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A newspaper columnist's love letter to a dying vocation.

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9781941932063

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Tim Grobaty takes on a career's worth of trying to make sense of newspapering in stories that are wry, honest, and mostly true from the big small town of Long Beach, California. The local weirdness is there in abundance, but just to show that all places, however ordinary, will surprise and mystify. The tragedies of an ordinary life are there too, with whatever redemptive power they can have. There is a lot to lament about the folding of newspapers like the one Grobaty still writes for. The worst is the loss one day of funny, humane, and unpretentious voices like his. - D.J. Waldie, author of Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir

A truly wonderful book. Both the fascinating history of a man, and the radical shifts in the newspaper world. It's beautifully written-by turns both humorous and equally moving. I wish I could give it a higher rating [than five stars]. - Robert Roberge, author of Liar A humorous love letter to a dying vocation. - Kirkus Reviews Tim Grobaty takes on a career's worth of trying to make sense of newspapering in stories that are wry, honest, and mostly true from the big small town of Long Beach, California. The local weirdness is there in abundance, but just to show that all places, however ordinary, will surprise and mystify. The tragedies of an ordinary life are there too, with whatever redemptive power they can have. There is a lot to lament about the folding of newspapers like the one Grobaty still writes for. The worst is the loss one day of funny, humane, and unpretentious voices like his. - D.J. Waldie, author of Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir Tim Grobaty, one of these great city-side columnists [has written] a book-length meditation on the current 'optimistic' state of the print journalism industry in which he works. - David Kipen, founder of Libros Schmibros and book critic for KPCC's Take Two Over the years, a newspaper columnist develops a very special relationship with their readers: They become a favorite neighbor, a good friend, maybe even a family member. They don't deliver news; they tell us about life. Long Beach is lucky to have had Tim Grobaty in that role all these many years. He is the Bard of Big Town. - Russ Parsons, former LA Times food critic and author of How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table One wanders through the passages of Grobaty's book like an accidental tourist in the town you thought you already knew. Often, discovering things a self-preservationist type wouldn't even think to investigate without a 'cop across the street' by his side. -Thomas Wasper, author of Famous Killers for Early Learners

Tim Grobaty takes on a career's worth of trying to make sense of newspapering in stories that are wry, honest, and mostly true from the big small town of Long Beach, California. The local weirdness is there in abundance, but just to show that all places, however ordinary, will surprise and mystify. The tragedies of an ordinary life are there too, with whatever redemptive power they can have. There is a lot to lament about the folding of newspapers like the one Grobaty still writes for. The worst is the loss one day of funny, humane, and unpretentious voices like his. - D.J. Waldie, author of Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir A truly wonderful book. Both the fascinating history of a man, and the radical shifts in the newspaper world. It's beautifully written-by turns both humorous and equally moving. I wish I could give it a higher rating [than five stars]. - Rob Roberge, author of Liar A humorous love letter to a dying vocation [and] a pleasant Sunday read for anyone looking to return to the pre-blog joys of...reading the musings of a favorite local columnist. - Kirkus Reviews Tim Grobaty takes on a career's worth of trying to make sense of newspapering in stories that are wry, honest, and mostly true from the big small town of Long Beach, California. The local weirdness is there in abundance, but just to show that all places, however ordinary, will surprise and mystify. The tragedies of an ordinary life are there too, with whatever redemptive power they can have. There is a lot to lament about the folding of newspapers like the one Grobaty still writes for. The worst is the loss one day of funny, humane, and unpretentious voices like his. - D.J. Waldie, author of Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir Tim Grobaty, one of these great city-side columnists [has written] a book-length meditation on the current 'optimistic' state of the print journalism industry in which he works. - David Kipen, founder of Libros Schmibros and book critic for KPCC's Take Two Over the years, a newspaper columnist develops a very special relationship with their readers: They become a favorite neighbor, a good friend, maybe even a family member. They don't deliver news; they tell us about life. Long Beach is lucky to have had Tim Grobaty in that role all these many years. He is the Bard of Big Town. - Russ Parsons, former LA Times food critic and author of How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table One wanders through the passages of Grobaty's book like an accidental tourist in the town you thought you already knew. Often, discovering things a self-preservationist type wouldn't even think to investigate without a 'cop across the street' by his side. - Thomas Wasper, author of Famous Killers for Early Learners A truly wonderful book. Both the fascinating history of a man, and the radical shifts in the newspaper world. It's beautifully written--by turns both humorous and equally moving. I wish I could give it a higher rating [than five stars]. -- Rob Roberge, author of Liar . There is a lot to lament about the folding of newspapers like the one Grobaty still writes for.The worst is the loss one day of funny, humane, and unpretentious voices like his. -- D.J. Waldie, author of Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir -A humorous love letter to a dying vocation.- -- Kirkus Reviews -...funny, humane, and unpretentious...- -- D.J. Waldie, Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir .. .funny, humane, and unpretentious... -- D.J. Waldie, Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir A humorous love letter to a dying vocation. -- Kirkus Reviews A truly wonderful book. Both the fascinating history of a man, and the radical shifts in the newspaper world. It's beautifully written--by turns both humorous and equally moving. I wish I could give it a higher rating [than five stars]. -- Robert Roberge, author of Liar There is a lot to lament about the folding of newspapers like the one Grobaty still writes for.The worst is the loss one day of funny, humane, and unpretentious voices like his. -- D.J. Waldie, author of Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir Tim Grobaty, one of these great city-side columnists [has written] a book-length meditation on the current 'optimistic' state of the print journalism industry in which he works. -- David Kipen, founder of Libros Schmibros and book critic for KPCC's Take Two Over the years, a newspaper columnist develops a very special relationship with their readers: They become a favorite neighbor, a good friend, maybe even a family member. They don't deliver news; they tell us about life. Long Beach is lucky to have had Tim Grobaty in that role all these many years. He is the Bard of Big Town. -- Russ Parsons, author of How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table One wanders through the passages of Grobaty's book like an accidental tourist in the town you thought you already knew. Often, discovering things a self-preservationist type wouldn't even think to investigate without a 'cop across the street' by his side. -- Thomas Wasper, author of Famous Killers for Early Learners

Author Information

"Tim Grobaty, a former humor columnist at the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram, has won numerous awards, including being named the Best Columnist in the Western United States by Best in the West. He also has authored three books on local history: ""Growing Up in Long Beach: Boomer Memories from Autoettes to Los Altos Drive-In,"" ""Location Filming in Long Beach,"" and ""Long Beach Chronicles: From Pioneers to the 1933 Earthquake"" (History Press). A native of Long Beach, Grobaty lives (he still lives!) in the city with his wife, daughter, and two pups."

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