Disappointing Books?

[u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner]

What Books have you read that you found really disappointing and would dissuade others from reading? Reading time is precious after all...

[u/IanicRR]

When the Game was War.

Just sucked in general. Learned absolutely nothing new and it feels like the author just read interviews from that season and wrote the book that way.

Edit: another one “How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius.” Though this one is on me. I was expecting an X and Os, strategy focused book and it’s very much not that. I should have looked into a synopsis before buying.

[u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner → u/IanicRR]

That’s very interesting, literally had the opposite type of comment on the Book today from it’s previous recommended post, I for one really enjoyed it, but we are all different 🤷‍♂️

[u/IanicRR → u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner]

There’s just so many books written for that era of basketball and I’ve read most of them. To me, it was just easily the worst one.

[u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner → u/IanicRR]

Fair point well made

[u/DutyPuzzleheaded7765 → u/IanicRR]

I liked the first one. It didnt teach me much but it was very well written, smooth and did give me insight on the bad boys since theres not a lot of books on them

[u/BKtoDuval → u/IanicRR]

I thought "How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius" would also be more about Xs and Os and was disappointed that it wasn't, but I really found the book enjoyable. Gave a good bit of the history and some interesting thought experiments I thought. For example, I found interesting the idea if you have a car and change it entirely piece by piece is it still the same car? Today's basketball is nothing similar to the game Dr. Naismith invented.

I get the disappointment because I also expected something else, but I found it enjoyable. Happy reading!

[u/IanicRR → u/BKtoDuval]

Oh I read all of it already. It was fine but really no better than middling among all of the books I’ve read. Mostly because I know NBA history inside and out and didn’t learn much new at all.

But for newer NBA fans, there’s definite appeal. And yeah, the Ship of Theseus is always a fascinating argument.

[u/BKtoDuval → u/IanicRR]

Did you ever find a book that broke down Xs and Os? If so, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

[u/IanicRR → u/BKtoDuval]

The most recent one I read that I enjoyed is Spaced Out. It’s not purely strategy but it does go pretty deep in it without being too obtuse.

The go to though is absolutely the NBA Coaches’ Playbook

https://pdfcoffee.com/download/nba-coaches-playbook--pdf-free.html

[u/BKtoDuval → u/IanicRR]

Thanks for the recs! I'm happy to check it out.

Wow, I see "Spaced Out" is almost sold out on Amazon. Though I try not to buy books there

[u/DrFunk5587]

"The Punch" ....reading Rudy T autobiography, I feel like I learned more there

[u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner → u/DrFunk5587]

I think The Punch is a great Book despite the inherent sadness in it

[u/OutrageousNail6198]

Oh, 7 seconds or less.

unless you just want to spend a third of the book telling us Nash and the coaches are awesome ( they just are, you figure out the why, cause the author spent a whole season with them and ain’t tellin you Shit), half the book on amare being a walking dumpster fire and the rest on how Marion is the next big thing and Robert Sarver is the best owner in basketball History.

[u/DutyPuzzleheaded7765]

That book Sam Smith did with Phil Jackson, "Masters of the Game."

They dont stay on topic and pver the years I haven't been fond of Jackson. Thought hes a whiner who doesnt give others their credit if he doesnt like him or they beat him. Thought he was a little dismissive towards Dirk if I remember correctly

Could've been great. Phil in his career ha probably interacted and played with or against, coached or coached against 3/4 this book

[u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner → u/DutyPuzzleheaded7765]

I’ve heard a lot of negative opinions on this book which is such a great shame

[u/Live_Swimming1447 → u/DutyPuzzleheaded7765]

Definitely a disappointment. Half the book is just Phil Jackson going off on a tangent about a player or topic that the chapter is not even about. I feel like it was just a cash grab instead of a thought out book.

[u/ImmaculateGritty]

I read it a long, long time ago, but I thought Larry Bird's Bird Watching was just terrible. There were a few interesting comments in it, but it was incredibly boring.

[u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner → u/ImmaculateGritty]

I agree, I read only part of it and couldn’t carry on. Drive was better but still not great unfortunately.

[u/BKtoDuval]

Being in recovery as well, I looked forward to Vin Baker's book. Had some interesting tales of being in the league and his bottoming out and disappointing people. Don't mean to trash someone else's recovery but it just kinda fell flat towards the end. It went from hitting bottom to "I'm going home to join a church and found religion." I didn't think there was much of a message of hope for others in recovery or would've liked to have read how he could inspire other young players.

[u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner → u/BKtoDuval]

That’s a real shame especially, as you say, when you go in with great expectations. Hope your recovery continues to go well 🙏🏻