Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

You may not know this, but when I was on my long blogging hiatus in 2016/2017, I created a blog for the Major League Baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays! While I don’t write on that blog anymore, I am still a ginormous Blue Jays fan, and am still very active on my baseball-focused Twitter account! When I found out that one of my favourite announcers, Jerry Howarth, was writing a book published by ECW Press, I knew that I had to request it so that I could read and review it early! Fortunately, my request was granted and I was able to read it a month in advance! Even though this book has been out for almost a month, I wanted to save my review until Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day (which is today!!!!!!!)!

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through these links, you won’t pay a penny more, but I will collect a small commission. Any books that I have received for free from publishers or authors, have been clearly identified when mentioned in the post.

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

An honest memoir about life, family, and baseball from the longtime, legendary Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcaster.
For 36 years, Jerry Howarth ushered in eternal hope each spring and thrived in the drive of each fall as the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1982, the lifelong avid sports fan joined Tom Cheek as full-time play-by-play radio announcer for the Blue Jays, and for the next 23 years, “Tom and Jerry” were the voices of the franchise. Jerry became part of the fabric of a nation and a team, covering historic moments like the rise of the Blue Jays through the 1980s that culminated in back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993. His Hall of Fame-worthy broadcasting career has been nothing short of legendary. When Jerry retired in February 2018, the tributes poured in and made one thing perfectly clear: Toronto baseball would never be the same.
Howarth brings together thoughts on life, family, work, and baseball. Featuring stories about everyone from Dave Stieb, Jack Morris, Duane Ward, Roberto Alomar, and Joe Carter to John Gibbons, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, and the late Roy Halladay, Hello, Friends! is a must-read for sports fans everywhere.

I loved everything about this book!

Jerry is one of my all-time favourite broadcasters, as he truly was the Blue Jays voice. His stories from his past were great to read, and made me respect him so much more. He found his true passion and paved his own path into a very successful jobs and career. Jerry is such an inspiration to me, and thousands of other people!

My favourite chapters came from the beginning and end of the novel. I loved reading about how he came into the Blue Jays organization and became the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays. I also LOVED the chapters about the “glory years”, both the 1992/1993 chapters, as well as the ones talking about the 2015/2016 seasons. They were written so well, and made me feel very nostalgic and yearn for more successful seasons to come! I also loved the chapters from which he spoke about his wife and family, as it made me feel very connected to Jerry.

When reading this entire novel, it seemed like I was listening to Jerry Howarth speak in my head while reading the book, and I could practically hear Jerry during every phase. You could definitely tell that he wrote it himself, as a lot of the words/language that he used on the radio for over forty years as the Blue Jays announcer were also used in his novel!

“Hello, Friends!” by Jerry Howarth is a MUST-READ for Toronto Blue Jays fans new and old! I gave this book 5/5 stars, as I loved every second of it! Thanks to ECW Press for sending me an advanced finished copy in exchange for a review!

If you live in Canada and are interested in purchasing your own copy, click here to get it for almost 50% off!

Good Night Book Owls!