As many of my friends (and family) know, I have quite a huge love for football and anything related to this world. Thus naturally this has to include a healthy passion for books about football too. I have read some great ones, whilst others wait in my TBR pile for this year.

Anyway these are 5 great books about football:

5. Nick Hornby – Fever Pitch

Though it is basically a work of fiction, its setting and historical background is perfectly real. It’s Hornby’s ode to football and more importantly to his childhood club, Arsenal and its old temple Highbury. A beautiful read which many passionate fans will relate with.

4. Jonathan Wilson – Behind the Curtain

Jonathan Wilson is a great football journalist. You can find review here. I will definitely read all his works in the future. I have a couple waiting in my immediate TBR pile (see end of list).

3. Rob Smyth – Danish Dynamite

One of those books you will devour in a few sittings whilst wishing you don’t. It’s a beautifully narrated tale of Denmark’s ascent to football’s upper echelons between Euro 84 in France, Mexico 86 (where they donned the coolest kit ever – as in book cover – and literally played champagne football till Jesper Olsen’s mistake against Spain led to their downfall and a 5-1 defeat) and the unexpected win in Euro 92 in Sweden to become European champions against all odds.

2. Tim Parks – A Season With Verona

Tim Parks’ fascination with the Italian peninsula (a Milan University academic who traslocated there with the whole family) is evident in every word and anecdote while narrating his love and passion and misdemeanors for Hellas Verona, his adoptive favourite team, both at home at the Bentegodi and during his road travels with the infamous Brigate Gialloblu for the away games. It is the season of Malesani, Mutu and Camoranesi. But 2001 is also the year of the election of Berlusconi as Prime Minister.

1.Joe McGinniss – The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro

Take a real crime author, a very famous American one at that, watching USA ’94 qith fervour. As a soccer fanatic he is interested in all the most popular leagues around the world. Suddenly he is enthralled by a fabulous tale of a minnow team, an almost-unknown entity, named Castel di Sangro. They make it to Serie B (Italy’s second tier, basically) for the first time ever in their history. He leaves the States and goes to live for a whole year in nearby Pescara. It’s a fascinating, funny, heartwarming narrative of David vs Goliath from the perspective of a well-versed journalist. If you love football, you have to read McGinniss’ masterpiece.

Other books which haven’t made the final cut but are worth mentioning: Doctor Socrates (Andrew Downie); My Favourite Year (editor Nick Hornby); La Partita di Pallone: Storie di Calcio (editors Laura Grandi/Stefano Tettamanti); Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography (Alex Ferguson).

Books on my TBR: Inverting The Pyramid, The Outsider, Brian Clough: Nobody ever says Thank You, Anatomy of Manchester United, Angels with Dirty Faces (all by Jonathan Wilson); Quiet Genius (Ian Herbert); The Crazy Gang (Dave Bassett and Wally Downes).

“In his life, a man can change wives, political parties or religions but he cannot change his favorite soccer team.”
Eduardo Hughes Galeano

April was another very productive month, books-wise. I read some brilliant books and I kept this year’s tempo. I read a variety of genres, including poetry and a biography.

Easter holidays were a blessing as I had much more free time to immerse myself in reading. My favourite three of this month are most definitely (in this order):

The New York Trilogy

Winter

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union

What’s in store next month? My TBR stack is quite voluminous (see above). My aim is to read Binet’s 7th Function of Language (I loved his predecessor HHhH), McIlvanney’s The Papers of Tony Veitch (the second instalment in the Laidlaw trilogy), Tim Parks’ A Literary Tour Of Italy (he is one of my favourite authors), McGregor’s Reservoir 13, Saviano’s La Paranza dei Bambini (I am lagging behind in Italian literature), Antoinette Borg’s Amina, John Bonello’s translation of Żero and Lou Drofenik’s The Confectioner’s Daughter (Winner of the local National Book Prize in 2017). But then again, nothing is set in stone and I can end up reading other works instead. Depends on time and mood and a million other factors. And most of all, timing.
“Most of what makes a book ‘good’ is that we are reading it at the right moment for us.” ― Alain de Botton

Opinjoni personali, bħal dejjem, hija suġġettiva u diffiċli ssib qbil bejn il-ftit, aħseb u ara l-ħafna. Il-Letteratura Maltija tas-Seklu 21 evolviet u fil-bidu tal-Millenju l-ġdid għaddiet minn forma ta’ “rinaxximent” wara l-kważi-staġnar tas-Snin Disgħin.

Dawn il-ħames rumanzi/ġabriet ta’ novelli huma, fl-opinjoni tiegħi, xogħlijiet tajbin ħafna, dejjem fil-kuntest lokali li huwa limitat minn diversi fatturi. Kull min għandu għal qalbu l-Letteratura Maltija għandu jsib ftit ħin f’ħajtu u jaqrahom.

Liema qrajtu minnhom?

Welcome to my little corner about books: musings, thoughts, reviews, authors, curiosities, news, awards and all the particles of this amazing universe!

I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library. — Jorge Luis Borges