Boom! This is Books & Biceps #395!

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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary is one of the most entertaining, extraordinary books I’ve ever read. It is one of the very few books that I would call, without any hyperbole, a true experience. It’s science fiction but it’s more than that. It is fascinating, philosophical, inspirational, action-packed and beautifully written.

The story, like other Andy Weir books, has a mammoth theme: the earth is dying and civilization has only one shot to save it, hence, the name Hail Mary.

The effort to save earth involves an unlikely, likable hero, exciting technology, new worlds, new characters, aliens, adventure and yet, the novel is grounded in humanity and human ingenuity and a general American “never give up” attitude from the main character that you’ll instantly recognize.

The book came out a few years ago but I'm recommending it right now and giving you a Books & Biceps three-week countdown to the movie, which comes out March 20th.

From the looks of it, the film is going to be awesome and I can’t wait to see it.

But I implore you to read the book first.

Read it once with no vision of what Ryland Grace or Rocky (the alien) looks like. Read it so you can use your imagination as Ryland uncovers one new discovery in outer space after another. So you can picture your own space ship and new planets and more. Read it to let your mind run wild.

THEN, go see the movie. Trust me. Buy it here.

Oh, you think you’re too old to take up a new sport? Why? You hit your 40s or 50s or 60s and it’s just too hard? Ha!

Let me introduce you to Ambrose “Buddy” Gaines, who took up swimming at age 89 and just competed in his first event at age 90! He even dove in. In this case, it helps that his son is three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines, but still. This is amazing. Let’s you know that you truly are never too old to pick up a new sport:

If you’re a guy over 40 and you’ve been looking for a new digital magazine that’s written for midlife men, by midlife men, on the topics that actually matter to us: family, fitness, fashion, finance, food & fun, then join us at Midlife Male.

I write a column every Tuesday called The Manologue. This week, I wrote about the Olympics and how we all miss getting Sports Illustrated in the mailbox on Thursdays. These iPad watching, Netflix streaming, YouTube shorts online kids don’t know what they missed.

Hell, nobody under 35 knows. But dads and 80s/90s sports fans KNOW.

There was nothing like rolling home from school on a Wednesday or Thursday and grabbing that sweet, fresh issue of Sports Illustrated out of the mailbox. Yes, the physical mailbox. Tangible. In print and glorious. Take a trip back to when getting the mail was awesome:

This might be my favorite one yet, from Post writer Kirsten Fleming:

"Man versus beast is an eternal theme that Jon Finkel tackles brilliantly in this exceptional novel. Bear Brawl is edge-of-your-seat storytelling at its finest, with deep, memorable characters and crackling dialogue. A true blockbuster thriller with heart. As for Brick? Get used to that guy. He's an action hero for our modern era."

-- Kirsten Fleming, New York Post

Don’t forget: You can get your name INTO Bear Brawl forever by pre-ordering right now! All you have to do pre-order today and send me a screen shot with your name. Then you’ll etch your name in the hardcover copy forever!

Jon Finkel is the award-winning author of Macho Man: The Untamed, Unbelievable Life of Randy Savage, 1996: A Biography, Hoops Heist, The Life of Dad, Jocks In Chief, The Athlete, Heart Over Height, “Mean” Joe Greene and more. His books have been endorsed by everyone from Mark Cuban, John Cena and Tony Dungy to Spike Lee, Kevin Durant and Chef Robert Irvine. He has written for GQ, Men’s Health, Yahoo! Sports, The New York Times and has appeared on CBS: This Morning, Good Morning Texas, Good Morning Chicago, and hundreds of radio shows, podcasts and streams. Jon was recently profiled in The New Yorker about the awesome community he’s built around his Books & Biceps newsletter. They describe him as “a gym rat’s Reese Witherspoon”. Reply to this email for any media requests.

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