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New York Times
5 days ago
- General
- New York Times
He Read (at Least) 3,599 Books in His Lifetime. Now Anyone Can See His List.
He did not enjoy the nearly 1,000-page 'Ulysses' by James Joyce, nor L. Ron Hubbard's 'Mission Earth,' a 10-volume science fiction series published in the 1980s. But once Dan Pelzer set his mind on reading something, he did not put it down until he was finished. That's how Mr. Pelzer's children said he was able to read 3,599 books from 1962, when he first began jotting his reads down on his language class work sheets while stationed in Nepal with the Peace Corps, to 2023, when his eyesight failed him and he could no longer read. Mr. Pelzer died at 92 on July 1 in Columbus, Ohio, where he had lived for five decades. At the funeral, his daughter, Marci Pelzer, wanted to hand out his reading list to friends and family. But at more than 100 pages, it was not practical to print physical copies. So Ms. Pelzer, 52, had her godson create a website, which guests could access through a QR code on the back of the funeral program. 'I just thought it'd be so cool to give people who cared, who he cared about — to send them away from the funeral with the list,' Ms. Pelzer said. via Marci Pelzer Mr. Pelzer's reading choices were varied. In the 1980s, he read several books on the mental health of adolescents, which Ms. Pelzer said probably served as resources for his job as a social worker at a juvenile correctional facility in Ohio. On the list for 1999: Classics, bildungsromans and autofiction. John Grisham, the prolific author of courtroom dramas, might have been his most-read author, Ms. Pelzer said. And, as his eyesight began to fail him in 2023, Charles Dickens's 'David Copperfield' was the last book he ever read. 'I remember the conversations that we had about books that we both loved,' said Ms. Pelzer. 'He loved reading about religion. He loved memoirs. He loved novels.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Man Leaves Behind 109-Page List of Thousands of Books He Read After His Death at 92
Dan Pelzer read more than 5,000 books throughout the course of his life, including one classic he called "pure torture" One man left his loved ones a very special memento of his time on Earth. Dan Pelzer, who died on July 1 at the age of 92, left his friends and family a 109-page handwritten list of all the books he's read since 1962. Though Pelzer's family considered distributing the list at his funeral, they realized it was far too long to share in that way. So instead, they scanned the list and created a website sharing his reads called, What Dan Read. In Pelzer's obituary, his family shared that his love of reading and libraries first began in 1962, when he was serving as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Nepal. ADVERTISEMENT 'After discovering a library of about 150 paperbacks, he started documenting every book he read,' the obituary reads. 'Over the next six decades, he read more than 5,000 books.' An excerpt of Dan Pelzer's lengthy list of reads as shown on the site 'What Dan Read.' But despite being incredibly well-read, Pelzer's family shared that the grandfather's reading tastes align with 'his unpretentious nature.' 'While Dan conquered all the classics and read every volume to the end, he much preferred John Grisham to James Joyce, calling Ulysses 'pure torture,' ' the obituary reads. In a post shared on the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Facebook page, Pelzer's daughter, Marci, wrote, 'ALL of his books were Columbus Metropolitan Library books. Nobody loved the library more than Dan.' 'When we were little, he took us to the downtown library every Saturday morning and enrolled us in every summer reading program,' Marci shared with the library. 'He was a regular at the Livingston and then Whitehall branches until he could no longer read. I'm sure he would be among your highest circulation and longest term borrowers.' ADVERTISEMENT Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Egan-Ryan Funeral Home Dan Pelzer Pelzer was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Mary Lou Pelzer, who died in 2024. Dan and Mary Lou are survived by their children, Marci Pelzer and John Pelzer, and their three grandchildren, Sarah, Lauren and Owen Pelzer. In Dan's obituary, the family asked that in place of flowers, donations be made to Kinship Community Food Center, adding, 'You could also honor Dan by reading 'a real page turner.' ' Read the original article on People
The Hill
21-07-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Lawmakers re-introduce bill to repeal Hyde Amendment
The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act would repeal the Hyde Amendment, which since 1976 has barred federal funding from being used to pay for abortions except in rare circumstances like rape, incest or when the woman's life is in danger. Aside from Medicaid, the ban also means federal employees and their dependents, military service members, Native Americans and Indigenous people, Peace Corps volunteers, immigrants, people in federal prisons, and low-income residents of Washington, D.C. are all prohibited from having insurance cover abortions. As of 2024, more than 5 million women aged 15 to 49 who are enrolled in Medicaid live in States where abortion is legal but not covered by the program except in Hyde-allowable circumstances. 'With Trump and Republicans advancing a cruel, coordinated assault on our bodily autonomy—gutting Medicaid, defunding Planned Parenthood, and decimating access to care—we must meet use every tool available to protect and expand reproductive healthcare,' Pressley said in a statement. 'By repealing the racist and discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which has denied necessary care for vulnerable communities for nearly half a century, our bill would help ensure everyone in America can get the reproductive healthcare they need, regardless of income, insurance, or zip code.' The bill would also prevent the federal government from prohibiting or restricting coverage of abortion care by private health insurance companies, including those participating in the ObamaCare insurance exchanges. The legislation was previously introduced in 2023, a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ruled there is no constitutional right to an abortion. Democrats leaned almost exclusively into abortion during the 2024 campaign. The latest reintroduction, on top of other congressional reproductive health bills, shows Democrats aren't going to let the issue go, though the message has been diversified.
18-07-2025
- Sport
In Liberia's version of baseball, there are no bats and no men
MONROVIA, Liberia -- It was a perfect pitch. The ball sped straight across home plate, where it was met with an equally powerful kick. Perryline Jimmie sprinted toward first base after her kick as her teammates erupted in cheers on the sidelines. Jimmie, 23, is a professional player of kickball, a close cousin of baseball that is beloved by women in Liberia and played all over the country from schoolyards to public squares and dirt fields. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has become the nation's second-most popular sport after soccer. Kickball in Liberia has the rules of baseball but there are no bats, and players kick a soccer ball instead of the larger, lightweight ball used for the game in other places. There also are no male players. 'In Liberia, (kickball) is our tradition,' said Jimmie, who noted many girls start playing kickball from an early age. 'This is why you see women playing kickball in Liberia.' In 1964, Peace Corps volunteer Cherry Jackson noticed that, unlike boys, the students at the all-girls school where she taught in Monrovia, the capital, didn't play any sports, according to Emmanuel Whea, president of Liberia's National Kickball League. Jackson, an American, tried to teach the girls baseball but quickly realized they were much better at hitting the ball with their feet. That was the start of what became a custom for girls in the country of about 5.6 million people. 'When you're a girl growing up in Liberia, you will play kickball,' Whea said. Kickball is played in other parts of the world, including in the United States, where it is a common elementary school game for girls and boys. But only in Liberia is there a women-only professional league. The National Kickball League was created in 1994 to bring people together as Liberia was reeling from a civil war. The league was set up "to bring the ladies together and use them (as part of) the reconciliation process of Liberia," Whea said. 'We had just left the civil war, and everybody had just scattered ... So kickball was one of those sports used to bring Liberians together so they could have the time to hear the peace messages.' Whea has big plans for the league, including expanding it to men and introducing the game to other African countries. However, his mission has been complicated by a lack of resources, especially in a region where women's sports often are underfunded. Saydah A. Yarbah, a 29-year-old mother of two, admits it is hard to make ends meet on her athlete's salary despite playing kickball for 10 years. Her earnings are 'not even near' what male athletes earn, she said. In Liberia, many sports, including soccer, are male-dominated. Despite kickball being a sport played by women, the league is led by men, from the coaches to the referees and league officials. The league encourages women but they really don't want to be coaches, Whea said. "Their husbands might have a problem with them working full-time (and) for some, their relationship will not allow it,' he said Yarbah plans to change that narrative by becoming a coach when she retires, allowing her to share her passion for the sport with others, including her two sons, she said. 'They are not going to play kickball for now,' she said. 'But probably in the future, they are going to introduce kickball to men.' For the moment, kickball remains a women's game. Men sometimes come during their practice, Yarbah said, but they do not stand a chance. "They don't know the techniques of the game,' she said. 'So we always win.'
The Independent
18-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
No bats and no men: Kickball is sweeping the nation of Liberia
The thud of a perfectly pitched ball meeting a powerful kick is a familiar sound across Liberia, where kickball has blossomed into a national obsession. Professional player Perryline Jimmie, 23, embodies the sport's energy, her sprints to first base often met with jubilant cheers from her teammates. A close cousin to baseball, kickball is particularly beloved by women throughout the West African nation. Its pitches and bases can be found in diverse settings, from bustling schoolyards to open public squares and dusty dirt fields. Since its introduction in the 1960s, the sport's widespread appeal has cemented its status as the country's second-most popular, surpassed only by football. Kickball in Liberia has the rules of baseball but there are no bats, and players kick a soccer ball instead of the larger, lightweight ball used for the game in other places. There also are no men. 'In Liberia, (kickball) is our tradition,' said Jimmie, who noted many girls start playing kickball from an early age. 'This is why you see women playing kickball in Liberia.' How kickball came to Liberia In 1964, Peace Corps volunteer Cherry Jackson noticed that, unlike boys, the students at the all-girls school where she taught in Monrovia, the capital, didn't play any sports, according to Emmanuel Whea, president of Liberia's National Kickball League. Jackson, an American, tried to teach the girls baseball but quickly realized they were much better at hitting the ball with their feet. That was the start of what became a custom for girls in the country of about 5.6 million people. 'When you're a girl growing up in Liberia, you will play kickball,' Whea said. Kickball is played in other parts of the world, including in the United States, where it is a common elementary school game for girls and boys. But only in Liberia is there a women-only professional league. The National Kickball League was created in 1994 to bring people together as Liberia was reeling from a civil war. The league was set up "to bring the ladies together and use them (as part of) the reconciliation process of Liberia," Whea said. 'We had just left the civil war, and everybody had just scattered ... So kickball was one of those sports used to bring Liberians together so they could have the time to hear the peace messages.' Whea has big plans for the league, including expanding it to men and introducing the game to other African countries. However, his mission has been complicated by a lack of resources, especially in a region where women's sports often are underfunded. Saydah A. Yarbah, a 29-year-old mother of two, admits it is hard to make ends meet on her athlete's salary despite playing kickball for 10 years. Her earnings are 'not even near' what male athletes earn, she said. In Liberia, many sports, including soccer, are male-dominated. Despite kickball being a sport played by women, the league is led by men from the coaches to the referees and league officials. The league encourages women but they really don't want to be coaches, Whea said. "Their husbands might have a problem with them working full time (and) for some, their relationship will not allow it,' he said Yarbah plans to change that narrative by becoming a coach when she retires, allowing her to share her passion for the sport with others, including her two sons, she said. 'They are not going to play kickball for now,' she said. 'But probably in the future, they are going to introduce kickball to men.' For the moment, kickball remains a women's game. Men sometimes come during their practice, Yarbah said, but they do not stand a chance. "They don't know the techniques of the game,' she said. 'So we always win.'
