BookJive

If ever there was a child prodogy it was Pete Maravich. Pete was driven to become basketball’s greated player. He was driven both internally and by his basketball father Press Maravich. The point I wanted to note here was that Pete, like other child prodogies–Tiger Woods comes to mind, or Kobe Bryant–had a mental grip on the game that gave him a psycholical edge over his competitors. Confidence comes from setting goals and achieving them, and from having the skills necessary to complete and win. Each goal that is set and acheived adds more confidence. Pete would practice for endless hours running drills, scrimmaging college players on his father’s team, while still in high shool, shooting free throws, dribbling, and shooting. Pete had been doing this his entire life and Pete possessed supreme confidence when it came to the world of basketball. If he could compete with college players he certainly wasn’t going to have problems competeing with his peers in high school. This confidence came from living and beathing the game for so many years as a child star. His entire life he’d been told Pete, you’re going to be the best player that ever played. As you skills in any field improve so will your confidence and Pete had all the skills. I think this is true of any person in any field. The more time and effort you put in–the more confience and elevated performance you’ll experience in that field.

Admit it, you’re all as desperate as I am to fill up the days until the final book of Harry Potter series is unleashed at 12:01 a.m. July 21 — the moment when “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” will be out to all Pottermaniacs out there.

It will surely be a bittersweet experience as we say “Goodbye Harry Potter…” I hope J.K. Rowling will write more about Harry…

On July 11, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth Harry Potter film series, opens on zillions of theatres. Originally, the release date is on July 13, a Friday. But, Warner Bros. decided to release it two days earlier. I hope it doesn’t have to do with June 13 being Friday… or does it?

What will happen ten days after the fifth film? That is what we have yet to see…

I like her face

From the top of her head

To her intelligent eyes

To her prominent nose

I like her books

They touch my heart

They make me laugh

They make me cry

I may not know her personally

But I admire her truly

She was able to move on with her life

After all the tears, the hurts, the strifes

With love in her heart

And pen in her hand

She signs her works

- Danielle Steele

I’ve been a die-hard fan of Harry Potter series and have followed Harry’s life from Book 1 to Book 6. I’m now eagerly waiting for Book 7 — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — to come out. I’ve been reading a lot of news about Harry Potter and I really feel sad knowing Book 7 will be the last. In this final book, Harry will finally kill Voldemort … but at what cost? I’ve been reading speculations that Harry will die in the end — maybe that’s why Book 7 was made to be the final book in the series. It’s impossible to have book 8 as Harry Potter and the Whatever without Harry Potter in the book, isn’t it?

I’ve been thinking lately about the value of reading. A great deal of the information that I am dealt in life comes because I have the ability to read. Reading can enlarge our imagination and awaken our mind to new ideas, people, and places. We have access to history’s most brilliant thinkers in the form of books and other written works. Take a look at these three facts that clearly illustrate the power of reading:

• 75% of unemployed adults have reading or writing difficulties.
• 60% of America’s inmates are illterate, and 85% of all juvenile offenders have problems with illiteracy.
• The per capita income in countries with a literacy rate less than 55 percent averages about $600.

Being able to read opens the doors to countless opportunities where anything is possible. If someone can read they can teach themselves, in essence, what the world has already discovered. They can become an expert on any field that interests them. Reading can empower people like no other activity.

Hi everyone. I’ve decided that it might be fun if bookjive had a blog. I look forward to reading your posts. I’d like to hear what book you’re currently reading or what books you’ve read, why you chose them, and what you’ve learned or what you like.

I’ll start out. I’m currently reading Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich. This is a biography about a basketball player named Pete Maravich nicknamed “Pistol”. Pete was an incredible basketball player who broke the college scoring record with 3,667 points while averaging an astounding 44.2 points per game. If I’m not mistaken I think the scoring record still stands (this all done before the advent of the three point line). The reason Pete is so special to me is because he earned every last ounce of his basketball talent. Some it seem born with talent, but not Pete. Pete’s father “Press” Maravich was one of basketballs pioneers who later became a college basketball coach. He even coached at LSU where Pete played his college ball. Press coached Pete from a young age and Pete became a child basketball prodigy. Here are some quotes/stories from the book.

Pete told his seventh grade math teacher when asked why he wasn’t turning in his homework, “Sometimes I’m playing ball at six in the morning and nine at night. When do I have time to do my work?”

Once Pete won a bet by spinning a ball on his fingers for an hour straight. He also bet Len Campbell (Wake-Forest’s All American) that he could make 24/25 free throws and collected his winnings in Pepsis–this being when pete was in middle school.

He’d often stay at the gym practicing for an average of 8 hours a day in the summer and 4 hours a day during winter. Once he and a friend were practicing but before he left he made 178 straight free throws.

Here is a college highlights video of Maravich
.