I Can't Put it Down

 


   One of my favourite TV shows is "A Football Life" which is broadcast on the NFL network. It is an hour long show that is a biography about a coach, player or some other person that was influential in the sport.
 There was an episode on former quarterback Steve Young. I watched it with interest. The show was based on the new book that Young had written about his life called "QB: My Life Behind the Spiral". It was an interesting show, but it felt like an hour long commercial for the book. I didn't delete the episode from the DVR after I'd finished watching it though. Maybe I'd want to see it again.
  It wasn't the first time I'd heard of the book. There were some excerpts from it published in the LDS Living magazine. I read them and found them interesting as well. I know that male members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have certain expectations. Young had not gone on a two year mission as young LDS men are strongly encouraged to do and he married when he was in his 30s. The fact that someone who is a descendant of early church leader Brigham Young would do this to me seemed pretty incredible.
  I had no intention of buying the book though. Maybe later when it would come out in trade or actual paperback I would make the investment. Not now.
  A few weeks later I finished watching all the new episodes that I had taped. I was preparing for my usual morning workout and just for fun queued up the Steve Young episode. For some reason this time I watched it with more interest. Young was a talented football player, but also someone who had a few struggles. For one thing, he struggled with anxiety. He also struggled being the quarterback who was backup to two legendary quarterbacks, Jim McMahon in college at BYU and Joe Montana as a professional for the San Francisco 49ers. It made me just a little more interested in getting the book.
  I didn't want to pay the price of the book in hardcover version. I decided to check and see if I could download it onto my Nook. The book was there and available for download. I looked at the price. It was a little steep. It was the price I'd paid for some print books. I thought about it for a few minutes. Yes, it was more than I really wanted to pay. It was still cheaper than getting the hardcover. I could wait a year or so to see if it would come out in trade paperback which would be less expensive. I didn't really want to wait. I wanted to read that book now. I hit the download button. I told myself that the money was going to a good cause.
  Once I had it, I delved into it. Despite the fact that I don't read many biographies of men, let alone sports figures, I was hooked. I hate picking the book up because I have trouble putting it down. This morning I planned to read one chapter as I had other things to do, like writing this column. Instead I read three and had to force myself to stop as I'd gotten to a good part.
  In the show Steve Young said he wanted the book to be useful. He did not want the book to be entertaining. So far I can say that it is both. It makes me wish that I had a print version of it so I could loan it to some other people that I know. It seems that his struggles were  greater than he expressed on the show. I always like to hear about people who overcome challenges to do good things. I like to know how they did it in hopes that I can take that knowledge and use it myself or pass it on when an opportunity arises. If I still feel this way once I finish the book, I may wait until the paperback version comes out and buy a copy. Then I can loan it to someone else who may not be able to put it down.