Bad Monkey, Carl Hiaasen

The release of a new novel by Carl Hiaasen is always cause for celebration.  I have to admit, I love every novel he's written.  (His golf book wasn't that great, to me.)  Bad Monkey came at a great time, shortly after I read a new novel by that other funny south Florida columnist.  (I won't name names, but he should stick to his humor columns and leave the humor novels to Hiaasen!)

Bad Monkey, Hiaasen's first adult novel since 2010's Star Island, opens with a honeymooning couple's snagging an unusual catch on their fishing trip in the Florida Keys: a human arm.  We meet Andrew Yancy, who has been demoted from detective to health inspector due to a very public mini-vac attack on his lover's husband.  Yancy, determined to resurrect his career by pursuing the killer of the owner of the wayward arm, gets himself into a convoluted mess that, in his inimitable style, Hiaasen weaves together and ultimately, improbably, sorts out.

Believe it or not, in spite of the very Hiaasen-esque cast of characters, this may be a little more straight that some of his other novels.  Nevertheless, Hiaasen fans won't be disappointed.  Mystery fans with a sense of humor will enjoy Hiaasen's convoluted plotting.  And restaurant inspectors everywhere will find a new hero in Yancy.

Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World, by Jill Rigby

If you're like me, you can use all the help and reminders you can get when it comes to parenting.  And if you're like me, you've read plenty of parenting books and still feel like you will never master the art of raising kids.  Jill Rigby, well-known for her character education curriculum "Manners of the Heart," has updated her 2006 book Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World and has plenty to say to parents of children of all ages.

Rigby does not seem to be any more encouraged today about the level of disrespect in the world today than when she first published this book in  2006.  To be clear, she does not buy into the false respect of the self-esteem strand of education and parenting.  True self-respect is other-centered, and is grounded in parental discipline and guidance.  The task is made more difficult by the fact that whereas in the past, "parents could raise their children with the assurance of support from the culture norms," by contrast "today, parents must raise their children in opposition to the cultural norms."  This includes, of course, media, but extends beyond that to the ways in which people interact.

I should point out that Rigby's emphasis on manners (at least in this book--I have not seen the curriculum her organization produces) is not all about which fork to use and how to address a visiting dignitary.  She writes, "When we teach our children to be well-mannered, we are teaching them to focus on others, and on how others feel and what others need.  Manners help kids to grow up believing it's more about others and less about me."

I appreciated Rigby's tone, her use of scripture (She is clearly a Christian, but the principles she writes about apply to all children.  I would not think a non-Christian would be put off by her message.), and her practical guidelines.  Some readers, especially those who have read a few parenting books, will feel like they've read some of this before, but I think parenting experts as well as newbies will benefit from Rigby's book.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Breaking the Line

When the 2013 college football season kicks off in couple weeks (I can't wait!), the players we cheer for are just as likely to be black as white.  According to the NCAA, in 2010 45.1% of Division I football players were white, 45.8% were black.  In the NFL in 2010, 67% of players were black.  For football fans born in the 1960s or later, seeing black players on college or pro teams is not an issue.  But for our parents' generation, color mattered on the playing field, as it did everywhere else.

In Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights, Samuel Freedman tells the story of the historic meeting, in 1967, of two storied football programs, when the Grambling Tigers met the Florida A&M Rattlers in the Orange Blossom Classic.  Eddie Robinson, Grambling's legendary coach, had a long-term goal of sending a quarterback to the NFL.  FAMU's Jake Gaither worked for years for the chance to play his team against a white college team.  Both men recognized that until black colleges faced white colleges on the gridiron, and unless black quarterbacks call the signals in the NFL, black colleges and black players would always be considered second rate.

For alumni and fans of Grambling and FAMU, breaking the line will be a walk down memory lane.  Drawing on contemporary accounts, as well as extensive interviews with a huge cast of characters, Freedman recreates the world of 1960s black college football in way that made me wish I were there.  The play-by-play of the games (he lists game film in the bibliography) have the potential to bog down the narrative, but Freedman artfully works the games into the broader story.

And the story is much broader than football.  The experiences of the players and coaches during this tumultuous time in our nation's history demonstrate the bravery and dedication it took for these men simply to live their lives and pursue excellence in the classroom and on the field.  As they heard from their coaches, parents, and teachers, they had to be twice as good to succeed in a white world.  I came away from the book with a renewed admiration for black Americans who struggled to live peacefully during the Civil Rights era, and an appreciation for the impossibly fine line they had to tread between cooperation with white establishment and advocacy for black advancement.  The subtitle may have overstated the importance of the events in the book, but, at the very least, the experiences of these colleges and their football programs are representative of the times.

The irony of the book, and of the Grambling and FAMU football programs, is that the coaches succeeded, all too well.  While racism will likely survive as long as there are mean and evil people, institutional racism is on the wane.  No longer does a talented black athlete have only Grambling, FAMU, or some other black college to play for.  The most talented athletes have their pick, even playing at colleges which were most grievously racist in their admissions policies.  And black quarterbacks, well, as a Baylor fan, I am delighted that RG3 chose to play for Baylor, not a black college.  So now we witness games like the one I went to last fall, where a moderately talented TCU team wiped the turf of their newly remodeled stadium with the Grambling Tigers.  (Grambling's band was better, though!)

Gaither recognized this problem, noting that, in Freedman's words, "integration was the solvent for dissolving every institution black people had created for themselves."  Few would disagree that racial integration has, on the whole, made our country a better place.  But for black people in the United States, the weakening of great black institutions, not least the Grambling and FAMU football programs, has been a tough price to pay.

Whether you are football fan or not, whether you are black, white, or other, Breaking the Line is a terrific read and an enlightening look at race relations in the U.S.  Pick it up.



Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Animals Talking in All Caps, by Justin Valmassoi

Give Justin Valmassoi credit: the title of his book, Animals Talking in All Caps, tells the reader exactly what to expect.  As if that were not enough, the subtitle confirms the title and should remove any doubt from the reader's mind: (It's Just What it Sounds Like). 

This is a silly book.  It has silly pictures of animals, with captions (in all caps, of course) quoting the silly things that the silly author imagines the silly animals might be saying.  This silly author has a silly imagination.  If you, too, have a silly sense of humor, you will laugh yourself silly.

(By the way, if you think, like I did, based on the cover, that this would be a fun book to share with your young children, please don't.  That is, unless you and your kids watch movies like The Hangover together.  These animals swear a lot, talk about getting drunk, and some have sick, twisted minds.  This book is Rated R.  Not appropriate for children.)

Spend a few minutes browsing animalstalkinginallcaps.tumblr.com.  If you enjoy those few minutes,  you will enjoy the book.  If not, well, then I don't know what to say to you.



Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Breaking Fat, by Kevin Wichtendahl

If you're an American, odds are you're carrying around more weight that you want to.  In fact, if you're an American, there are pretty good odds that your are downright obese.  According to the CDC, 1 in 3 U.S. adults are.  Kevin Wichtendahl was one of those, until he made some life changes and lost 120 pounds in 18 months.  In his new book, Breaking Fat: Make Five Decisions and Break the Fat Habit for Good, tells his story and share the principles that helped him lose the weight.

Wichtendahl writes not as a dietician, doctor, or scientist, but as a guy who's been there and has some practical experience that he wants to share.  The book is short and sweet, with practical ideas that anyone can embrace, if they want to.  The biggest obstacle for people wanting to lose weight is mental. Wichtendahl writes that "in order to lose weight and keep it off, I simply had to change my mental relationship with food.  I needed to stop looking at food as a lover, a friend, and as a mind-altering drug.  I needed to realize that food was simply a source of fuel for my body--nothing more and nothing less, and that it was I who had made food out to be so much more in my mind."

Easier said than done, obviously.  But he offers some practical ways to train our minds to think differently about food.  When he started on his path to weight loss, he would visit fast food restaurants, buffets, or the food court at the mall and watch people eat.  Compare the ways that fat people and skinny people eat: size of bites, time spent eating, portion size, whether any food is left uneaten.  His observations gave him, if nothing else, a mental picture of what he did not want to be.

Most of his advice is pretty much common sense, and probably things you have heard before if you have ever thought about losing weight: eat more fiber, fruits and vegetables, don't fill up on sugary drinks and desserts, park a couple rows farther from the door and take the stairs instead of the elevator, leave a bite or two on your plate at every meal.  "The reason you are overweight," Wichtendahl writes, "is because you over eat."

I do wish he would have placed more emphasis on exercise.  His experience dictated that: "I lost over 120 pounds and did not exercise for a single minute."  He does discuss the fact that when we exercise our appetites and body's needs change, so that if we exercise to lose weight, adjust our diets according to the increased activity, then stop exercising but keep those new dietary habits, we gain the weight back.  Plus, he would probably acknowledge that most overweight people are not going to become active exercisers, so he focuses on food habits.

All in all, this is a practical, non-technical guide book for people seeking to lose some weight.  There's no magic bullet, no secret plan, just steps and changes anyone can do to lose some pounds.

Thanks to the author for the complimentary electronic review copy!

RG3, by David Sheinin

There is no question that during his time at Baylor, Robert Griffin III brought Baylor football to a higher level than it had been for decades.  Not since the end of the Grant Teaff era had Baylor fans had much reason to celebrate.  Now, with three consecutive winning seasons, recruiting on the upswing, a new stadium being built, and better and deeper talent than ever, Baylor football looks like it's here to stay.

Could it have happened without RG3?  Maybe.  But probably not.  His talent on the football field was backed by his leadership of the team, his charisma on campus and in front of the camera, and his inspiring back story.  He was the right man at the right time to turn the Baylor program around.  Now Washington Redskins fans have put their hope in RG3 to turn their team around.

This is the story that David Sheinin tells in his new book, RG3: The Promise.  For Baylor fans, RG3's influence continues, but his work is done in Waco.  For Redskins fans, "the promise" describes their outlook for Griffin.  In his rookie season, he won rookie of the year honors while leading Washington to their first playoff berth in years.  But, as Sheinin reminds us with excruciating detail, RG3's knee hobbled their playoff run.  The question is, will the knee be the downfall of RG3 and the crux of a losing bet by the Redskins' leadership, who traded away future picks for the chance to draft Griffin?

RG3 is definitely a fan's book, bordering on hagiography.  Sheinin, a writer for the Washington Post, compiles press accounts and his own observations, as well as interview material from Griffin's friends and family (unfortunately not much from RG3 himself).  You won't find tell-alls and dirt in this book.  I'm not saying there is any dirt, but if there is, Sheinin didn't go looking for it and/or didn't see fit to write it.  The best parts of the book, for me as a Baylor fan, were the recaps of his key games during his Baylor career.  The most painful parts to read, of course, are the reminders that he is human after all, and that his knee is very vulnerable.

It's too early to say if RG3 is going to live up to his hype.  He certainly did at Baylor.  Sheinin points out that RG3 has won the hearts not only of Redskins fans and Baylor fans, but of football and nonfootball fans alike, all over the country.  For RG3 fans, RG3 is definitely worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Playing with Purpose: Football, by Mike Yorkey

Mike Yorkey, a prolific author who has authored or co-authored dozens of books, has written as series of books discussing the Christian faith of pro athletes.  The newest title in the series, Playing with Purpose: Inside the Lives and Faith of the NFL's Most Intriguing Players--Jared Allen, Colin Kaepernick, Drew Brees, and Others, tells the stories of several NFL stars, some unfamiliar names and some household names.  Yorkey is clearly a guy who loves football, and loves to see guys who love the Lord playing the game.

I enjoyed hearing the back stories of some of these players.  Whether overcoming obstacles in their personal lives or simply living out their faith on a larger-than-average stage, Yorkey reminds us that NFL players are like the rest of us in many ways, living out their faith in a secular world, seeking to find Christian fellowship with co-workers and to be a witness in a workplace full of doubters.

I find it a little hard to feel sorry for the players' having to face such temptations as having to manage the huge piles of cash they earn, and having to fend off the hoards of beautiful women constantly throwing themselves at them.  But the reality is that in that kind of environment, a young man in his 20s playing in the NFL has to have a solid faith and some great support and accountability to remain true to his calling.

Yorkey's writing is straightforward and highly readable.  Playing with Purpose is sure to be a winner especially for young athletes looking for role models.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

On a personal note, NetGalley originally had the following cover and subtitle posted:

Of course, I was hoping to read a bit about RG3's faith.  I don't know if Yorkey wasn't able to get the interviews he wanted, or if there was some other reason not to include RG3.  It may have something to do with the fact that there are not one but two books on RG3 being published this month.  Whatever the case, RG3 on the cover certainly would have helped Yorkey's sales!