Read. Read. Read.

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine. 

Read. 25 percent of Americans never read a book. Sure, some work two or three jobs to get by. Readers separate themselves from 'the pack'. Readers become leaders. 

COACHES: What are you reading this summer?

Here is my first batch of 9 books I am reading this summer. A few of these are so good I re-read them each summer.

1: Attitude by @CoachJayWright

2: It Takes What It Takes by @TrevorMoawad

3: The Twin Thieves by @SteveJonesSPK and… pic.twitter.com/qQTjGTRwMa

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) July 3, 2024

I've read five of the nine titles on this list. Which is not to say that I'd recommend any for non-basketball folks. If I had to pick two, I'd pick "Wooden" and "The Smart Take from the Strong." 

A few thoughts (not necessarily mine):

1) Better to read a great book twice than ten bad books.

2) Abandon a bad book (unless it's an assignment).

3) "Every book is about 'someone searching for something'.

4) A popular book might not be well-written.

5) Director Werner Herzog requires all his students to read J.A. Baker's The Peregrine. “Work like a bird. The falcon spend most of its days in a meditative preparations for brief and intense period of activity. Instead of using your time to chase after myths about, immerse yourself in the context of what you hope to understand.”

Perhaps the three best books I've ever read are:

Boys in the Boat by Dan Brown

“All were merged into one smoothly working machine; they were, in fact, a poem of motion, a symphony of swinging blades.”

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

“Survival is the celebration of choosing life over death. We know we’re going to die. We all die. But survival is saying: perhaps not today. In that sense, survivors don’t defeat death, they come to terms with it.”

In These Girls Hope Is a Muscle by Madeleine Blais 

"We didn't get the encouragement we give you boys. If you were a girl and you liked sports, you could be a cheerleader.”

Why were they the best? They told great stories with wonderful prose. As great as these books were, if you had to read one book that you can finish in a day, I suggest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, an epic story about the struggle between man and nature. 

What does any of this have to do with MVB? Everything. These books inform characters with the inner strength to achieve and survive. They're worth the struggle to become more than you ever dreamt you could be.