I'm Dyin' Here

Long Beach Press-Telegram writer Tim Grobaty was promoted to columnist at his newspaper back when it was still a glamorous and coveted job. In I'm Dyin' Here, the author means two things: He'll likely die at the job that he's spent nearly four decades doing, and at the same time his profession, too, is seeing its last days. Weaving together personal history and a selection of columns written over the course of his storied career, Grobaty offers readers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a dying breed: the local columnist. With everyday life -- fatherhood, holidays, suburbia, and random encounters with animals -- serving as fodder for his column, Grobaty reveals his sources of motivation and vulnerability, all the while struggling to maintain relevance in a rapidly changing industry. I'm Dyin' Here was chosen to inaugurate the Long Beach Mayor's Book Club -- a new, citywide book club -- in September 2016. Says David Kipen, founder of Libros Schmibros and book critic for KPCC's Take Two: "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." And Russ Parsons, former LA Times food critic and author of How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table, had this to say: "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."