The first book, Now I Can Die in Peace : How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox -- by Bill Simmons (aka the Sports Guy). Simmons has a column in ESPN Magazine and ESPN.com. This book is really just a conglomeration of his articles dating back from 2002 up till the Red Sox captured the World Series, with comments added on the side. His writing style is geared towards male audiences in their late 20's to mid 50's with reverances to the Karate Kid Series, Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather and true nitty gritty nose-grinding sports commentary. A great bathroom reader since each article can really stand alone and any sports fan who's experienced rise and falls of any team can relate to Simmon's pain and anguish, joy and exuberance. Definitely worth getting from a used book store.
The second book, Life of the Beloved : Spiritual Living in a Secular World -- by Henri Nouwen. This was lent to me by a dear sister. I agree with her that Nouman is indeed a special writer that presents his thoughts with succintly and concisely. The book was originally intended for an audience living in a secular world without a clear understanding of God's love and his desire to have a relationship with us. Nouman admits that he missed his target audience and he missed me with this book also. Other than two paragraphs in the last chapter of the book, I did not find the book particularly appealing.
The third book, Heartbreak & Triumph : The Shawn Michaels Story -- by Shawn Michaels, Aaron Feigenbaum I only read 50% of the book and thumbed through the rest of it while spending some cold afternoons at Barnes and Noble. An autobiography of one of the most renouned professional wrestler in the past 20 years, Michaels chronicles his days starting as a rookie and emerging as the Champion of the WWF. This book goes into a wrestling entertainer's perspective of the business and gives good insight on what happens behind the closed curtains. Michaels is not candid about the "storyboard drama" that goes into modern day wrestling entertainment and he trumps this book with his final declaration that Jesus Christ as his personal savior. A history book, an inpirational book, an avenue down memory lane. I would probably say, go to your local bookstore and thumb through it.
Stay tuned for February reviews....
1 comment:
Too bad Glenn Dickey doesn't have a book coming out soon.
I'm like you, always starting but never finishing. So for the Michaels' book, I did skipping. Gives a lot of insight on who did what in the WWF/WWE back in the day and how he came to know Christ. Good stuff.
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