Long before he became a famous sports columnist and ESPN commentator, Mike Lupica was a student at Boston College. He uses the city as the setting of his latest book for younger readers, “Last Man Out,’’ the story of a 12-year-old football player and son of a Boston firefighter. He will read from his new work at 4 p.m. on Sept. 16 at Titcomb’s Bookshop in East Sandwich.
BOOKS: What are you reading now?
LUPICA: I’m reading the galleys of “Razor Girl.’’ Carl Hiaasen is one of my best friends. I think this is his best book. I think he’s our Mark Twain.
BOOKS: Is that typical of what you read?
LUPICA: My reading taste is pretty eclectic. For a long time, my dear late friend Elmore Leonard had a line on his website, “The only thing better than reading Elmore Leonard is rereading him.’’ I never go wrong going back and reading “Get Shorty,’’ “Be Cool,’’ or “Out of Sight.’’ I was late getting to this party, but I think Don Winslow is a genius. I read “The Cartel’’ in the spring, and I’ve gone back and tried to read everything he’s written.
BOOKS: Do you read books about sports?
LUPICA: I must confess I’ve never been a great reader of sports books. Bob Costas wrote a terrific book about baseball, “Fair Ball.’’ I have great respect for David Halberstam, who died way too soon. “The Breaks of the Game’’ was one of the best books ever written. But my personal tastes runs more to fiction. I’ve been having a great time this summer because I’ve been on some long car trips. I love books on tape. I’ve sort of not rediscovered but re-enjoyed, if that’s a word, Robert B. Parker’s “Spencer’’ novels by listening to them.
BOOKS: Who are your other go-to authors?
LUPICA: William Goldman. I’m prejudiced because he’s one of my best friends. I love his nonfiction on Hollywood, “Adventures in the Screen Trade,’’ as well as “The Princess Bride.’’ To me, Pete Hamill has never written a bad sentence, fiction, nonfiction, or journalism.
BOOKS: Which authors would you like to read more by?
LUPICA: I always feel like it’s time for me to go back and read Mark Twain again. There’s a lot of stuff by Stephen King, who I think is a genius, which I haven’t read. “The Dark Tower’’ movie is going to come out so I bought the first book in that series. When I get off my book tour that will be my fall reading project.
BOOKS: What are your reading habits?
LUPICA: I’ll put a ballgame on. I’ll have the dogs with me. Baseball is perfectly matched for reading. Or I’ll come down in the later afternoon when I’m done with work, put on some jazz or classical music, and read before dinner. It’s a great way to settle down after living in your head.
BOOKS: Do you have books from your childhood?
LUPICA: I used to read the Rick Brant science-adventure series by John Blaine. A couple of years ago I wondered if you could still find them. I ordered “Smugglers’ Reef.’’ It came in the mail. There it was. It looked exactly like what I thought it looked like when I bought the book for a dollar as a kid. The logo for the series is a lightning rod on the binding. I ran my hand over the binding and that lighting bolt. I felt like 40 years of my life disappeared, and I was as excited to hold that book as when I first read it years ago.
BOOKS: Do you worry about kids today not reading enough?
LUPICA: I don’t know if I would have loved reading if I had all the stuff kids do today, but what I have found out with video games and everything else still, the great growth industry is children’s books. Kids still love a good story.
AMY SUTHERLAND
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