8. The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks

I'm a renaissance woman, what can I say?

My journey to read a book a week in 2017 took a left turn this week. Left, specifically, to my husband's side of the bed. Bruce Feldman's book has been on his nightstand for more than a year. I may have bought it for him, in fact. Either he knew I would like it or he just didn't want me to buy another book - regardless, he suggested it last Sunday and I cracked it open and got to it.

The basics: Bruce Feldman is a sports writer and analyst and one of the best follows on Twitter for football fans. His book looks at the massive business of private quarterback coaching, which in some cases, starts with kids in elementary school. It goes in-depth with Trent Dilfer's Elite 11 program, which looks beyond recruiting stars to find the factors of truly successful quarterbacks.

I like this read for a ton of reasons. It's fascinating to see all the nuances that go into finding and developing elite quarterbacks. It's more than arm speed and height and ability to scramble in the pocket. Dilfer goes deep on what he calls "dude qualities" - the things that make quarterbacks true leaders. I remember my husband talking about "DQs" when he read the book; it was cool to read more about how coaches spot it and how it really separates great athletes from great quarterbacks.

I read this book as a football fan first. But, I read it as a mom, too. You read about these families shelling out well over six figures just to get their sons this private coaching. It sounds crazy, but when you consider how much athletes can earn in scholarships and NFL money and it doesn't seem like such a horrible idea.

This book came out in 2014, which made it interesting. The book focuses quite a bit on a pre-draft Johnny Manziel. Coaches, scouts and Feldman seem to oscillate between whether or not "Johnny Football" will defy his physical odds and be an elite NFL quarterback or whether he'll let his personal issues stand in the way of his success. Reading it now, you have the benefit of knowing which way that went. The same goes for the high school (and middle school) age quarterbacks that meander through the pages. If you read it when the book came out, you'd wonder where all these kids end up. I found myself putting down the book and picking up my phone so I could Google where they all ended up.

It's a great read for football fans who like to know more than Xs and Os. It's a Moneyball-esque examination of the parts of the game casual fans don't typically pay attention to.

Of the eight books I've read so far this year, this is the one I worried most about finishing. Not because it's boring, but because it's dense with information. There are no wasted words, no wasted paragraphs. I attribute that to Feldman being a journalist (aren't journalists just better than regular people? I kid, people. I kid.)

I'm going back to fiction for books 9 and 10 of 2017. I bought one at the bookstore yesterday and ordered one from Amazon about a minute later. But, I have no doubt I'll go back to the hubby's side of the bed at least a couple of times before the year's over. I'm pretty sure I bought most of the books there anyway.