TNIAAM Recommends: What books are you reading?

A lack of sports lately has probably opened up some extra time in your life. Some have taken up new hobbies with that space. Others have done more with their families. A lot of us have just worked more. And some of us have taken up reading more books.

While we used this space for comic book recommendations recently, we’re turning the page (sorry) to regular books. Only a handful of readers were into comics, so figured novels were likely to have a wider audience. We might do this weekly. It’s more likely this is a once-a-month thing. In any case, you’ll find our book picks below.

Andy

“I Never Had it Made” by Jackie Robinson & Alfred Duckett

Jackie Robinson’s autobiography is timely not just for baseball fans missing the game, but for the calls of social reform happening today. Robinson is frank on his beliefs and morality, calling for many of the changes being talking about today in 1947, enduring the worst of humanity as he broke baseball’s color barrier. There is the Jackie Robinson story we all learned as kids, and then there’s the real story, which Robinson tells in his own words over 250+ pages that I can’t recommend enough.

Kevin

“Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay” by Todd Zolecki

The book talks about Halladay’s personal and professional struggles while letting the reader see what drove him to be such a dominant pitcher. It was an interesting look at what happens when an athlete falls from the top and has to pick themselves up and start all over again. I can’t remember an athlete in my lifetime who had a journey like his going from the majors to A-ball and ending up in the Hall of Fame. The book doesn’t shy away from his struggles to control his depression and how it led to his death.

John

“Marvel Comics: The Untold Story” by Sean Howe

Sorry, not quite done here. There are numerous books about Marvel, but this one potentially does the best job of speaking with many of the important figures throughout the company’s history, looking at Marvel’s flaws as well as its achievements and providing a lot more color than the now-polished brand may let on about. You don’t even have to care about comics to enjoy the book, I promise. Especially given Marvel’s place in pop culture today, it’s fun to see how it came up as a once-plucky underdog.

Steve

“Oathbringer” by Brandon Sanderson

While we’re off of comics, I’ll continue my pop culture and nerdery in this space apparently. Most of what I read is either really fictional or non-fiction. In this case, Sanderson creates a world and story to rival Tolkien, Martin, Jordan or any of the masters of the fantasy genre. As you can imagine, the third book in a series isn’t a great jumping on point, so if you’re interested, check out The Way of Kings, the first book in the series.

What have you been reading? Anything worth recommending? Share your own picks below.