For a book that dealt largely with players that I have never seen and arguments that I have no interest in, The Book of Basketball was very entertaining and I flew through the 700+ pages surprisingly quickly. I am a Bill Simmons fan, so perhaps this is not shocking; however, I think the main reason I enjoyed the book runs deeper.

Bill Simmons loves the NBA. His passion for the game is apparent and permeates through every page and every footnote. I, above all, am a sucker for passion. If someone is profoundly interested in something, hearing (reading) what they have to say (write) will almost without fail become interesting to me as well. I am envious of that obsession, and depth of interest. As such, I found great pleasure in living vicariously through Bill and his enthusiasm for 700+ pages.

If it came to it, I think I would rather read about Bill Simmons' experiences watching an NBA game than actually watch it myself. Combined that with the fact that I'm an NBA fan, and that's a pretty strong compliment.