Would narrative nonfiction do? That’s where the best grown up sports writing happens. Roger Khan’s *The Boys of Summer* is probably the best book ever written about baseball. For soccer, I’d go with *Fever Pitch* by Nick Hornby and *This Love Is Not for Cowards* by an author whose name I forget. For football, I hated *Friday Night Lights*, but most people love it; I’d go with Kent Babb’s *Across the River* or George Plympton’s *Paper Tigers.* Special shout-out to Kyle Beachy’s *The Most Fun Thing* for skateboarding and John McPhee’s *Levels of the Game.*
All of these books, but especially the first six, read like novels or fiction. If you want an actual fiction novel, Philip Roth’s *The Great American Novel* is an excellent baseball book.
NomDePlume007 on
The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach
Brittle Innings, by American author Michael Bishop
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Sooley by Grisham
Would narrative nonfiction do? That’s where the best grown up sports writing happens. Roger Khan’s *The Boys of Summer* is probably the best book ever written about baseball. For soccer, I’d go with *Fever Pitch* by Nick Hornby and *This Love Is Not for Cowards* by an author whose name I forget. For football, I hated *Friday Night Lights*, but most people love it; I’d go with Kent Babb’s *Across the River* or George Plympton’s *Paper Tigers.* Special shout-out to Kyle Beachy’s *The Most Fun Thing* for skateboarding and John McPhee’s *Levels of the Game.*
All of these books, but especially the first six, read like novels or fiction. If you want an actual fiction novel, Philip Roth’s *The Great American Novel* is an excellent baseball book.
The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach
Brittle Innings, by American author Michael Bishop