Debut novel The Art of Fielding (Little Brown & Co., 558 pp.) tells the story of a star college shortstop who changes his own life – as well as those of several other campus figures – the day he makes a wild throw and accidentally hits a teammate. No need to be a sports fan to enjoy this novel, which uses baseball philosophy to make larger points about the compulsion at the heart of great literature. (CSMonitor.com, 9/9/11)