It's the offseason, meaning Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl center Alex Mack has a chance to catch up on one of his favorite hobbies: reading.

We're not talking about him picking up a magazine to check out a feature story or scanning through the Internet for the latest news. Mack goes all in, reading novels thicker than an NFL playbook.

"How many do I read? Depends on the size of the book," Mack explained. "Like, I read 'It' by Stephen King, and that's a massive, 800-page book. That took me pretty much all of training camp. But usually, I'll read two or three a month, give or take.

"I've always used reading as a way to relax after a long day. I have a really active mind, and it's my way of calming down before I go to sleep."

Survey NFL players and you're destined to find avid readers in the bunch. But you'd be hard-pressed to uncover a player more enthusiastic to talk about the topic as much as Mack.

King's writing has always captured Mack, which is why Mack became so entrenched in the "The Dark Tower" series of eight books along with the "The Regulators" written under King's horror-fiction alias of Richard Bachman.

"I read a whole lot of science fiction and fantasy books because it's an escape," Mack said. "It's weird. It's different. But I don't want to only talk about wizards and goblins."

Mack mentioned the more realistic "East of Eden," written by John Steinbeck, as one of his all-time favorites. The novel, published in 1952, dissects a variety themes related to individuals living between the American Civil War and post-World War I.

"It's just a fantastic story about what is good, what is evil; is it nature vs. nurture; what is your destiny in life and what is the purpose of life," Mack said. "And it's told through the story of this small-town family. It's just a really powerful book. When I finished reading it, I was like, 'That was really worth my time.' I was really glad I read that book."

Mack is happy he developed a love for books, period. It started from his parents reading to him every night as a child. His passion intensified around the fourth or fifth grade during a family vacation.

"My dad gave me these 'Lord of the Rings' books, and that was before they were really popular," Mack said. "I was like, 'Oh, they're really cool' and really got into those.

"After 'Lord of the Rings' I picked up on 'Harry Potter,' the first one. And I was like 'This is amazing.' If you kept up with the series ... I was an adult in college buying new Harry Potter books. I was like, 'Ahh this is for children, but I'm going to keep reading it anyway.'"

Mack respects J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling, the creators of the "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter." The latest author he took interest in is Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote "Deadeye Dick" and "Player Piano."

"He's always trying to give you a message, and it's a real nihilistic point of view," Mack said. "It's this real dark overture in everything he does.

"'Player Piano' is one of my favorites. It's all about what the future is going to be like when, like, machines start doing the job for everybody. And it's kind of like this real dark tale about what everyone is going to do; what humanity is going to do when we don't have to have jobs anymore. That was real entertaining."

So what does reading such novels have to do with Mack's play on Sundays? Absolutely nothing.

"Reading 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter' isn't going to help you much on the football field," Mack said with a laugh. "I would say it just helps me be a well-rounded person. It's not necessary if anything I read gives me an edge on the football field. I don't think it does. But it does help keep me relaxed and sane. It's something I'm really passionate about.

"Like I'm totally happy talking about this and going on about books and what's interesting. That's something I really enjoy, because there are some really good stories."