Sports books...

[fajrdrako]

From August 14, 2008: Do you or have you ever read books about the Olympics? About sports in general? Fictional ones? Or non-fiction? Or both? And, Second: Do you consider yourself a sports fan?

The easy answer is "no", and "no". Whatever instinct makes people like sports, I don't have it.

There are some sports I love: fencing, equestrian sports, archery, gymnastics. But I don't find myself making any time to watch them. I just love them in theory.

I watched a few minutes of the Olympics coverage with josanpq the other day - swimming events - and was somewhat amazed at how boring I found it, how uninteresting even the most beautifully toned and muscled bodies, how full of platitudes the announcers and the athletes were. I was more interested in catching glimpses of China.

The only sport I like watching on TV is European football.

So - do I read about sports? No, though sometimes sports come into things I read. I once (in my teens) went on a spree of reading Paul Gallico, after seeing and loving the Disney movie, The Three Lives of Thomasina, based on his novel. Paul Gallico was a sports reporter for years, and I read all his short stories about sports - and loved them because I liked his style of storytelling. Subject matter was irrelevant.

The Olympics have been featured in some books I've read about ancient Greece. Now, that was fascinating. Cynisca, winning the Olympic gold in 396 BC - yes! Go for it, girl! But it was history, not sport, I was reading.

I can't recall otherwise reading books about sports, ever. Most movies about sports bore me. The only sports movie I can think of offhand that I actually enjoyed was Bend it Like Beckham.

Comments

[laitosto.livejournal.com]

I am at the other end of the sports interest spectrum. My SO has said (probably true) that I would watch two people playing tidily-winks if they put it on ESPN.

I would watch the Olympics, but I'm personally boycotting watching the coverage due to the commercial exploitation of sport by the large companies and the political exploitation of the games by the host country. I get the results on-line or in the newspaper.

Favorite sports book: The Amateurs by David Halberstam

David Halberstam was a Pulitzer prize author of political non-fiction. After a large project, he would indulge himself with a short project he found interesting, usually something about sports. This was a wonderful book written by a wonderful writer.


Favorite sports movie: Bull Durham

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You mean tiddly-winks isn't on ESPN? I thought it was. It seems amazing to me that they put poker on TV. Poker! I just wish there was more figure skating and fencing - but it's probably just as well as there isn't a lot that I'd want to watch. I don't have the time.

Thanks for recommending The Amateurs.