This will be the year’s first reading list. Finishing books is like placing an order online. Turning the final page carries a feeling of finality. Months ago, I started off the season with another hoops eBook. DeMar Derozan is one the game’s deadliest perimeter shooters. In his candid memoir, he recounts his journey. From his youth in crime riddled Compton to his decade in Toronto, he provides an inside look. He recounts his shock at being traded to San Antonio. Of course, he foregrounds his battle with depression. Coming out was a watershed moment for a star black athlete. He’s gutsy. Michael Connelly’s latest was next. This time, I got the hard copy. The author is as sharp as ever. Even with Harry Bosch as a supporting character, Connelly remains a winner. Finally, Ray Allen’s digital memoir rounds out the trio. I got this from Kobo. These books were bestsellers on release. I read the first two a while back but couldn’t find the time to crest the third. Tried a few classics but got turned off. Like my previous inventory, I’ll proffer the best quotes to tell the story.

Above the Noise (Demar Derozan).

• It didn’t matter which way you moved, I could never get anything but static snowstorm on the screen.
• In the kitchen, we used an ice cooler instead of a refrigerator.
• ‘I have no idea how the name (Deebo) followed me to the NBA.’
• On meeting Sam Cassell: ‘I was being given access to the hoops brain of a real NBA player. It was like unlocking a new level.’
• ‘Kobe was constantly giving out cues, like basketball was a fucking who-done-it mystery.’
• ‘I’m a big sneakerhead – I have a whole closet full, every shoe you can imagine in every colour you like.’
• On losing his mate: ‘I remember going to class the next day and looking over to see his textbook, pencil, and shit still on his desk like everything was normal. I suppose it was in a way.’
• ‘Plus, across the court is one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Playing against ‘Bron seemed impossible.’
• ‘I wanted my name to be intertwined with Raptors basketball forever…I was Toronto for life.’
• I grabbed my cellphone, opened Twitter, and typed ‘This depression get the best of me’ and hit send.
• ‘I keep hearing people refer to me as “the face” and I never had a clear-cut answer for what, exactly, that was supposed to mean, being a “face” of mental-health awareness.’
• ‘When it was finally time to play in the Bubble, the atmosphere was bizarre. Playing an NBA game in a gym with nobody there was definitely a new experience.‘
• ‘I still have bad days, but I feel more empowered than ever to keep fighting for the next one.’
• Not only do I struggle, but when I do, the whole world sees it. My success is public, just as my failures are. It took me a very long time to accept that fact.
• ‘Because I know from experience how inspiring that can be. Compton raised me. It taught me to be resilient, to experience and overcome hardship.’
• ‘I still crave the sense of calm I’ve been chasing all my life.’
• ‘Just like the stars, it’ll shine again tomorrow.’
• Rating: 5/5

2. The Waiting (Connelly). Another easy read from my favourite crime novelist. I loved the busybody, Colleen Hatteras. She’s annoying but a change of pace from your regular Connelly villagers. The author keeps thinking up new ways to entertain us readers. At 403 pages and 56 chapters, there’s a lot to like.

‘A lizard, and he bought it?’

‘I don’t know, but it gave him a reason to drop it. I don’t think he’ll bring it up again.’

• ‘Ballard got out of the Defender and headed to the back door of the complex. She was already exasperated with Colleen and the day hadn’t even started.’
• ‘Are you trying to scare me?’

‘Uh, no,’ Laffront said. ‘Just trying to be inconspicuous.’

They spoke in whispers even though they were more than a hundred feet away from the Purcell house.

• I’m fine, Harry.’‘For now. Just hurry it up.’‘Yes,‘I’m fine, Harry.’‘For now. Just hurry it up.’‘Yes, Dad.’
•  …Think before you act. There are consequences. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The laws of politic are the same as the law of physics.’
• ‘Colleen’, she said, ‘why don’t you go to your pod and get ready to walk us through what you found yesterday.’
• ‘Colleen, how did you find him?’ 
  ‘It was easy,’ Hatteras said. ‘I just googled “Victor Best Hawaii,” and this page on the restaurant site came up. I wish it were always this easy.’
• ‘She’s probably at home sulking because you’ve so mean to her.’ 
  Really? You think I’m mean to her?’ 
  Maddie smiled. ‘I’m just kidding’, she said. ‘She just gets too in-your-face…’
• As she spoke, she casually reached down to the left cuff of her pants, pulled the Rugger from her ankle holster, and straightened up with it pointed at Bennett’s chest. 
  ‘My gun has bullets…and yours does not.’

Rating: 4.9/5

3. From the Outside (Ray Allen). In his inspiring memoir, the NBA champion talks about his work ethic, family, coaches, teammates, and playoff glory. He dissects his biggest shot, when he drilled the improbable three that effectively buried the Spurs in the NBA Finals. He gives us an insider’s look into basketball’s finest league. His stops in Milwaukee, Seattle, Boston, and Miami. His cat fights with Rajon Rondo and George Karl. Seems like he was always last to know that he was traded Lol. For such an accurate marksman, Allen was woefully underpaid and unappreciated by his teams. I’m surprised he didn’t vivisect the catfishing incident. Even at 400 pages, an easy read from a high-IQ basketball player. Wasn’t a fan though of Spike Lee’s foreword.

• ‘I played in Milwaukee with a guy, Tim Thomas, who could shoot lights out, as long as he stayed inbounds.’
• ‘People in the parking lot, I found out later, tried to get back in, but couldn’t.’
• ‘As proud as I am to be an American, we don’t have a monopoly on the right way to think and live.’
• ‘But if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.’
• ‘Earlier, along the same lines, Doc introduced us to Ubuntu….The point is, to be the best you can be, everybody around you has to be the best they can be. Ubuntu became our mantra for the rest of the season.’
• ‘If you are not content with who you are, a championship or any accomplishment, isn’t going to change that.’
• ‘So that night, I’m not proud of this, I made sure not to break the record.’
• ‘If I had been dealt to the moon, she would’ve said no problem, and gone to look for her astronaut suit.‘
• ‘Was I shocked? Absolutely not. KG would’ve snubbed his grandmother if she signed with another team.’
• ‘I’m not the most innately talented guy’, he told us, ‘but I have been part of winning teams. And if you win, you will have a chance.’
• ‘The freshman is better than I was’, Tate said.
• ‘No one, after all, is bigger than the game.’
• ‘You become a champion the day you commit to giving your best no matter what the obstacles may be’

Rating: 4.8/5