In Memoriam-Summer Reading Edition

For those of you who may not be aware, I lead a double-blog life. In addition to this blog, I write up a sports blog every so often. In my latest post, I chronicled the sports books I read over the summer.

Sad to say, however, that there were some books that I started that I didn't finish. There are lots of reasons why books start being read but aren't completed. Sometimes, life gets in the way. Other times, the book is damaged or lost.

In these cases, I just couldn't stand them anymore.

Here, in this post, I present my obituaries for the three books that just couldn't satisfy me this summer. (Cue sad piano/violin music...)

1. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

It was $5 or $6 in mass-market paperback at Target, and I figured I might as well read up on the new leader of the free world. Little did I know that it would bore me so quickly. I get really excited when elections happen, but I don't much care for politics beyond that. As such, trying to get through a book full of nothing but political talking points was something I never should have bothered to attempt.

2. Leadership by Rudy Giuliani

I've had this book for a long time, and had only gotten through the first chapter, mostly describing the events of September 11th. I was going to apply for a training coordinator position at the MTC at the end of July, which would mean I would be over about 20 teachers if chosen. I decided to get through this book to see if I could glean anything from it to get me ready.

The start of the book was interesting as Rudy laid out principles he applied to his meetings and to his crackdown on crime, but I suddenly found myself slogging through it. One day, I just stopped mid-chapter (a rarity for me) and decided that even if I did get the position, I could find more succinct ways to enhance my leadership skills. It didn't matter in the end, because someone else got the job.

3. Big Papi: My Story of Big Dreams and Big Hits by David Ortiz with Tony Massarotti

I started this Dollar Tree purchase about the same time the revelation first came out about Ortiz's name on a list of PED users in 2004. That wasn't what soured me on reading Papi's bio; it was the very choppy story telling of the Dominican Daddy. Every fourth word was "bro". Honest to goodness. Maybe the audio book would have been a more fitting medium.

I remember my Mom reading Wayne Gretzky's autobiography to me when I was young and complaining about how hard it was to read. Not from a "I'm not into sports" standpoint, just a "Yeesh, this is poorly written with no fluency" standpoint. (The co-author on that, by the way? Rick Reilly. Mwa ha ha...) I now have a greater appreciation for Mom getting through Gretzky: An Autobiography even though she couldn't stand it.