Admin: Welcome to the new-look BwB

Welcome to Books with Balls' new look!  We decided after nearly a year that our former theme and presentation was due for an overhaul.  If you like our new look, let us know by commenting below!

Admin: Do you want to write for Books with Balls?

Have you always wanted to tell everyone what you think about War and Peace? Or Ethel the Aardvark goes quantity surveying? Or perhaps you'd like to see your opinions published on the world wide web. If so, you're welcome to submit a review to Books with Balls - just email us at balancedsports (at) gmail.com and let us know you're interested and we can take it from there.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Admin: Do you want to write for Books with Balls?

Do you have opinions? Can string a few sentences together? We'd love to have you review for Books with Balls. If you're interested, email us at balancedsports (at) gmail.com with a small sample of your writing and we'll take it from there.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

The Books with Balls team

Review: The Book of Basketball, by Bill Simmons

The Book of Basketball is Bill Simmons' magnum opus. His seven-hundred-plus page tome devoted to the sport which made his writing famous, his podcasts ESPN's most downloaded and his "in the moment" diaries of games and drafts attracting ridiculous attention. Simmons is perhaps the most influential sports-writer in the USA today. And his thing is basketball.

There's one overriding theme of The Book of Basketball, that of "The Secret". He recounts which players and teams got it and which didn't; it's apparent he believes the only way to win is to fully embrace it in all it's rawness. To this end he describes in the foreword meeting an angry Isiah Thomas, who Simmons roundly and correctly pilloried for his shambolic period in charge of the New York Knicks, and how the discussion turned from "What have you got against me?" to "The Secret" within minutes: both realised they had cottoned on to the idea independently (as one must). The epilogue is a recorded conversation with Bill Walton (who also makes the book's "All-Bearded Team"), an iconic figure who, it seems, always knew "The Secret".

How do you fill 700 pages with basketball? Easily, apparently. Simmons' columns are usually in the region of 5000-7000 words and have been known to top out above 10K. To give you an idea of how much text that is, so far Books with Balls boasts only 10114 words in its three-month existence: a lazy weekend for The Sports Guy. What makes his schtick so readable is that it feels so conversational, rather than strident - language like he's at the bar with his mates.

The BoB is much more than a lengthy homily to winning in the NBA. There are few better-informed observers of NBA culture and history than The Sports Guy and he takes the opportunity to walk us through the past sixty-five years of the League: key moments, the best players - his childhood, teen and adult memories intermingled with the thoughts of those involved. His bibliography, touchingly, isn't arranged alphabetically but in order of the usefulness and entertainment value of the book. Bill Simmons has long been anointed the voice of the educated sports fan in America. With the Book of Basketball, he confirms it.

This may be the most appropriate ranking in Books with Balls' short history: Basketballs.

Image courtesy: en.wikipedia.org

Welcome to Books with Balls

Ever tried one of those book review sites - like goodreads and the like? Ever tried to find a book there? I have. And after trying it a few times, I decided "No more!". I'd rather have both eyes scooped out with a sharped crabshell than try to navigate the mess that is common-or-garden-variety book review sites, so here's my answer: Books with Balls.

This blog will try to provide you with a number of different reviews for guys who actually read. Sports books, books on war, biographies, lawn mower repair, how to effectively swear at your lawn mower while repairing it - and although the ladies are more than welcome to stop by and read you can bet your bottom dollar that books by Janet Evanovich and Danielle Steele won't be reviewed here.

We're accepting anyone who wants to review their books on wizards or Gremlins - so if you want to contribute, please feel free to contact us and let us know what you're up to. Please also check out our sister blog Balanced Sports for sports opinion and coverage for the thinking man.

Happy reading!