Tuesday Teaser/Opening ~ Ten on Sunday

As a writer myself, I'm always looking for insights about the unique ways men think, so when I stumbled across Ten on Sunday: The Secret Life of Men by Alan Eisenstock, of course I had to pick it up. I'm so glad I did because I'm truly loving this book. There are some hysterical moments of the guys acting like guys in ways that make women shake their heads the way we do when they get so caught up in "saving face" in front of the other guys.

Blurb:
A moving, lyrical, eye-opening look at the true nature of intimacy among men.

After the LA riots, and once he'd fled his mid-city home for the relative safety of suburban Santa Monica, Alan Eisenstock at last found himself with a driveway that was big enough for a weekly basketball game. For years he'd yearned for this; now all that stood between him and the zone defense was the fruits of the carob tree that fell on the driveway and threatened to ruin the game. Once the surface was clear, however, Sundays were given over to a raucous, competitive, and hilarious series of ball games. But what began as a recreation soon became a chance to shatter the Boy Code once and for all.

So here they are: doctors, lawyers, writers, construction guys--some single, some married--all, however, committed to the game they're playing, and to the deepening of friendships the time together engenders. Along the way there's a fight and a falling-out; the tragic death of one of the guys' wives; a trip to Mexico that's right out of a buddy movie, except that these early-middle-aged men end up in bed by 9:30 P.M.; a laugh-out-loud karaoke session that has to be read to be believed; and more bagels than any book should ever be able to bear.

Holding it all together is Alan Eisenstock himself. His own personal journey from unhappy, stressed-out screenwriter to full-fledged, fulfilled book writer is the story of a man risking his financial and emotional life in order to follow his heart. And what begins as a weekly ritual of game-playing becomes, over five years, a meaningful exchange on marital issues, money worries, and the onset of various midlife crises. The result is a lovely, whimsical, and hilarious book about guys and what they talk about when their better halves are not around.

The Opening:
  Los Angeles is burning.
  It is the sprinng of 1992. Even though a video tape clearly shows four Caucasian police officers brutally beating and kicking an African-American man named Rodney King, an all-white jury delivers a verdict of not guilty. The four officers are freed. Outraged, the people of South Central Los Angeles begin to burn the city down. They set fires and loot stores in their own neighborhoods, then head north toward other neighborhoods, such as Hancock Park, where I live.


The Teaser:
It could be because of all that's happened--the death of Kyle's wife, Brick's knee injury, surviving the Northridge quake, Mitch's marital troubles, our trip to Mexico. Perhaps sharing these events has cemented us, served as a glue to bring us together. Whatever the reason, I am certain of this one truth: men can achieve closeness without intimacy, while women can achieve intimacy without closeness.


Any takers?

Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! To see what others are sharing on the Teaser Tuesdays, check the comments at:: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/ 

Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea