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SALT LAKE CITY — Basketball has taken NBA journeyman and former EuroLeague MVP Ekpe Udoh to a lot of places, from his hometown of Edmond, Oklahoma, to Golden State, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Israel, Turkey — and now the Utah Jazz.
But a good book can transport anyone in the same way.
Udoh recently traveled to the fictional town of Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, for the latest stop for the Ekpe Udoh Book Club, courtesy of "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng.
"I like the mother-daughter dynamic," Udoh said in discussing the novel. "I think that the book is giving us insight. It’s very interesting with the perfect utopia that the city they live in is trying to provide, and how it is really impossible to have that."
Udoh found the book while shopping at Barnes & Noble. It had some good reviews, so he shared it with his friends.
Five years after its inception, Udoh’s book club had its next novel.
"It started in Milwaukee, and the media relations guy there helped me out," Udoh said. "We just wanted to do something different and we formed Ekpe’s Book Club.
"It has been great. Every city I’ve been to, even in Istanbul, Turkey, I’ve had the book club discussion."
Udoh has hosted online conversations before. But this year, the Jazz practice facility played host to the first in-person discussion.
"I was very nervous; this is like a basketball game — people don’t do this often," Udoh said. "Just going left as an athlete and doing something different. I’m bringing unique individuals together to discuss a book. But we all love to read, and they showed that. Hopefully, we can keep this going."
A dozen fans of the Jazz and a good book came together to discuss chapters 1-8 and make predictions about where the story is headed.
So Udoh didn’t finish "Little Fires Everywhere" in one night. With a busy NBA schedule, where does he find the time to keep reading?
"We’ve got time. We have practice and then we have time," he said. "You have to find the time to read because knowledge is power. I just don’t read as much fiction; I like to read a lot of non-fiction and history books.
"It’s fun. You can always learn through reading."
Udoh isn’t the only Jazz player who loves to get caught up in a novel.
"A lot of my teammates read as well," Udoh said. "On the flight home, you’ll find four or five of them reading a book. It’s fun.
"I gave the book to Jonas (Jerebko), and he may pop up at the next discussion. I’m trying to get Joe Ingles to read it, but he is tough."
The Ekpe Udoh Book Club will re-convene Dec. 28. To sign up, follow Udoh on Twitter @ekpeudoh.
