Independant+Reading+Questions

1) I have very high expectations about the book __Drive__ authored by Larry Bird, which is an autobiography. I already know a little bit of background on Larry Bird’s life, but not nearly as much information as I believe will be shown in this book. I know Larry had a hard life but I think this book will explain his struggles, challenges, and how he rose above them to be the man he turned into. I believe the book will be about this because I know Larry Bird is a tough individual who had no choice but to overcome his hard way of life in order to become the player and man he became.

3) This first page in __Drive__ provides an overview of Larry’s early life. The first page goes on to describe Larry’s first true basketball experience when he was thirteen years old. The setting of this incident was in Hobert, Indiana while attending a family reunion. Larry says, “When I was out walking around some kids asked me to join a basketball game.” I can predict from this quote that this will be when Larry first decides he really wants to play basketball. He goes on to describe that although he hadn’t played much basketball prior to this incident, he had hit almost every shot and the boys he played with really admired him for this.

5) The story itself gives me mixed feelings. For one, it makes me feel very motivated with the basketball season lurking around the corner. It also makes me feel compassionate for the main character, Larry, due to the many hardships he’s encountered, which included growing up poor and losing his father to suicide. I can relate to some of his basketball struggles, but I cannot come close to relating to his personal life. I have not grown up with any problems that come close to the problems Larry encountered growing up.

6) “There isn’t much doubt that one of the most influential people in my life was my grandmother Lizzie Kerns.” I find it especially interesting that the most influential person in Larry’s life was his grandmother. To say ones most influential person is their grandmother speaks volumes about that individual as a person. I myself have found that my grandmother is a very influential person in my life. She is a very good person at heart, which is also how Larry describes his grandma. Therefore I can relate to Larry saying that his grandmother is the most influential person in his life.

9) The language of the author in this book is very realistic. Obviously Larry is not a big name author and he has only written one book, which is this book __Drive__. He doesn’t write this book to try to sound like a real author, using big words, but rather he writes as a normal human being just telling the story of his life. To me, Larry didn’t have to try to tell a big elaborate story, but rather just tell the story of his life, which was more than interesting enough.

10) My favorite part of this book was when Larry began describing his college career, which I found out I didn’t know nearly as much about as I thought I did. As I knew, Larry started off his career at the University of Indiana, but dropped out after being intimidated at the size of the school itself. Larry had a small town mentality as a result of growing up in French Lick. After he dropped out, Larry actually spent awhile working for a garbage company, which he says he enjoyed. After being heavily recruited by the Indiana State coach, he decided that he was going to go back and play basketball at Indiana State. I find it very interesting that someone who was one of the greatest basketball players of all time almost ended up not playing basketball.

12) The narrator of my story is also the main character, Larry Bird. Therefore this book is written in the first person point of view. This story would be different if Bird was not the author. While a different author may have told the story accurately, he or she might not have been accurately able to describe Larry’s perspective about these incidents as well as how they affected him as a person. One advantage of writing an autobiography is that the feelings of the individual can be displayed throughout the book.

14) Larry Bird’s Diary Entry The last four years of my life have brought great challenges and also great accomplishments. My father’s suicide did not come unexpected to me, but really took a lot out of me. He really influenced me and challenged me to be the best that I can be athletically, for that I thank him. My basketball career at Indiana State University has given me memories that will not be soon forgotten and I am going to miss my teammates dearly. I have one goal now, being the best that I can be at the next level. When I play for the Boston Celtics in the NBA, I will lead by example.

16) “Drive” is a perfect way to describe the book itself. Drive can be defined as a person’s willingness to work hard and overcome obstacles they encounter. Larry Bird had a great deal of heart, passion, desire, and drive in everything he did. Without drive, Larry wouldn’t be half the man he is today. Without drive, the Celtics star player would have never made it past high school basketball. Everything Larry has achieved in life has been due to his drive, and without drive, there would be no Larry Bird as he is known today.

19) If __Drive__ was made into a film, this is how I believe it would be presented: The opening scene would be of Larry shooting in the gym for hours on end, and making almost every shot he takes, when he was fifteen years old. The film would end with Larry completing his career as a Boston Celtic with all of his fans cheering him on as he took to the court for his last time. I would choose an average, small town looking actor, who was not famous, to play the part of Larry Bird. Larry is a small town kind of guy and I believe he would appreciate that.