With Father's day fast approaching, many of us will be making a rare, yearly pilgrimage to the sports section of the bookshop (unless that's an experience unique to the very unsporty children of sporty parents?).
I am not particularly knowledgeable about sports, but fortunately, as a bookseller, I am knowledgeable about good books that will make great gifts! So here are my recommendations for books that will appeal to sport fans, but will give you a bit more to talk about with the giftee than just the highs and lows of one specific athlete's career.
The Eye of the Dragonfly
Tracey Lee Holmes
Most Australian sport fans will be familiar with journalist Tracey Lee Holmes, who's been reporting on local and international sport for decades. Her journalism has often been unique for her unwillingness to separate sports from the politics of the world around it, and she's not afraid to take on issues of money, drugs and discrimination that often plague the games Australians love to watch.
This memoir doesn't just provide insight into one woman's fascinating life but also gives an insider's perspective on the nitty-gritty of the sports industry.
Pissants
Brandon Jack
This unruly novel, from former Sydney Swans player Brandon Jack, follows the backbench of an unnamed football team and their ill-advised hijinx as they float on the outer-edges of the elite group. But this isn't just a juicy look at the drama of footy club backrooms – Jack takes on mental health, toxic masculinity and how friendship can genuinely save our lives.
Both unhinged and moving, this is a unique novel that makes the reader laugh and then leaves them with something to think about.
The Season
Helen Garner
The Season is both a memoir, a chronicle of one Under 16s football team, and a reflection on adolescence and coming of age. If that's not quite clear, let's say it's a book about football that is also about masculinity, teamwork, family and hard work. Still too much information? It's by Helen Garner – that alone should be enough to convince any reader.
I gifted this to my dad last Christmas, and both he (a big footy fan) and his wife (could not care less about football) absolutely loved it!
Life, and Death, and Giants
Ron Rindo
Anyone who's watched Friday Night Lights or The Blind Side knows that sport has the power to change people's lives and offer opportunities that would be unattainable in any other way. Ron Rindo's new novel explores that power, but also takes us into the heart of the midwest, to rural Wisconsin where farmers, teachers and a devout Amish community live side-by-side in a small town called Lakota.
Recommended for fans of Elizabeth Strout and John Irving, this is an emotional saga about American life, as well as a story of one young man discovering his athletic potential.
Open Play
Sheree Bekker & Stephen Mumford
This is a fascinating, myth-busting look at gender segregation in sport. Bekker and Mumford make the case that having separate leagues for women's teams – which are less supported and lower paying – will never even the playing field (pardon the pun). Instead, they argue that ending gender segregation in sport is the best way to faciliate professional sport careers for women.
If you're looking for a Father's Day gift that is thought-provoking, as well as thoughtful, I definitely recommend this. Just consider getting a copy for yourself too, so you can hold your own in any debates at the dinner table.
Breath
Tim Winton
There presumably aren't many father figures over forty who haven't read Tim Winton's iconic novel Breath, but his exploration of toxic masculinity, young manhood and the emotional importance of sport was too perfect for this list not to be included. Breath charts the adolscence of 'Pikelet', a teen boy in a small coastal town, who discovers a love of surfing alongside his best friend 'Loonie'. The two boys are mentored by a charismatic professional surfer, but the older man's influence starts to poison their relationship with the sport, and each other.
While this is at points a tragic story, and at others an unsettling one, Winton's own love of surfing permeates the story and demonstrates the how sport can be an escape and a consolation.
Guts and Glory
Peter Rees
Nonfiction about sport and the military – it doesn't get much more dad-coded than this. Guts and Glory is a journey through the history of Australia's Defense Force, and how in the horrors of war, sport has always played an important role in providing joy and building camraderie. This is ultimately an uplifting book, which celebrates the bonding and healing power of sport, in times of war and after it.
For history buffs who can't miss Friday night footy or the Boxing Day Test, this is a book they'll devour.
If you are looking for a Father's Day gift, don't forget that it's now too late to have an online order delivered before 7 September! To get your gifts in time, visit our shops or opt for a digital gift card.
