Book review: "Open" by Andre Agassi

I recently checked out Andre Agassi's autobiography from the library. Since it is considered a new book, it can only be checked out for two weeks instead of the usual four. This concerned me; I wasn't sure that I would have enough free time to read it. These concerns turned out to be unfounded - I was finished in less than a week. It was a well-written and unflinching account of his life and career.

I'm not a big tennis fan; I pay a little attention during the Grand Slam events, but that's it. Agassi was one player that I did root for, even though sometimes his image as an anti-establishment punk was a bit much. I often root for underdogs, and since Agassi was often in Pete Sampras' shadow, I think he seemed like one. Of course, Andre won eight Grand Slam tournaments and was ranked number one in the world more than once; making him perhaps the most successful underdog ever.

But back to the book. Agassi goes into a lot of detail about his childhood as well what seems like every tournament he ever played. Throughout the book, he is brutally honest about his behavior and feelings. He goes into detail about his drug use, his marriage and divorce to Brooke Shields, and the physical pain he endured towards the end of his career. Multiple times he mentions always hating tennis; having been forced into it by his father. He comes across as now being at peace with everyone in his life. He reserves most of his criticism for himself. The book is refreshingly free of anger and cheap shots at others - with one exception.

One story did seem out of place, given the overall tone of the book. Agassi mentions that Pete Sampras once tipped a valet parking attendant only one dollar. This story seemed quite unnecessary. There were a couple of other passages that were critical of Sampras as a player and rival, but this was the only story in the book that was really mean. A few weeks ago, Agassi and Sampras were playing an exhibition match for charity. It was supposed to be a fun event, with players wearing microphones. After Sampras imitated Agassi's pigeon-toes walking style, Agassi made reference to the tipping story. This led to Sampras directly aiming a serve at Agassi's head, then some tense moments between them.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the book. It was a fast, though at times uncomfortable, read. I would recommend it to anyone who had even a passing interest in tennis in the late 1980s or 1990s.

Mattress Shopping

Today was a milestone day for our family. We bought a new twin bed for my almost three year-old son. It gets delivered tomorrow; though we're keeping the crib installed in his room for a while in order to ease the transition. Hopefully, it will go relatively smoothly. I have no doubt that keeping him in bed before he falls asleep each night will be a challenge.

After we got home from the store, I got to thinking. We bought a new bed for our daughter a few years ago, and a new bed for us a couple years before that. But now we likely won't be in the market for a new mattress for another decade or so. I would imagine that this scenario is similar for most families. So how do so many mattress stores stay in business. There are several of them in our area. I just can't imagine that there is enough business to go around. Perhaps I'm wrong - how often do people buy new mattresses?