On Our Nightstand: The Sporting Life
Maybe you’re more of an armchair outdoorsman (or woman). Or perhaps you’re someone who jumps into outdoor physical activity enthusiastically and firsthand, whether it’s baseball, hiking, fishing or rock climbing. Whatever your preference, these three sporting books will grab your fancy and — who knows? — maybe even get you to take up something new. If nothing else, stepping into these authors’ shoes for a bit may change your understanding of the world and, possibly, your life.
Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports
by John Branch, Norton Publishing, 368 pages
A Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter, John Branch created his latest book by choosing 20 articles from the more than 2,000 articles he had written at the time (this book was published in 2022). The articles are united by their overarching focus on sports activities from the edge, an idea that is clear from the book’s title. “Sidecountry” refers to the side routes, if you will, that can be found when backcountry skiing to the side of the marked routes at ski resorts.
While the articles are united by people doing extraordinary feats — some successfully, some tragically — the stories are about so much more than whatever activity is being discussed. The opening piece, “Snow Fall,” for instance, is about a group of very good downhill skiers who get caught in an avalanche. It is one of the most riveting pieces of writing I’ve ever read. Branch cleverly weaves the science behind avalanches with the unfolding of the story as people gather together to take this ill-fated sidecountry ski trip.
In other chapters, the high-stakes risks of rock climbers trying to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan is counterpointed by a piece on a Tennessee girls basketball team that literally never wins a game. This is sports writing — no, it’s writing — at its best.
A Course Called Scotland: Searching the Home of Golf for the Secret to Its Game
by Tom Coyne, Simon & Schuster, 336 pages
Tom Coyne has made a career writing about golf, much of it as he traipses the world playing on some of its most famous courses. Not a bad gig. His trilogy started with the publication in 2010 of A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee. That was followed by A Course Called Scotland in 2019 and in 2022 by A Course Called America: 50 States: Five Thousand Fairways, and the Search for the Great American Golf Course.
Entertainingly written, Coyne’s Scotland book covers more than 100 courses in the country where golf began as he weaves golf history in with stories that make this book as much about his own personal journey as it is about the game. Part of his quest is to qualify for a tee time at St. Andrews, the oldest golf course in the world. The golfer in your life would likely enjoy any one of these books. I love Scotland, so this was my reading choice. (Also full disclosure: The golfer in my house, who has read them all, said this was his favorite.) Golf Digest also called it “one of the best golf books this century.”
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by Cheryl Strayed, Alfred Knopf, 336 pages
You may recognize Cheryl Strayed’s name from the play and Hulu series Tiny Beautiful Things. The show is based on the advice column that Strayed wrote for the New York Times, “Dear Sugar,” and traces her life as an advice columnist even as her own life is a bit of a shambles.
But it was Wild that brought Strayed to national prominence. The book, which was made into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon, is Strayed’s memoir about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone while trying to navigate grief after her mother’s death — and it is as compelling a read about hiking and life lessons as you’ll likely come across. Strayed unflinchingly bares her soul in this book as she continues to walk sans boots after losing them over a ledge 30-plus days into her 1,100-mile journey. At this point in her life, she has nothing to lose. Her marriage is floundering, she is a waitress who dabbles in drugs, and she is estranged from her siblings and stepfather. And she’s never hiked anything of this magnitude.
This is her story of overcoming the odds, the power of perseverance and the ways in which healing can occur when and where you least expect it. Oh, and if you’re thinking you don’t need to read it because you saw the movie, you’re wrong. The book is always better and this is no exception.
