Combining Passions

Sports isn't the only thing that I love to do in my free time.  No, I must admit I am also a huge book nerd.  I will read almost anything you put in front of me.  From Fifty Shades of Gray to Anna Karenina, I enjoy it all.  But one of my favorite genres is the sports novel.  In fact, I even wrote my college application essay on my love of sports and history and how reading books on long lost season ago allows me to combine them both.
So, if you are looking for a fun book to pick up here are a few I would recommend:

1) Moneyball: The book that got me into Harvard! Ok, not really. But I did base my entire college entrance essay on it.  Any true baseball fan knows that to enjoy baseball, you have to be a bit of a stat geek.  If you don't know what OBP (on base percentage) and WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched), this book will show you why those stats matter.  And, as Michael Lewis always does, he adds a human element so that you really get into the story.  

2) Greatest Game Ever Played:  I'm not a big golf fan, but this is just a beautifully written story about how a very country club sport (which it still is, don't get me wrong, but its much more open to the public today than when this story was set) where pros were mocked and amateurs admired was on the cusp of a huge change.  Francis Quimet is an immigrant who qualifies for the open as an amateur and is facing the best to have ever played the game, Englishman Harry Vardon.  A perfect blend of history and story, you'll be on the edge of your seat wishing you had the ability to have seen this epic showdown live.

3) Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey -- and even Iraq -- Are destined to Become the Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport:  If you can't tell, I really like books that find statistical ways to break down sports.  That way, when you know the statistics making it likely that one player/team will win, its even more exciting when the underdog finds away to defy expectations.  This is a little bit more dense and has less of a story feel, but I found it to be a great read.  The section on penalty kicks and game theory was easily my favorite. 
4) The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy: If you read Bill Simmons, you have to get this.  It's in his classic witty/sarcastic style, but don't be fooled by the jokester style of writing.  Simmons knows his basketball and you'll be thoroughly entertained while learning a lot about the history of the sport.

5) Let Me Tell You A Story: A Lifetime in the Game:  Feinstein is one of my favorite sports books writers out there and he does a great job showcasing one of the smartest basketball minds ever.  Auerbach created some of the most dominant and entertaining basketball teams of all time.  In this book, you'll get to see some of the most important basketball players ever (Bird and Russell to name a few) from a new perspective and see how the Celtics amassed all those championships.  

6) Caddy for Life:  Another Feinstein book, but this one is a real tear jerker.  I seriously cried the entire time.  Lou Gherig's disease is one of those that has had no progress.  And we see how it kills indiscriminately in this book.  But, it isn't all bad.  This is also a story of friendship and how you turn tragedy into something positive.  A read you don't have to be a sports fan to appreciate. 

7) Playing for Pizza: This is a fictional story unlike the others.  But its a great beach read.  Grisham branches out from his usual crime novel and tells the story of an unpopular football in Italy.  American football that is.  A great way to read about sports without having to really care about sports. 


Those are just a few of my favs!  If you pick any of them up, hope you enjoy!