There is a special category of non-fiction books that I call just simply great books. You know the ones that you read and you don’t think “this is a book for a gardening person, or a sports fan, or the outdoor type” but instead you say this is a great book. Like I said this category is the “great books” category. In the store I created a section called “culture” – in the beginning it was secretly my way of keeping all of the books I like or want to read in the same place so I either won’t forget to sell them or forget to read them. Examples would be Into the Wild, Class by Paul Fussell, Suburban Nation, Fast Food Nation – one of those types of really great books is Blind Side by Michael Lewis. When non-reader friends started to tell me about this book I took their advice and picked it up. Way before there was a movie Blind Side was clearly identified as one of those “great” books. Why? First, I think it’s very human without being cheesy and second because it takes something we (I) love – i.e. football and enhances it/makes it better. I want to read the book again before football season because I think it will make me enjoy football even more to have re-read it – that’s the kind of thing that makes a great book great.
But also it’s a book about real people. These real people made a decision, seemingly effortlessly so, to adopt Michael Oher. This decision obviously changed their lives and his. Now we have the unique opportunity of learning what lead them to that choice. What decisions did they make years and years ago that led them to the choice to adopt someone who seemed so different from themselves. This wasn’t a little baby but a nearly grown man. They made a difference – a tangible difference. I, for one, am interested to read the book and to meet the Tuohy’s. We’ll get that chance as In a Heartbeat will be out next week and the Tuohy’s will be here signing on July 21 starting at 4:00.
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