Official Review: Game Changers by Don Demarest

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 26 Jul 2019, 07:55

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Game Changers" by Don Demarest.]

2 out of 4 stars

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In this non-fiction book, the writer, Don Demarest, gives a memoir of his life. Game Changers: In Life and Sports also contains a short poem and a photo-page. The writer, Don Demarest was an assistant football coach, baseball coach for 15 years, small-town politician, and Rotarian. He also worked as an assistant manager and manager in toy stores and convenience stores for many years.

This book starts with stories of his childhood. At 19 months, Don almost lost his life after swallowing kerosene. He was rushed to the hospital where he was later diagnosed to have pneumonia. At age 4, Don almost lost one of his eyes while playing with his friend. When he was around 8-years—this time he wasn’t about to lose anything—he was in the right place at the right time to save the life of a 3-year-old, who toddled into a 3-foot pool.

Don Demarest is a lover of sport; his dream was to play baseball professionally. He played baseball—mostly as a pitcher—since he was young, and he was very good at it. He even played in the fifty-and-above league at 63. This book also covers stories surrounding the two marital relationships that Don was involved in before the one he is in now with Corinne.

Game Changers: In Life and Sports is well-written, and Don’s life story is quite inspiring. This book is motivational, and it has a bit of humor. A bit of romance was added too, especially when 62-year-old Don and 54-year-old Corinne fell in love with each other, despite old age. I couldn’t but feel the romance in the air. Game Changers: In Life and Sports also has in it a lot of stories relating to the game of baseball, and the game terminologies were expressly used. Consequently, this affected the reading experience as I lack adequate knowledge of the game.

What I like most about this book are the motivational words that followed the stories therein. I also like the poem at the end of the book; it is inspirational, and the rhymes are on point.

On the other hand, this book has no page numbering which is not ideal. In addition, I take it that this book doesn’t have a book cover as what was displayed as the book cover is a picture of Don. I think a proper well-designed book cover will give a good first impression on any potential reader. Furthermore, the photo-page, which was inserted after chapter 22 of this 39-chapter book, would have been better positioned at the end of the book. More so, the photo-page includes three pictures of Don and a woman, who I believe is Corinne. However, it wasn’t until chapter 36 that she came to light.

Game Changers: In Life and Sports is not well-edited at all. At just a few pages into the book, I had to start ignoring the errors for they were too many. The errors included misuse of capitalization, punctuation errors, spelling errors, and grammatical errors. Asides the errors, the formatting is poor. And for these reasons, I rate Game Changers: In Life and Sports 2 out of 4 stars. I believe this book can be read by anyone as there is a message for all age groups. I, however, add that memoir lovers and baseball lovers will enjoy it more.

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Game Changers
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Kathleen Wolfe · Post by **Kathleen Wolfe** » 28 Jul 2019, 04:41

Sorry to hear about the errors, they can really mess up your reading experience. I'm not the type for memoirs so I think I'll give this book a pass. Thank you for the review.

Stephanie Elizabeth · Post by **Stephanie Elizabeth** » 28 Jul 2019, 05:48

Wow! He had quite a few close calls when he was a kid. Sounds like a great book. Thanks for the wonderful review.

Magnify3 · Post by **Magnify3** » 28 Jul 2019, 07:22

The author really does have a lot to share after his experiences and achievements. Thanks for the review!

Post by **kandscreeley** » 28 Jul 2019, 07:59

It sounds like Don did a lot in his life. I'm not into sports nor memoirs, so I don't think I'll read this. I hope the author fixes some of the errors you point out and then it'll appeal to more readers. Thanks.

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 29 Jul 2019, 01:45

Kathleen Wolfe wrote: ↑28 Jul 2019, 04:41 Sorry to hear about the errors, they can really mess up your reading experience. I'm not the type for memoirs so I think I'll give this book a pass. Thank you for the review.

Yes, they can. Thanks for stopping by.

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 29 Jul 2019, 01:46

Stephanie Elizabeth wrote: ↑28 Jul 2019, 05:48 Wow! He had quite a few close calls when he was a kid. Sounds like a great book. Thanks for the wonderful review.

Yeah! Thanks for the comment.

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 29 Jul 2019, 01:47

Magnify3 wrote: ↑28 Jul 2019, 07:22 The author really does have a lot to share after his experiences and achievements. Thanks for the review!

Truly, he does. Thanks for the comment.

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 29 Jul 2019, 01:49

kandscreeley wrote: ↑28 Jul 2019, 07:59 It sounds like Don did a lot in his life. I'm not into sports nor memoirs, so I don't think I'll read this. I hope the author fixes some of the errors you point out and then it'll appeal to more readers. Thanks.

I hope he does, so as to widen the range of readers.
Thanks for stopping by.

sarahmarlowe randomeducator · 29 Jul 2019, 07:22

"Game Changers: In Life and Sports is not well-edited at all. At just a few pages into the book, I had to start ignoring the errors for they were too many. The errors included misuse of capitalization, punctuation errors, spelling errors, and grammatical errors. Asides the errors, the formatting is poor. "

How unfortunate! It sounds like a good editor could have really improved this book. Nice review!

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 29 Jul 2019, 23:55

sarahmarlowe wrote: ↑29 Jul 2019, 07:22 "Game Changers: In Life and Sports is not well-edited at all. At just a few pages into the book, I had to start ignoring the errors for they were too many. The errors included misuse of capitalization, punctuation errors, spelling errors, and grammatical errors. Asides the errors, the formatting is poor. "

How unfortunate! It sounds like a good editor could have really improved this book. Nice review!

Yes! I strongly agree with you.
Thanks for stopping by

.

briellejee · Post by **briellejee** » 30 Jul 2019, 00:50

Pity that such a good memoir is not well-edited. Hope they'll fix it. Not a fan of sports though, but his life seemed interesting. Your review was honest and makes a valid point. Glad to see that you enjoyed reading it despite the numerous errors.

Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 30 Jul 2019, 14:52

Simple editing errors are the worst. You have to wonder if the author had anyone read their manuscript before sending it off to be published. However, it does sound like it could be a very inspirational book, especially to sports enthusiasts if it gets edited and properly marketed.

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 31 Jul 2019, 00:05

briellejee wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 00:50 Pity that such a good memoir is not well-edited. Hope they'll fix it. Not a fan of sports though, but his life seemed interesting. Your review was honest and makes a valid point. Glad to see that you enjoyed reading it despite the numerous errors.

I hope the errors are fixed too. Thanks.

And thanks for stopping by.

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 31 Jul 2019, 00:07

esp1975 wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 14:52 Simple editing errors are the worst. You have to wonder if the author had anyone read their manuscript before sending it off to be published. However, it does sound like it could be a very inspirational book, especially to sports enthusiasts if it gets edited and properly marketed.

True! Very true!!
Thanks for the comment.