NFL Quarterback Loves Reading So Much That He Started a Book Club with Fans
People have a certain connotation of football players, and it usually doesn’t include reading. But as they say: Don’t judge a book by its cover.
It’s probably weird to think of an NFL player taking time out of his schedule to read anything other than playbooks, but that’s not the case with this dedicated reader.
He’s even working to get kids into reading, and in this day and age, that seems like an impossible feat.
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck might be best known for reading defenses, but he’s been in love with reading books his whole life. Now that he’s made it to the biggest stage of football, he’s using his platform to encourage fans to keep their mind sharp with reading.
“I don’t think I have a conscious, sort of revelation, memory of, ‘Oh the first time I read a book was here or there.’ I just always remember enjoying reading, and there were always books in our house,” Luck told CBS News.
Luck created a book club for his fans, aptly named “The Andrew Luck Book Club.” He shares his suggestions with the book club through his website.
He includes an option for younger readers, or “rookies,” and one for “veterans,” which include selections he’s currently reading. After that, fans read, consider, and discuss the books on social media.
“I just choose a book, or two books, a rookie and a veteran book, a month,” Luck said. “I try to keep it very simple.
“Rookies generally are the books that I read as a child,” he continued.
“And then the veteran books are sort of what I’m reading now, and I thought that would be a fun way to maybe encourage people who wouldn’t read, to read and pick it.”
Luck also records a monthly podcast, where he discusses his selections and talks to authors. He said that it’s his chance to play the “fan boy” for a change.
“A little bit of a role reversal in a sense,” Luck said. “There’s always a little mutual respect and affection.”
The Colts QB even tries to stay active with his book club while he’s competing, though he admits it’s much harder while he’s studying schemes, defenses, and plays.
“I definitely don’t read as much when I’m in season,” he admitted.
“There is no time, probably before bed, ten minutes, just to sort of clear my mind, and I’ve always felt like it helps me sleep.”
Luck’s goal for the book club is to introduce books to those who might not have otherwise picked them up.
“In a really sort of a simplistic view, the goal is that if one kid would pick up a book, that maybe otherwise wouldn’t have and they have fun reading it,” Luck said. “That to me would be a good day.”
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