Lon Kruger makes time in his busy schedule to read. "But I don't get
to read as much as I'd like," Kruger said. And it isn't coaching books
or playbooks that top his list.
"I just finished 'Days of Grace,' by Arthur Ashe -- a really good book,"
Kruger said. "He's an outstanding individual who had his priorities
in good order. I've also just started Colin Powell's book ['My American
Journey'].
I'm looking forward to getting into [Powell's] conflict years. I also enjoyed
Pat Riley's book, 'Winner Within.' It offers good insight into coaching,
but I like the biographies more and prefer those to the coaching books."
"Author interviews are a regular part of 'The Afternoon Magazine'
on WILL-AM (580), so I read a great deal. Two books that we featured on
the program this summer spring to mind as I think of good summer reading.
Both are autobiographical, and I plan on re-reading them.
"The first book's title is 'Happy Days -- My Mother, My Father, My
Sister, and Me.' It is journalist Shana Alexander's memoir of her fascinating
show-biz family. Her father, Milt Ager, wrote some of Tin Pan Alley's big
hits, including 'Happy Days Are Here Again.' Alexander's mother, Cecilia,
was a screenwriter and wrote for 'Variety.' "The second book is 'Confessions
of an Igloo Dweller' by artist and writer James Houston. He lived in the
Canadian Arctic from 1947 to 1962 and is credited with bringing Inuit art
to the Southern world. It is a page turner. Houston thought his first visit
would run a few days; it was five-months long. After his years living with
the Inuit, he headed to Manhattan to work as a glass designer for Stueben.
"In addition to reading in preparation for the program, I read recreationally
each night. It helps me relax. I love mysteries and historical novels. The
mystery I'm about to pick up is the latest from Deborah Crombie, 'Mourn
Not Your Dead.' Crombie, a native of Texas, lived in England for a number
of years and that's where her stories are set. The heroes, Superintendent
Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James.
"Crombie, by the way, will be on 'The Afternoon Magazine' July 23 with
another mystery writer, Neil McGaughey. Mixing business with pleasure!"
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