Introduction - Sports Book Lady

In addition to posting book reviews here, I am active in Goodreads, a social media site dedicated to books.  There, I am a co-moderator of the baseball book club with Brina Gonzalez and we talk baseball, baseball books and other baseball-related topics.  She is also an avid reader and reviewer.  I have decided to dedicate my reviews only to books that are sent to me for review by authors and publishers.  For reviews of other books that are a little older, Brina will occasionally post reviews here so that followers can get reviews and information on even more sports books.  Please join me in welcoming Brina to the blog - below is a short bio she submitted to introduce herself.

Brief Bio- Chicagoan living in Cincinnati, mother of four kids and seven cats. Cubs fan since birth and avid reader since teaching herself by reading box scores in the Chicago Tribune. Favorite saying is “a day without day baseball is a day without sunshine.” Besides sports, enjoys cooking, volunteering at kids’ school, and a day at the beach, preferably Lake Michigan in summer.

Review of "How's That! A Layman's Guide to Cricket"

Thought I would try to add a little variety as one goal of this blog is to cover a wide variety of sports and the books written on them.   Here is a review of a book that introduces the reader to cricket.

Title/Author:

“How’s That! A Layman’s Guide to Cricket” by Tony Whelpton.

Genre:

Cricket, instruction, introduction, non-fiction

Published:

December 21, 2012 (second edition).  Originally published 1998

Length:

71 pages

Rating: 

2 ½ of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Written for those who have little or no knowledge of the game of cricket, “How’s That!” introduces the reader to the terminology, field layout, basic roles for players and an explanation of the scoring in the game.   Cricket is not a game that can be easily explained to the person who has never seen it before, and the author makes an admirable effort to do so here.  

The biggest problem I had reading the book was the complexity of the game itself.  By trying to keep it as simple as possible, there was a lot of information that felt incomplete.  Trying to explain how a team scores its runs was an example.   While reading the concept of the runs, and introducing the second batter into the explanation, I found myself reading certain sections over and over just to be sure I understood the author’s explanation of the game.  Admittedly, I still had some troubles understanding some of the lingo, such as breaking the wicket, even after rereading the appropriate passages. 

As an American, I can appreciate the attempt by the author to do this.  I have similar issues when trying to explain the similar game of baseball to someone who has never seen the game before.  That can be met with frustration on both the part of the person learning the game and the one teaching the game.  I got that same feeling while reading this book.  I know the author was doing his best to keep it simple, but after I finished the book, I don’t believe I understand the game much more than I did before.   The terminology and glossary of the game was covered well and I did learn a lot there.   I was hoping to learn more about the game than I did, and for that, I felt the book fell short of that goal.  

Did I skim?

No

Did I learn something new?

Yes.  Many things, mainly the basic rules and terminology for cricket.   I didn’t get a good feel for the game having not watched it or played it while reading this.  

Pace of the book: 

Good for the most part.  I found that I needed to go back and refer to other terms that were already mentioned because now in the new context, I had to go back and reread that passage.

Positives:

The book is written in simple language, easy to understand and does not delve too deeply into the nuances of the game.  For a beginner or non-fan, this is a good format.

Negatives:

There were numerous typing and grammatical errors throughout the book, even allowing for a “language” barrier with the author British and the reviewer American.   The diagrams of the field, the wickets and the position of the bowler, batter, and fielders were far too small in the ebook edition to be helpful while reading. 

Do I recommend? 

Only for those who just need to gain a basic understanding of the object and terms used in cricket.  If a more detailed book on the strategy and intricacies of the game is wanted, this is not the book to buy.

Book Format Read:

Ebook (Kindle)

Author Media Links:

www.tony-whelpton.co.uk .

Buying Links:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ARYAZPE/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

Welcome!

My name is Lance and I love to read books on sports.  I also love to write reviews on books I have read, so I decided to combine the two and share my reviews here as well as on Amazon and Goodreads.  I am brand new to blogging, so any and all comments, good and bad are welcome.


I read both fiction and non-fiction sports books and they will be reviewed.   If there are readers or authors who wish for me to read and review their books, please let me know via email at northstars4ever@gmail.com.  Please note that the sport or a player should be the main focus of the book.  As an example, on this blog I will review a fictional book about a hockey player or his fictional team, as the book focuses on hockey.   I won't review a book that is a romance novel in which one of the main characters happens to play hockey (or another sport).   I do read those types of books as well, but will not publish the reviews here. 


Any sport is interesting - even if I haven't heard of it, that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading about.  Of course I do have favorites, I am going to start this blog with three reviews covering my three favorite sports - baseball, hockey and boxing.  As this blog evolves, there will be more sports covered. 


Please feel free to take a look at the reviews and provide any feedback.  I am looking forward to hearing from others who love to read and write about sports!