Joseph Wore Tennis Shoes

Stories From Small Town Journalism

By Dale Kovar

Genre: Non-fiction/Biography

Pages (print): 197, Inc. Appendices and Index

Via: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pour yourself a lemonade. Grab a chair. Sit down. Put your feet up. Breathe. And treat yourself to a stroll through small town Americana via this cogent and convivial look at events, people, places, and perspectives from a seasoned news pro with a 50-year career in newspapers. Brimming with warmth and wit, Jospeh Wore Tennis Shoes is part news. Part biography. Part trip down Memory Lane. And all heart.

The book covers the author’s 50-year career at Minnesota weekly newspapers with reprints of the best stories from over the years. Kovar takes you beyond the nuts and bolts of a weekly newspaper and into a wide variety of behind-the-scene stories and anecdotes. What emerges is an entertaining mix of Eureka! moments, belly laughs, guffaws, colorful reportage, and a few You have got to be kidding me-s. This collection may also have you grabbing a tissue or two.

The Basics

It includes letters to the editor. Columns on seniors, storytelling, freedom, and fun. Life and death. Lots more. All hook you in the first sentence, then reel you in for the long haul. That’s no accident, by the way. That’s good writing.

 

There’s also writing the old-fashioned writing way – via typewriter and typesetting vs. computers and word processing. Game changer! Especially for those of us who are older than dirt and remember those gallant days of yesteryear that included Compugraphic typesetting (Hi, Mom). Also how the arrival of the Internet, digital formatting and web sites changed the industry.

 

You Are Here/There!

We especially enjoyed the You Are Here/There-type of articles where Kovar is “looking into the camera” and “speaking” directly to the reader. See: Here are some awesome language lessons and A citizen’s journey into politics. Ditto the freedom of speech letter to the editor of August 2022. (Kimber: Pawesome! Epic! You’ll get that if you read the book.) Besides. Who can resist a word like “Isopolity”?

 

Note that Joseph doesn’t follow a traditional story format. It doesn’t have a distinct beginning, middle and end like your average novel. It’s roughly linear and chronological and covers a wide range of topics with skill and aplomb. Commentary/context are single column and appear in one type font. News stories appear in dual column format in a different type font. So you don’t get confused.

 

Genre?

Speaking of “notes,” Cupcake, kindly note that Joseph is a little hard to peg as a genre. Cuz, hey. It pretty much transcends genre. It’s a unique blend of non-fiction. News reporting. Feature writing. Opinion writing. Sports. Entertainment journalism. Travel, business, and lifestyle journalism. Gonzo journalism. Without the fire-bombing. (Look it up, Sweet Stuff.) There are some recipes for you chow hounds. (Hi, Kimster.) And a closing quote from one of our all-time favorite authors, Richard Paul Evans. So content runs the gamut and is often told with a twinkle. So, if one type of story doesn’t spin your fins, Buttercup, then turn the page. It’s a good bet the next one will.

 

Meanwhile, the narrative sudses along at a good clip, striking just the right balance between news and commentary and background and bio. You can also dip a toe or two into different writing formats and styles. It includes Appendices on ‘Known Evidence’ footnotes, Press Ethics, and recommended Videos. (We were surprised by several typos/missing words in the text. Like. “When I started, writing was done a typewriter.” Or “Winning is nice, but it’s just a good to see…”)

 

Pithy

Joseph Wore Tennis Shoes is unlike anything we’ve ever read. (We kept seeing Lou Grant. Yeah, yeah. Lou’s a TV news guy. But you get the picture. Right?) Indeed, this pithy, propitious collection has a Bedford Falls kinda vibe goin’. Think Edward R. Murrow meets The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Cheers.

… Where/Wear Everybody Knows Your Name

So, if you’ve got that chair and cold drink, sit down and take a load off. Put your feet up. Grab a copy of this book. Open. Stroll through yesteryear and present day-ish with this eloquent and articulate glimpse into small-town Americana and a time when Joseph wore tennis shoes and everybody knew your name. It’ll bring a smile to your face and warmth to your heart.

 

Wait. Is that George Bailey?

Our Rating: 3.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

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