I like reading. In elementary school, I remember multiple teachers saying to read for homework. In the past I actually had a wall next to my bed where I would tape pictures of books I was interested in reading. I have a resolution to begin a habit of reading some more books that I plan to start this month and continue into 2021. My goal is to read eleven books all throughout the year of 2021. Here are 10 books I love to read and recommend.
#1: Fantasy Team—Mike Lupica. I wish I remembered how many times I rented this book from the library. I do know that each time I read the book, I enjoyed it so much that I knew that I knew that I wanted to get the book on my Kindle. This is a very well-written book and what fascinates me the most is that the book predicted the future in a sense. SPOILER ALERT: The book describes professional football returning to Los Angeles. The Rams moved from Saint Louis to Los Angeles, and the Chargers moved from San Diego to Los Angeles. *Insert suspenseful music here.*
#2: Summer Ball—Mike Lupica. Another very well written book from Mr. Lupica. I felt like I could connect with the main character very well. In fact, I wrote a novel my senior year of high school (one that I eventually ended up scrapping in favor of something else) that this book reminds me of. I wanted to just jump in to the plot of this book and defend the main character from a character who was being totally rude and on a complete power-trip. You know you are reading some very well-written literature when it invokes your emotions.
#3: The Blind Side—Michael Lewis. Remember my Davey Martinez appreciation post, where his family took in his son’s friend? I mentioned that it reminds me of NFL player Michael Ohr’s story. The movie has torn my heartstrings very much. In my opinion, Michael Lewis does a good job of writing nonfiction books about sports. The Blind Side is one of my favorite feel-good true stories. Just knowing that this young man got a second chance at living a happy and healthy life makes my heart full.
#4: Fraternity: An Inside Look at a Year of College Boys Becoming Men—Alexandra Robbins. This is a topic that I am passionate about. After hearing about a very unpleasant incident that happened at a University of Oklahoma fraternity, I became interested at learning more about what it’s like in fraternities and sororities. In addition, I wrote a proposal essay on controlling drinking in fraternities and sororities. Back in 2018, I watched a Dateline episode titled The College Fraternity Crisis. It was chilling and disturbing to see the number of lives lost to hazing in fraternities at colleges and universities across the United States. I’m very interested to see what the author has to say on the topic.
#5: The Closer: My Story—Mariano Rivera. I ordered this book off Amazon during my sophomore year of college. Little did I know it would become one of my favorite books! Reading about Mr. Rivera’s journey from fisherman in Panama to beloved New York Yankees relief pitcher is such a heartwarming experience. He’s a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame for a reason! He’s such an inspiring human being. I hope his story touches as many people as possible and inspires an abundance of humans to follow their dreams.
#6: Coming Back Stronger—Drew Brees. I am being beyond honest when I say I literally read this book in one day. The New Orleans Saints are one of my absolute favorite football teams, and Drew Brees is one of my absolute favorite quarterbacks on planet Earth. It was really amazing reading about his journey from a multisport high school student athlete from Texas to sustaining a barbaric shoulder injury while playing for San Diego to Super Bowl Champion Saints Quarterback. If anyone is looking for a good autobiography to read, I cannot recommend this book enough. Very inspiring work from a very inspiring, talented, and selfless human.
#7: The Cupcake Queen—Heather Hepler. When I got this book in middle school, I had no idea that I would fall in love with this book. I began reading this book for my seventh grade language arts class and immediately became engrossed. If I’m being honest, I fell in love with cupcakes after reading this book. In fact, I was in a great mood when I found out a cupcake shop had opened for business deep in the heart of the city where I live. Hopefully one day I will be able to publish a cupcake cookbook. That sounds like a lot of fun!
#8: The Poisonwood Bible—Barbara Kingsolver. My twelfth grade language arts teacher assigned the class this book to read. It was one of my favorite class-assigned books. After sustaining an overexertion injury in my physical education class, the doctor said I had to sit out of class. I spent the sidelined class time reading this book and taking notes. Time flew when I read the book, it is that well-written. Another sign it is a well-written book? I could connect with the characters and react to some of the things they did or said.
#9: The Big Field—Mike Lupica. I could feel myself cheering for the main character when I was reading this book. In a sense, it feels based on Mariano Rivera’s story. Remember, Mr. Rivera went from Panamanian fisherman to Hall of Fame New York Yankees player. The vibe I get from this amazing, well-written work from Mr. Lupica is that the main character is progressing from being in a “rough patch” to getting to live out big baseball dreams. It feels as if it’s a fictional feel-good story based on true stories of professional athletes.
#10: The School Story—Andrew Clements. I connect to the main character of the book very much. SPOILER ALERT: The main character wants to get a book published and decided to use a pen name to increase her odds of getting it published, considering the fact she’s a preteen. I’m working on a novel that I’m serious about getting published. I do plan on using a pen name to protect myself from getting bombarded by potentially pleased readers at the grocery store or baseball stadium.
Which books do you like to read the most? Let me know in the comments below.
Elephants & Extra Base Hits 