Book Lists
The joy of making a favourite books list
I found a new way to love football by making a favourite book list
I am a crazy football fan and I love it more than any other sport.
I have read and researched the game a lot. Also watched an infinite no. of matches.
Over the years, many people who know me have asked me to share my football book list. As it happens with all unorganised people, I could never find the time.
And then we had all the time in the world because of the lockdown. It was also the only time in my life when there was no football. No matches, no pre-game shows, no debates. Nothing.
So I decided to finally make the list. It turned out to be a very serendipitous experience.
If you also have time on your hands, then try making a favourite book list. Take whatever genre you like. You should just have enough books of that genre. It’s an incredible experience. It’s unlike the regular “journey down memory lane” that we take often.
There are patterns in which we revisit our lives. We usually remember all our important personal milestones or family events or recollect our professional ups and downs. Usually, these happen during family or school/college reunions or in moments of great joy or sorrow.
But I went through a completely different set of emotions.
It was a hard task. You get around 80 books in one place (excluding kindle books) and then you start sorting. You are sitting on the floor with books all around you.
As you did that, you realised how you have changed as a person. A book you found mindblowing once upon a time, had suddenly shrunk into a very basic, almost beginners version. How my understanding of the game improved. How it made me curious about other aspects of the game. Many of which had nothing to do with the actual game action.
It was a massive collage of memories. Like a curiosity timeline. What were you curious about at different times in life?
You tried to remember why you became interested in each of these books and whether they lived up to the promise or not. I however, commiserated with the ones I never finished or never started.
I call these physical books my “old friends”. So it became this grand reunion with my best friends. Some of whom I hadn’t caught up with in a long long time.
I then read parts of various books. Completely at random. It was two hours of the best football reading I have done in life. I am now more confident that I can deal with the loss of live football. I just have to do another session of random football reading.
At some stage, I also realised it was impossible to rank them individually. So I just concentrated on bands of 10 each. And gave up after 40.
In the end, I had this beautiful moment when I realised that I had rediscovered all the different reasons, why, I love this game so much. Each book had something to contribute. Someday I will find time to write that down.
I will talk about a few from the top 10.
There is “Football in Sun and Shadow” which is my all time no 1. This book is written like a series of football poems about the history of the game and its important events and characters by a die hard football romantic. In the words of the author, Eduardo Galeano, he is a beggar for good football. Who goes around the stadiums, pleading for a pretty move.
Then there is the sad unfortunate story of one time Manchester United prodigy, Adrian Doherty called “ Forever Young”. It’s such an unknown story that even die hard United fans don’t know about it.
Then there are two slightly more cerebral books. In their own way.
“Football Hackers” is the updated story of the analytics revolution. You will be amazed by how people are thinking about it today. Its taken a massive leap.
Finally, there is “Brilliant Orange” about Dutch football. You will learn that the concept of space defines not just the football philosophy of the Dutch, but also encapsulates the whole national psyche.
I hope you find the list useful and discover some new books which increase your love for the game.
This list excludes the kindle books and there are a few good ones there.
Please feel free to ask about any of these. I never tire of talking football. If you are also crazy about the game and like to read about it, then feel free to connect.
I would love to know about your favourite books. Especially the ones which are not in this list.
I have a long wait before I will get to see live football again. Till then, I will manage with random readings and football reunions.
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