We're nearing the end of May's theme of Sport and Recreation in our 2019 Reading Challenge. Unfortunately, no one has so far reviewed a book about backgammon or roller skating, but there's still a few days left for this month, so maybe you'd like to fill the breach?
So what have we read in the last days of May? Football. Of course, exactly what you mean by "football" is a matter of opinion, but we've covered a couple of codes.
Shannon read an autobiography about a man who played rugby league reasonably well, and Sharon read a novel about a young man who had a talent for Australian Rules Fooball, but didn't live up to his potential.
Shannon Harmon read Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography, by Johnathan Thurston with James Phelps.
Living in north Queensland and a NRL Cowboys fan, I couldn’t go past reading and reviewing JT’s book for the May challenge. Johnathan Thurston writes humbly about his past, from a skinny kid who could kick a ball, through his football career which then culminates in his title as unofficial king of north Queensland at the time of his retirement.
The book flows as if you are having a conversation, light and not a taxing read. I found it interesting to see the connections between players long before their NRL careers. He also does not hide the troubled parts of his past. I do feel like some of the feel of the story could be lost if you are not familiar with the NRL world, players past and present, and the rules/terminologies.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with even a vague interest in NRL and players.
Author I haven’t read, Australian, Non-Fiction, 796.3338092 THU
So what have we read in the last days of May? Football. Of course, exactly what you mean by "football" is a matter of opinion, but we've covered a couple of codes.
Shannon read an autobiography about a man who played rugby league reasonably well, and Sharon read a novel about a young man who had a talent for Australian Rules Fooball, but didn't live up to his potential.
Shannon Harmon read Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography, by Johnathan Thurston with James Phelps.
The book flows as if you are having a conversation, light and not a taxing read. I found it interesting to see the connections between players long before their NRL careers. He also does not hide the troubled parts of his past. I do feel like some of the feel of the story could be lost if you are not familiar with the NRL world, players past and present, and the rules/terminologies.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with even a vague interest in NRL and players.
Author I haven’t read, Australian, Non-Fiction, 796.3338092 THU
Sharon Bryan read Eleven Seasons, by Paul D. Carter.
This is a story about a lost boy. Jason Dalton is an only child in a single parent family whose mother is usually pulling at least two shifts at the hospital where she works as a nurse, and is so worn out and shattered when she comes home that she barely spends a couple of hours with him a day. She says it’s to earn enough money to afford a better life. Maybe she’s telling the truth, or maybe she’s avoiding a bigger truth.
Jason is one of those kids who never engages at school and falls in with the wrong crowd even though he’s a good kid. He finds some purpose in life in Australian Rules Football – both in being a rabid fan of the Hawthorn Hawks*, and in trying to be the best (and fairest) player in his own club. He longs for his mother to come and watch him play – to see how good he is at this one part of his life, but she never does. In fact, she shows nothing but disdain for football and football players. Eventually, we’ll learn why – and the truth will shatter what little concept of self Jason has left.
Each chapter of the book covers a different year (season) in Jason’s life. The first half takes us from the nine-year-old boy who just wants to play football to the 17-year-old whose ground falls away beneath him. The second half of the book picks up a year later, with Jason as a young man slowly trying to work out how to make his way through life when he is never anything other than completely lost. But, still, there’s always football…
Australian Author I haven't read before, fiction, 820A CART(P) 1C ELE
*And why wouldn’t you be a rabid fan of Hawthorn? They’re so much better than the Tigers. That’s right, Kim Lewin – I said Hawthorn is better than your silly team from Tigerland. So there.
Comments