iowa cornfields. I hope to be like Ray and to watch others come follow their passions with me.

Yep, that was fabulous.

Really pulls you in and you forget you're reading a book. I'm not even a fan of baseball. Great read.

Closer to 4.5. This one just rings true with me. It is baseball and writing and magical realism and I love it.

A book that lives up to the vision of the movie. (It can be harder than it looks; the reference movie is Field of Dreams). There's a soul inside baseball, and this book captures it. It's even worth moving through the reflective parts of the story to embrace its power as a whole.