Coming This Week...A Review of The Enthusiast by Charlie Haas

Last week, I received an e-mail from a gentleman named Charlie Haas. Not the wrestler from WWE, he is a screenwriter (credits include Gremlins 2 among other projects I didn't immediately recognize) turned author, who just had his first book published called The Enthusiast. He wanted to know if I would be interested in reading his book, reviewing it on the blog, and possibly recommending it to others in the Hobby. I agreed, and last Friday, I received the book in the mail. By Sunday, I finished it (speed reader I'm not, but the book was too good to put down).

It is the story of Henry Bay, who for most of his adult life, was the associate editor for many magazines that catered to the interests of different people (from teas to throws, from mountain climbing to kite buggys, from spelunking to...you get the idea). While working on magazines catered to it's own enthusiasts all over the country, the story is about his journey finding what his enthusiasm is.

I can tell you immediately that it's a good book, and while it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with sports cards, there is plenty that we as Hobbyists can relate with in the story. Before I give my final review (which I will have by Friday), I'm going to go over the book one more time, just to make sure I get my facts straight when I do my second book report on the blog.

Also, I will be doing a post on the seventeen players who were exclusive only to the Topps Gold Sets from 1992-1994. These players did not appear in the base set, but because Topps did not do gold cards of their checklist cards, they were replaced with prospects. Who were they? Did any of them make an impact in the big leagues? You'll just have to wait and see.

Finally, I'm hoping to get more packs (if not the full set, or at least a couple of boxes) of 2009 Topps Series 2. I do know that there are cards coming in the mail. If and when they do, they'll be posted here and the senders thanked profusely.

Stay tuned. It's going to be a fun week.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama