What makes a good sports novel? What even counts as a sports book?
These are questions that listicle writers such as myself have tried to answer for decades on end. Opinions vary almost as much as novels featuring sports do. Some novels focus more on the lives of players than the games, and bringing in sports romance (which obviously would focus on romance over playing) complicates this further.
For me, as long as a book seeks to explore the culture of a sport or a sport in a place, it is a sports novel. It is bringing something new to the world of literature, a new perspective on a topic.
These recommendations below all fall under that category and, for those that are less sports-focused, are still excellent all-around books. They are ranked less in order of quality, as they are all fulfilling reads, and more in terms of how much they focus on their sport. I’ve tried to vary the list in terms of genre, with some sports romances and nonfiction, a couple memoirs and one contemporary fiction work.
And now, with fall break on the way, it’s the perfect time to cozy up in an armchair and be transported to the field!
- “Seabiscuit, An American Legend” by Laura Hillenbrand is not only one of the best sports novels of all time, but one of the best nonfiction books of all time. Seabiscuit, a horse born into inauspicious circumstances, grows from a wobbly colt to the fastest racehorse of his era. The races had me gripping the book, sucked entirely into the thrill and tension of seeing this horse race as fast as he could. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime read!
- “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics” by Daniel James Brown is exactly what it says it is — the story of the boys on the University of Washington’s rowing team who raced in Nazi Germany right before World War II. Like “Seabiscuit,” the author’s inspiration, its races are thrilling and have you on the edge of your seat! The movie is also well-worth your time, though it isn’t entirely book-accurate.
- “The Boys of Summer” is the tale of Roger Kahn’s year covering the Brooklyn Dodgers, a team that no longer exists, for a New York paper that, before he wrote the book, went defunct. Kahn covers the high points, his regrets and the team culture and fan culture of that era before transitioning to decades later where he visits the players after their time on the team. It’s a unique novel because of that sense of a vanished era. It’s excellent for anyone in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and beyond.
- “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks includes only a few races, which is a shame, because they’re some fabulous scenes. “Horse” explores culture, racism and history through multiple timelines, from the horse racing scene of the pre-Civil War South to the modern day Smithsonian, where the horse’s skeleton is unveiled. The horse himself and his groom Jarrett are the throughlines as two historians search for the ending to their stories in the modern day, though their own story set in the 1850s was by far the best part of the book.
- “Roller Girl” by Vanessa North is a sports romance starring roller derby! It’s a very mundane romance overall, with the main romance being between two grownup women who already know what they want out of life, but the roller derby is a fun part of the book, itself being a sport seldom explored in literature.
- The “Heartstopper” series by Alice Oseman is not typically considered a sports series, as it primarily focuses on the lives and romance of Charlie and Nick, but it includes a fair bit of rugby and commentary on the culture of the sport! The whole graphic novel series is famous for a reason, with an endearing art style, wonderfully drawn-out characters and great growth.
- “When my Husband Ran for President and other Stories” by Ruth Harkin only has one chapter about her daughter’s middle school basketball games, but it is one of the best in the book, capturing that manic energy of parents at games! The whole book is a gem as well, with personal stories from an inspiring woman.
- “Some Girls Do” by Jennifer Dugan is probably the most tenuous of these sports novels, as only one of the characters is an athlete, but it’s still a great sports romance. You get scenes where one character cheers on the other — an essential scene of the sports romance — and, as the other character is a pageant competitor, that cheering is reciprocated! Pageantry is also treated as a serious sport in this, with the struggles and challenges made clear. It’s a fun, quick romance!
So slide into the library and read these homeruns! And if you have any more sports book recommendations, pitch them my way.
