Book Log 2007 #57: Can I Keep My Jersey? by Paul Shirley

There's a lot to like about this book, in which ESPN.com blogger and basketball pro Shirley recounts the ups and downs of three years in his career. He covers the ups and downs with a good dose of ironic humor, and gives an interesting view of life on basketball's margins.

The main drawback is that the book reads like a blog, in that the focus is always squarely on Shirley. I found this to be a little distracting when he was talking about playing in Europe, as he'd spend more time talking about what it was like for him to play in Europe and less time talking about basketball in Europe in general. He also has a tendency to be repetitively sarcastic about his skills as an athlete and as a writer, which gets old quickly.

So I liked the book, but would have appreciated a little more... extrospection? Is that a word?