Reading Jan to June 2009: non-fiction

[several_bees]

Brief reviews of non-fiction that I remember reading in the first half of the year.

Comments

[huskyteer]

Fever Pitch. The fact that I started it in the first place and finished it despite having 0 interest in footer is testament to how great I think Nick Hornby is (though it was also responsible for my not discovering him for several years as I thought he wrote blokey books about football).

[several_bees]

Aha, I noticed it came top of the Observer's (reader-voted) list of the 50 best sports books. I haven't read any Hornby and have always been a bit reluctant to, but for no good reason at all, so I shall try this.

[ashfae]

Not exactly what you're looking for, but are you familiar with the American YA writer Chris Crutcher? He's one of the most important YA authors, I think; more popular in the 90s than now, but his books were incredibly formative for me and the genre in general. And they all involve sports and Extremely Difficult Topics. My favorite is Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes (quote in icon is from that), though others involve more sport. Most often swimming, as I recall. Or that might just be that I sought out the swimming ones, because I like swimming. =)

[several_bees]

I'm not - my YA reading has been much stronger in "there are implausible adventures!" than "people do things that actual teenagers might do".

[ashfae]

I generally prefer implausible adventures (ideally in a quasi-fantasy setting) myself, but there are some actual teenager stories I've loved. Chris Crutcher is one of the best. Though be warned, his books are made of pain. Not gratuitous angst, but the sort of pain that makes you think hard. Do not read when you want something light! (they are also made of finding strength, which is why I'd read them; gratuitous angst pisses me off)

[phoenixy]

The Blind Side, by Michael Lewis--I'm not interested in sports at all but his writing is always interesting, no matter what it's about.

[several_bees]

Aha, sounds good - I'll have a look.

[kerrypolka]

I have a few books about how UNC is amazing and Duke (and sometimes BC and NC State) are the slime of the earth that I could lend you. I think there's a strong cultural-demographic aspect of sports fandom that they describe very well.

[several_bees]

Sure, sounds good! What, er, what sport is that?

[kerrypolka]

Mostly basketball! But there is a tiny bit of baseball and football as well.

[miss_newham]

If you ever wish to make snail tea, please do it NOW rather than any time when I might ever be in your kitchen.

[several_bees]

It is supposed to be good for colds, according to the late eighteenth century! But fortunately it's now the present.