BOOKS THREAD

The last mob book I read was "Boss of Bosses: The FBI and Paul Castellano" by Joseph F. O'Brien and Andris Kurins.
I liked it, but I haven't read enough mob books to provide any real perspective.

 

So far in 2010:
Meat Market by Bruce Feldman
Secretariat: The Making of a Champion (renamed from Big Red of Meadow Stable) By William Nack
The Best American Sports Writing 2009
Going Deep: 20 Classic Sports Stories By Gary Smith

Just Started: Munson — The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain By Marty Appel

 

About halfway through a book I should've read about 20 years ago ... Frankenstein.

 

della: at the risk of sounding like an ass, you might want to mix it up a bit. read everything, not just sports books -- some of my best ideas, and approaches to stories, came from reading non-sports history, memoir, fiction, poetry, in-flight magazines, childrens books, whatever. branch out: read everything. i guarantee you'll be a better writer -- and reader -- because of it.

then again, if you're a politician looking for a break and reading just sports books, a tip of the hat.

i will now back away slowly...and shut my mouth...

 

Just following AD's post....i'd be curious to know how many people here enjoy reading sports books for pleasure/leisure. I find it nearly impossible.

 

funny you ask that, 21. i was thinking about it, and it's true that i do find it hard to read sports books. maybe it's that it feels like a chore, no matter the quality, because i'm competitive and will be mulling subconsciously how i might not have made that choice in that passage or chapter, or want to do it better, or i'm too close to the sports process so i can imagine the hoops the writer had to go through.

anyway, i feel like i'm so close to it that i can't just stand back and LOSE myself in a sports book like i can with a novel or history; i can't just READ it. cost of being a sportswriter, maybe? sort of the same way that i can never go to a sporting event and sit in the stands and cheer like a fan?

 

Just finished "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" and can't recommend it highly enough. Fascinating subject, great writing, lots of food for thought.

 

I'm not in the journalism business but I work in sports and while I find it tough to go to sporting events (particularly hockey, still love going to baseball games) and have any interest in them, I am always on the lookout for good sports books. recently read the new Yogi Berra bio and enjoyed Verducci's Torre book.

I could see how others wouldn't go anywhere near them.

 

The typical LCD "season review of championship team's year" book tends to be a joke.

What I might regard as an above-average bio remains palatable. Barra's book on Berra seems a good example to me, though the subject remains quite familiar.

The recent Paige bio? Very good. The lengthy,
recent Connie Mack bio? Worth the trouble.

I won't be the first to observe that it depends on the sport. Baseball tends to yield far more readable tomes than does football, basketball or hockey.

For many "borderline" choices, what I know about the author will carry considerable weight.

Bookwise, do far more recreational reading of general-interest bios and domestic history than I do sports.

 

Rarely read sports books anymore. I read in spurts, and when I do, I tend to gravitate toward subjects that intrigue me. While I enjoy sports, at this point it's kinda lost all its intrigue. Currently reading a biography of Edgar Allan Poe.

 

I just finished Steve Rushin's first novel, "The Pint Man." It was a good, light, fun read. Lots of wordplay, much like his SI columns. Maybe too much at times. But, overall, I enjoyed it.

 

Anyone read a good Beatles book? Suggestions?