Books & Biceps is the only weekly e-mail that’s like if your meathead writer best friend sent you a personal newsletter about cool stuff he’s found, read and written. Every Friday. Awesome, right?

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BOOKS

I’ve been neck deep researching and reading wrestling books as I write the powerhouse biography of the “Macho Man” Randy Savage and it’s been amazing. The “Andre the Giant” bio, Eighth Wonder of the World, is exceptional.

But as much as I love the performances, power bombs and pile drives, at night when I’m winding down, I need a little break from heel turns, so I’ve been turning the pages of books in totally different genres.

Life’s Work: A Memoir by David Milch

This week I started reading a book I’ve had my eye on for a while. It’s a memoir by one of the most iconic TV writers and creators of all time, David Milch. If you loved NYPD Blue or Deadwood, then you’re familiar with his work.

Deadwood was incredible, but personally, even though I might be one of only 14 fans in existence, my favorite Milch show was John From Cincinnati. Yes, most of you don’t remember it. And yes, it only lasted one season on HBO… But it combined surfing and family and the supernatural and friendship and it was brilliant.

In fact, I actually flipped to the part in the book about John first because I’ve always been curious about what Milch dreamed of as the best case scenario for the show.

This line got me:

“The argument of John was that the universe somehow cares about the outcome of our species’ adventure, that it wants us to live.”

Trippy stuff. As an added wrinkle to the book, Milch is writing it as he battles with Alzheimers. It’s his way of trying to keep track of his memories as his family helps him sort through his life. It’s poignant and beautiful to read.

Also, if you liked any of Milch’s shows, this book is for you. If you enjoy wonderful storytelling and behind-the-scenes creator stuff, this book is for you. And if you’re one of the other dozen John fans, this book is for you. Buy it here.

BICEPS

My traditional deadlift form sucks. It always has. No matter how slow I go. No matter how light I go, I end up tweaking something at some point. My body is somehow off kilter when it comes to this exercise and so I don’t do it…

Fortunately, I bought a hex bar a while back and I love it. MUCH more natural stance for me. Way less awkward. But still, given my deadlift dilemma, I like to check my form against videos once in a while so I don’t punish my back or knees.

This video is one of my new favorites to form check on. I like it because one dude explains the lift as the other does it, and then they compare it to how it’s different from the traditional deadlift:

Check out the video here, meatheads.

QUICK FLEXES

I wrote a thread on Twitter about how Cameron Crowe came up with the idea for Jerry Maguire. It’s at 600,000+ impressions as of me writing this. Thought you’d all enjoy how the screenplay came about and who he had in mind to star first:

You can read it here.

In protein news, I’ve smoked brisket, filet and strip steak in my new smoker. And for Valentine’s Day I smoked a flank steak for the first time. Came out absolutely perfect:

This next one is for all my dog lovers…

When my good girl was a puppy, she sat under my desk on my feet while I wrote Hoops Heist. Now she’s 80 pounds… and still sits under the desk (or tries to - haha) while I’m writing Macho Man:

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Have a great weekend! - Jon