Ty Reads "Movies (And Other Things)"

Today has been one of the rougher mornings for me during this pandemic. I am frustrated, I feel like there is no end in sight, Kirk Herbstreit is saying he would be "shocked" if there was any football, college or pro, played this fall and "home schooling" was tough. But, to get rid of the blues I was having, I decided to finish "Movie And Other Things", Shea Serrano's newest book, and it instantly put me in a better mood.

I am a big time Shea Serrano fan. "The Rap Yearbook", I believe his first published book, is incredible, and every fan of rap music needs to read it. Then we have "Basketball And Other Things", and that is a masterpiece. I love basketball, I adore Serrano's writing, and Arturo Torres is an amazing artist. Put those three things together, and it will be awesome every time. "BAOT" is an all time great book, one I will read multiple times, and I highly suggest any true basketball fan read it. Well, I also like movies, and I have stated how much I enjoy Serrano and Torres. So when I heard they had a second, "And Other Things" book coming out, I was pumped. Then when I found out it was movies, I was even more excited.

I got the book for Christmas this past year, and finally finished it this morning. I read books in order of how I have them stacked in my closet and "MAOT" came up about two months ago. I was kind of lagging, but since we are all self isolating, I have picked up my reading big time. It helps me escape, and that is exactly what "MAOT" helped me do. I devoured the book over the past week. I wasn't even halfway through until Monday, and I finished it this morning, as I said.

What I like so much about this book, and all of Serrano's writing for that matter, is that it is relatable, funny and, for me, easy to read fast. The questions he ponders during the book are great. They are things I have thought about many times while watching movies, and Serrano even adds stuff that I never thought about before, but now I want to revisit some movies because of the things he touched on in "MAOT". Stuff he talks about that I have thought about in the book include, "who would be a better tough guy dog owner?". He mentions Tom Hardy from a lesser known role, and Keanu Reeves from the "John Wick" series. He breaks it down great too. I loved, and found myself agreeing with a lot of the questions he asks about the MCU. The movie death as an adult that hurt you most really got me thinking. As did the chapter about Michael B Jordan breaking your heart. And I also loved the chapter, LOVED IT, when he compared "Get Out" and "The Social Network". He talked about which was more important, and therefore better, and it is perfect. Some stuff he wrote about that I never thought about, that I will now revisit since we all have the time, I want to watch "Selena" again. I remember seeing it as a kid, kind of liking it, but not really getting how important it was. I want to see it with adult eyes now. I am curious as to which scene was Diane Keaton most charming in in the movie "Something's Gotta Give". I need to see "Booksmart" for so many reasons, and Serrano's chapter about it being an all time great movie only further hammered that home. And now I have to see if "Finding Nemo" or "Face/Off" had the intense opening.

But the best chapter for me, the one that resonated the most, was when he wrote about the movie "Friday". This was a perfect essay on the importance and influence of that movie on so many people. Serrano is not that much older than me, and I connected with everything he wrote about that movie. I can quote all the lines, as can my friends. Seems to be the same with Serrano. I also could not agree more with how great his description of how wonderful and profound Chris Tucker is as Smokey in that movie. It is an all time role, and Tucker crushes it, and Serrano give him his much due praise.

Look, times are hard right now, and it looks like we are just at the beginning. But, take this time to spend time with your family. Go on walks, listen to music, and when you have some free time, and you want to read, I highly recommend "Movie And Other Things" by Shea Serrano. It will let you escape, and it will make you laugh and it will put your mind at ease for awhile. This book is great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Go Out and Read the Funny and All Around Awesome Book "Basketball and Other Things"

I have just finished one of the best books on basketball that I have ever read. No, it is not a historical reference type book. No, it is not written by a former coach or player or GM. No, it does not come from anyone at ESPN or Sports Illustrated. This book is by my favorite writer who writes for Bill Simmons company, The Ringer. The book is entitled "Basketball and Other Things", and the writer is Shea Serrano.

I became vaguely familiar with Serrano when I got his first book, "The Rap Yearbook", a few years back as a gift. I kept "The Rap Yearbook" on my shelf for awhile, kind of staring it down, waiting to open and read it. I finally did, and I loved it. It was a great representation of all the things I think about rap music, but can't get across as funny and proper as someone like Serrano can. The illustrations also drew me in. Serrano's buddy, Arturo Torres, does all of the artwork for his books, and he is an amazing artist. Seriously, go google his name and check out his stuff. It is incredible.

So, after being on the high that was "The Rap Yearbook", I searched and searched to see if Serrano had written anything else. I saw all his columns, but I wanted a book. Then, about a week or so after my search, I saw on Twitter that he was working on a new book. He was vague, but he did say it was going to be about basketball. I was on board immediately. Then, he started a pre order campaign on Twitter, before he even finished his book. I, of course, pre ordered the book and waited for it to arrive in October. The only reason I am writing about it now, I just finished it very recently, and I am terribly OCD, so I read books in certain orders, and I had a few to read before "BAOT".

When I finally got around to "BAOT", I did not want to put it down. This is one of the funniest books, probably the funniest book, ever written about basketball. And don't get me wrong, Serrano knows his shit when it comes to basketball. But, he is undeniably hilarious. The stories he tells in the notes of this books, and throughout the chapters, had me in tears. In one of his chapters, when he talks about who he would dunk on if he could dunk on anyone, he tells a story about being a kid, finding 8 foot rims, playing 3 on 3 and dunking on one of his buddies so hard that he gave him a nose bleed. I have done this exact same thing. Reading this made me think of all the times that my friends and I would find smaller rims and yam on each other, and it was amazing. Also, when he breaks it down and announces that he would dunk on MLK, I was howling. That is what makes this book so great, the chapters.

The theme behind "BAOT", and I heard Serrano say as much in interviews, is to ask a question at the top, and then try to answer it. For example, he has a chapter about replacing Karl Malone with a grizzly bear, and seeing which one would succeed in the 1997 season. He breaks down each strengths and weaknesses, mind you, the bear in this chapter does not maul anyone, it is just put on a court and knows how to play basketball. It was also hilarious to read him talk about Malone living in the forest like a grizzly bear. This was the perfect chapter. He also delves into things like, which group of NBA players would be helpful or hurtful if the purge ever became a real thing. He puts players in the "Disrespectful Dunk Hall of Fame". He breaks down the careers of Allen Iverson and Dwayne Wade in one of my favorite chapters. Iverson had the better career, and Serrano proves that tenfold. He makes a Frankenstein type NBA player that would be dominant. He does a fictional basketball draft, which RD and I have also done on the podcast. He breaks down the most important NBA titles. He talks about the rules for pickup basketball, all of which I agree with him on. He does a chapter where he changes famous NBA players by just removing or replacing one letter of their names and says where they would be now, and the James Harder stuff is awesome. I would one hundred percent see the "Hammer" movies that Serrano makes up based on James Harden new name. They sound amazing. He talks about Nick Anderson making one of the four free throws he missed when the Magic played the Rockets in the Finals, and how that could have changed the history of the NBA. He even brings up the proposed Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaq one on one game that they were supposed to play after said Finals. That was a great chapter too.

Serrano covers so much great stuff in this book. Every chapter also has at least one drawing from Arturo Torres, and they are amazing. Each chapter opens with one of his drawings, and it is of an NBA player that has the number of the chapter. Shea Serrano has done something very special with "BAOT". As I said, this is my new favorite book about basketball. Serrano is easily my favorite writer at the moment. And it is not just me either. "BAOT" is so popular, even Barack Obama put it on his top 10 list at the end of the year.

Do yourself a favor and read "Basketball and Other Things". You don't necessarily have to be a basketball fan, but it helps. But, if you like comedy, Serrano is one of the best comedic writers out there right now. I am in love with this book. It is amazing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was dunked on by the head editor one time when they found a 5 foot rim, and the head editor beat Ty their in a footrace. 

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