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Pingpong balls bounce off paddles in the locker room. The TV chirps in the background. Players tease each other during games of poker.

Tucson Sidewinders players find endless activities to pass the time and entertain themselves in the hours between batting practice, games and travel.

But here's a novel idea — some of them crack open books.

"A lot of guys read. A lot of guys play PlayStation and Xbox, but some of us do read," said third baseman Jamie D'Antona, perhaps the most avid reader of the bunch.

Several Sidewinders shared what books they are currently devouring and some of their favorites.

"If I get into a book, I'll stay up all night reading the book," reliever Connor Robertson said.

• Recent read: A light blue hardcover copy of James Patterson's "7th Heaven" rests on a table near D'Antona's locker in the Sidewinders clubhouse. "I had no idea what the heck that was about," D'Antona said, motioning toward the bestseller. He has read more than 30 books by the author, who has penned such popular novels as "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls." "I read so many of them. All the characters run together."

• Faves: Murder mysteries and psychological thrillers written by David Baldacci, Keith Ablow and Michael Connelly. D'Antona averages about a book per week. As soon as he finishes one, he heads to Barnes & Noble to buy another. His mother, Karin, recommends books to him.

• Top pick: D'Antona, a 26-year-old Wake Forest product, considers Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" his all-time favorite. An avid fisherman himself, D'Antona has read the 96-page classic at least seven times.

• Recent read: Shappi figures he's read nine books in the last 2 1/2 months – all from British author Lee Child's popular series that chronicles the adventures of ex-military policeman Jack Reacher. Former Sidewinder and Double-A teammate Abe Woody recommended the books to Shappi, who was recently reading Child's "The Hard Way," in which Reacher tries to help an evil ex-army officer find his kidnapped wife and daughter. "It's well written. There's two or three plot twists per book. In the end, he always gets his man," said Shappi, a 25-year-old who attended Cal-Riverside.

• Top pick: Shappi averages a book or two per road trip. His all-time favorite — Joseph Heller's "Catch-22." "It's written in flashback, flash forward, very satirical. The main character is relatively complex."

• Recent read: Like many of his teammates, Robertson enjoys thumbing through mysteries and thrillers and the occasional government conspiracy tale. He last picked up Baldacci's "The Collectors," a 448-page book about a group of crime solvers investigating the murders of the U.S. Speaker of the House and the director of the Library of Congress' rare books collection.

• Top pick: Robertson's favorite novel, Ferrol Sams' "The Whisper of the River," is more personal journey than whodunit. The protagonist leaves his rural Georgia home in 1938 for college and embarks on various adventures. "He gets into all kinds of crazy mischief and there's a lot of vulgarity in the book," said Robertson, 26, a Tuscaloosa, Ala., native who attended Birmingham Southern. "It's not really vulgar. It's just true stuff. It's a funny book and kind of a sad story, a lot of what happened in the South during the Depression."

• Recent read: The chaplain for the Arizona Diamondbacks recommended William P. Young's "The Shack," about a man's spiritual journey, to Kelly. The protagonist's daughter is abducted during a family vacation in Oregon. He receives a letter, supposedly from God, inviting him to the abandoned shack where his daughter might have been killed."He finds out why this happened," said Kelly, a 28-year-old from Butler, Pa. "It's a good read."

• Faves: His library also includes John Grisham novels and Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy's memoir, "Quiet Strength." "Some players read, some guys play cards, some guys play pingpong, listen to music," Kelly said. "Everybody has their own thing they do."