Book Group, Books

Book 79: Friday Night Lights – H.G. Bissinger

I thought Friday Night Lights was going to focus solely on football (like the movie) but it didn’t. It was about so much more.

I read this book as part of a new book group, Books into Movies, I found at my local library. The book group itself was interesting enough, regardless of the book read. It was a mixture of 55+ individuals and about four of us in our 20s/30s. One guy pontificated, one woman knit, and the rest of us just sort of meandered about. I’ll definitely go back as I enjoyed the diverse opinions and perspectives, but I also like the idea of comparing books and films.

Prior to reading the book, I knew nothing about the story other than the film and the film was incredibly stunted compared to the book. In thinking about the book and what it means, Bissinger provided a perfect description of the book,
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Books

Book 2: Out of the Pocket – Bill Konigsberg

Out of the Pocket was a random decision. I’d never heard of the author, but I got an eReader and it was one of the books I could down load from the local library, so I thought why not? It’s primarily geared towards young adults/teenage readers, (as can be seen by my quick reading) but I still enjoyed it. Although not the best book ever written, or even the most exciting book ever written, it reminded me of great sports biographies I’ve read, specifically Inside Out: Straight Talk from a Gay Jock by Mark Tewksbury.

It’s the story of a High School football player forced out of the closet, while simultaneously learning that his dad has cancer. The story was mostly believable, if not a bit too utopic sometimes. There was nothing too overtly political or challenging to stereotypes, but I honestly believe this type of book can do just as much for LGBT rights in this country as many of the protests. (There is an entire argument of assimilation, but that’s not for this blog).

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