Taking up new hobbies is a great way to make sure that the extra time you have throughout the day is well spent. For most people, it is hard to find time because too much screen time can be detrimental to their concentration.
Books require attention and being able to hold our thoughts focused on one thing only. If we are not focused, we may end up missing details. This can happen when performing other tasks, as well. Take, for example, sports betting – punters have to stay focused and keep up with everything so that they never miss promo codes and sign-up offers like this Spreadex sign up offer.
Speaking of sports, one of the best ways to get to know them is through books. Here are the best books about sports that you should add to your reading list.
Barbarian Days – A Surfing Life by William Finnegan
Finnegan is a writer for the New York Times at the moment, though his life took various twists and turns to get there.
As a youngster, he was drawn into the life of a surfer. This had its good times and bad times. He had to go through many obstacles to get out of a life that many would call a bum’s or a drifter’s.
Through his journey, he managed to live through a turbulent period in South Africa called the Apartheid. This book will take you on multiple journeys, and through them, you will get to know surfing as a sport.
Football Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper
This is a good book about the world’s most popular sport, football. The book takes place in 22 countries, or rather, follows the author, Simon Kuper, who traveled the world, wanting to get as much information about how football shaped the various countries he visited.
Whether from a political or cultural standpoint, Kuper interviewed athletes, politicians, and others involved in the football scene. It is a great read for football fans.
Addicted by Tony Adams
Addictions can be a real problem, as you will find out if you pick up this book by Tony Adams. Adams was an Arsenal player at the time his book was published, in 1998. The book revealed many things about his life, namely his alcohol addiction. If you want to read about some horror stories that addiction can cause to someone at the top of the sports world, then this is the right book for you.
Ronnie Macdonald, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Laughing in the Hills by Bill Barich
This is not a story for the faint of heart. Bill Barich went through a lot of trouble when he wrote this book, back in the late 1970s. He had problems, no job, a mother-in-law who recently passed from cancer, his wife with a possible tumor. Life was going downhill and to top it all off, he started betting on horse racing.
He even moved to San Francisco, to be closer to the racetrack. The result was this book, a tale that should move most people.
If you want to take a different approach and read about sports, these are the books to start with.