Books and Booze...r.

Yet another book update: Just finished Bleachers by John Grisham. This one took less than a full day. For a Wikipedia book review, [click here].

Good [albeit quick] story about a former High School football player who reluctantly returns home to attend a memorial of sorts for his former coach. The player has to fight off the bad memories and remind himself of the good ones, while attempting to finally move on.

That now makes 5 books in 19 days. 1,483 total pages.

Next selection: Hothouse Orchid - Stuart Woods

My favorite author. Haven't read any of his stuff in quite awhile. I'll have to make a list of the books of his I've read, but I imagine the count would be somewhere near 40. He's good. This one, 294 pages.



Other notes:
- Bulls agree to deal with Utah Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer.

- Word on LeBron James' decision to come tomorrow night at 8 PM on ESPN. It's a big deal.


- Happy Birthday to my gramps.


That was quick,
Derrick

[for lack of a better...something]

Book update: I just finished The Partner. Apparently, the New York Times doesn't do reviews for all books. Shucks. So this review [click here] comes courtesy of Wikipedia.

Intriguing book with lots of plot twists and well, sneakiness. Another "Really?" ending to this one. You know, not bad, but when you finish the last sentence of a book and all you can say is "Really?" It's like that. Still, cool book.

I finished The Partner in 3+ days. Woo! That now makes 4 books in 18 days. 1,320 total pages.

Next selection: Bleachers - John Grisham

I stopped by the town library today and checked out 3 new books, this being one of them. This book was recommended to me by my Middle School basketball [and football--yes, I once played football] coach. After this, I will [for real this time] take a break from John Grisham, at least for a bit. This one is short, 163 pages. Expect a quick update, since it shouldn't take long.



Other notes:
- Today marks 4 months without pop for me. I get cravings for it every few days or so, but I'm still going strong.
- Houston Rockets beat writer Jason Friedman replied to my email not long ago. Replied to one I sent him last fall, too. Yep, I'm pretty much best friends with a writer for an NBA team.
- Hoping to have a new phone within the next few weeks. As of now, leaning toward a Droid of some sort, but it would be hard to leave the life of a BlackBerry user behind. We'll see...

Keep reading,
Derrick

Reading, running, and rain.

Book update: Finished The Appeal today. I think from now on, I'll provide some info on each book I read. So for a New York Times book review for The Appeal, [click here].

Very good book, with a bit of scary realism as far as politics and the practice of law go. The ending was disappointing for me, but not enough so to ruin the story. [Unlike, say, Dear John].

That's now 3 books in 15 days. 954 total pages. My roll continues. In fact, my pace has increased. We'll see if that lasts.

Next selection: The Partner - John Grisham

This will be my 3rd Grisham novel in a row. At the moment, I'm thinking of taking a break from Grisham after this one, since a few of my other books of his are longer [longest one: 598 pages]. This one, 366 pages.


Other notes:
- Today, my first ever college crush got married. Congrats, Sarah!

I have one picture of Sarah and me, but it's about 6 years old, my hair was super long, and I looked really high [I wasn't]. So I won't be posting it. But still, I'm really very happy for her.

Now...can it be my turn yet? Please? Why not? *Sigh* But everyone else gets to go...[little kid voice].

- Perhaps the hardest run of my life this evening. Already on a sore knee, I was running through the rain [I love it], and mostly on dirt roads. The rain I was running in was manageable, but I didn't take into account how much it had already rained. For a one mile stretch, I was running in mud that came up past my ankles--that was messy. But there's nothing more liberating than a good, long run in the rain.

No one reads these things,
Derrick

Grisham and the snake...

Book update: Finished The Testament this afternoon. Good book. Featured an oft rehabbed ex-lawyer sent to the remote swamplands of the Pantanal to locate a female missionary who, unbeknownst to her, just inherited $11 billion from her estranged, recently deceased father.

So that's 2 books in 11 days. 630 total pages. I'm on a roll--and not ashamed of the nerd it makes me.

Makes me wonder, though...where was this motivation to read in High School? Or, um...college?

To be fair, it's not that I didn't read, it's that I didn't read the things I was supposed to. Whoops.

Next selection: The Appeal - John Grisham

Reckon I'll keep on the Grisham kick until I get bored or hit a lull. This one, 324 pages.

Embarrassing Story Time:

- Bear with me on the set-up, as it helps with the story's hilarity.

Remember the dude [Nate O'Riley] from the book? Well as he's working his way through the Pantanal, he naturally encounters several creatures he's not used to seeing in his typical suburban D.C. lifestyle. He doesn't mind it a bit--it's an adventure, after all--until the topic of snakes is brought up. At one point, they come upon an anaconda. All black, approximately 12 inches wide and 8 feet long. Just reading about this made me squirm. I haaaaate snakes.

As I begin my run, I look around at the clear country air, calm trees, thinking 'Man am I glad I'm here in the country and not the Pantanal--no anacondas here!'

And THEN...about a mile in, I see a big, black snake on the left side of the dirt road, not 10 feet in front of me. No anaconda, mind you, but, um...it's a freaking snake! Probably three inches in width, four feet long [estimates]. Needless to say, I panicked. Slammed on the breaks like a hockey player sliding to a stop in front of a goalie. Made an abrupt turn to go back the way I came and--TWIST went the knee. Ouch! Had to limp most the way home--and all around the house since then. Thankfully, the snake did not follow me home.

And that is my snake story.

As a follow-up to the story, this conversation ensued:

Me: "That was my favorite route to run, too...won't be taking that way for awhile now."
Mom: "Yeah, because the snake will be there waiting for you."
Me: "I know! That's what HE said. He said 'Don't come back 'round here or I'm gonna f*ckin' eat you.'"
Mom: "I bet he did."
Me: "Where did I lose you on the story's believability?"
Mom: "Go away, Derrick."
Me: "Dang it. Well it was still pretty scary."
Mom: "I know."

Snakes are bad,

Derrick

Bookworm, sports nut, overall weird dude.

First things first: Remember this blog? Needless to say, it took me forever to really start reading. I finally cracked open Hit and Run this past week--and finished it in last night, taking approximately 5 days (+/-). Real good book. It was the third and final tale within a series of books about Lawrence Block's protagonist, Keller--an ironically likable hit man. Fun story with several twists and turns, and a fun ending.

I'm still finding it too difficult to dive into Wild at Heart, a book gifted to me from my best friend--who no longer speaks to me. So it's back on the shelf for now. Heart-wrenching bookmark and all.

So the current pick: The Testament - John Grisham

This is just one of at least 6 unread Grisham books on my shelf. If I like it enough, I could very well have a very Grisham summer, 2010. We shall see. Ideally, I'd like to try and knock out a book a week for as long as possible. At current pace, should be an OK goal.


Moving on: Helluva sports day. I mean, epic. I mean, so much so that even if you're not all that interested in sports, you should appreciate how big a sports day today has been. And if you don't, well...I probably don't have much to say to you.

World Cup: Team USA needed to win, or they were done. Correction, they could have moved on with a tie, but only if England tied and scored less than 2 in their game. Or something. Huge stakes. Knotted at nil-nil and knowing England had already won, the drama was intense. In extra time, Landon Donovan punched in the winner, sealing perhaps the most thrilling soccer victory in United States history. President Clinton was there, watching in person--in tears and had lost his voice. I'm just saying...


Wimbledon: John Isner, United States. Nicolas Mahut, France. If you don't know the names, you will. Or...check the record books in about 500 years and their names will still be there. Longest match ever. In the history of tennis. Ever. By far. Ever. In fact, the 5th set alone has lasted longer than the next-longest match ever. Oh yeah, and it's not over yet. Play was suspended today (again). They will resume tomorrow, having already played 9 hours, 58 minutes. The 5th set is tied 59-59. The only word I have to describe this: Superrinsanecrazyludicrousridiculousness!

Utterly ridiculous day in the world of sports...and the Cubs don't even play until 9:10 tonight.

Lastly, I have effectively managed to put my entire foot in my mouth on multiple occasions (same topic) already this week. But it needed to be done. It was something I was hesitant about, but decided to listen to the advice of a friend [Thanks, Brit] and go ahead with it. So glad I did, too. It's out of my hands now...big relief. Time to move on from that situation. Like I've said before--in regards to other topics--I've done all I can.


Happy reading,
Derrick