Kick the Balls: An Offensive Suburban Odyssey
Alan Black - 2008
His experience was not the little league, boys-of-summer stuff of modern America. For him, it was life and death. Now middleaged and living in California, Alan finds himself coaching a team of eight-year-olds in his beloved sport—and nothing is going right. For a start, the kids are no good at soccer. Secondly, they’re pampered. Born and bred on the sport, Black’s hardscrabble Scottish upbringing consisted of playing tough and victory at all costs. Needless to say, his coaching methods are a far cry from the “winning isn’t everything” mentality his little leaguers have been reared with; and players and parents alike are shocked as Black attempts to transform the losing team through drills and bombast. Alone at night, watching evangelicals on TV, Black finds himself searching for some truth in the culture he finds so bizarre. And it’s with the Tigers that he feels most out of sync—faced with a mix of soft suburban children, a raft of overprotective parents, and an Iranian co-coach called Ali. Told with Black’s uproarious Scottish sensibility, Kick the Balls follows the abrasive, irreverent, and hilarious coach as he contends with a team that winds up with a zero-win record. Both a celebration of his own tough childhood and an account of one man’s navigation of an alien culture, Kick the Balls will delight fans of well-told, laugh-out-loud memoirs.
Shot and a Ghost: a year in the brutal world of professional squash
James Willstrop - 2012
Jiu-Jitsu on the Brain
Mark Johnson - 2012
It’s not a grab-the-lapel-with-your-left-hand kind of book. There are no techniques in it; it’s not an instructional text. Those books already exist, and some of the most brilliant masters of jiu-jitsu have written them. This is a book about the everyday jiu-jitsu, the lessons that we learn on and off the mat, lessons we absorb from not only our professors, but also our peers, lessons about BJJ and life.Section Titles include:Alligator Arms Cooking Your Opponent: A Recipe for Meathead Soup Jiu-Jitsu as Mistress If the Bone is Poking Through the Skin, it’s Broken Wipe your Bum Technique: The Great EqualizerAn Expensive Gi will not Improve your Jiu-Jitsu There is no Dim Mak Technique Freaks+23,000 words
The Road to Villa Page: A He Said/She Said Memoir of Buying Our Dream Home in France
Cynthia Royce - 2020
Our story begins with falling in love with France, specifically the enchanting Dordogne. We weren’t the first and we won’t be the last. The region was an inspiration to prehistoric man, as the earliest known works of art are to be found in the nearby caves of Lascaux. From the 1000 chateaux perched on towering cliffs overhanging the meandering Dordogne River to the countless plus beaux villages (most beautiful villages) dotting the region, it is truly a magical place.The first book is a roller-coaster ride of the ups and downs of making the dream a reality, beginning with, Oh my God, are we really doing this?! To looking for the home, getting a loan, wading through the red tape of actually moving, and studying French! Finally, the most important part of making “our” dream come true, adopting a baby girl to make the journey complete.
Jawai_Bapunchya_Goshti (Marathi)
D.M. Mirasdar - 1905
But that was not so about his wit. At times, he behaved as if he had no sense or common knowledge at all. Finally, after a long long wait, he gets married. He gets an invitation from his in-laws place especially for the celebration of Diwali. His father warned him before leaving that he had to behave properly at his in-laws house as he is no more just anybody. On the contrary, he is now their son-in-law. So he must show attitude while being at their place.What happens then……………?
Hail to the Redskins: Gibbs, the Diesel, the Hogs, and the Glory Days of D.C.'s Football Dynasty
Adam Lazarus - 2015
From 1981 to 1992, Gibbs coached the franchise to three Super Bowl victories, making the team the toast of the nation’s capital, from the political elite to the inner city, and helping to define one of the sport’s legendary eras.Veteran sportswriter Adam Lazarus masterfully charts the Washington Football Team's rise from mediocrity (the franchise had never won a Super Bowl and Gibbs’s first year as head coach started with a five-game losing streak that almost cost him his job) to its stretch of four championship games in ten years. What makes their sustained success all the more remarkable, in retrospect, is that unlike the storied championship wins of Joe Montana’s 49ers and Tom Brady’s Patriots, the Washington Football Team's Super Bowl victories each featured a different starting quarterback: Joe Theismann in 1983, the franchise’s surprising first championship run; Doug Williams in 1988, a win full of meaning for a majority African American city during a tumultuous era; and Mark Rypien in 1992, capping one of the greatest seasons of all time, one that stands as Gibbs’s masterpiece.Hail to the Redskins features an epic roster of saints and sinners: hard-drinking fullback John Riggins; the dominant, blue-collar offensive linemen known as “the Hogs,” who became a cultural phenomenon; quarterbacks Williams, the first African American QB to win a Super Bowl, and Theisman, a model-handsome pitchman whose leg was brutally broken by Lawrence Taylor on Monday Night Football; gregarious defensive end Dexter Manley, who would be banned from the league for cocaine abuse; and others including the legendary speedster Darrell Green, record-breaking receiver Art Monk, rags-to-riches QB Rypien, expert general managers and talent evaluators Bobby Beathard and Charley Casserly, aristocratic owner Jack Kent Cooke, and, of course, Gibbs himself, a devout Christian who was also a ruthless competitor and one of the sport’s most adaptable and creative coaching minds.
Out and Back
Hillary Allen - 2021
Out and Back recounts Allen's fight to rehabilitate her body, rebuild her belief in herself, and return to the life and sport she loves.
Diary of a Stressed Out Mother: ‘Bedlam’
Nicola Kelsall - 2015
Bedlam, is the first of four books in the hysterically funny series, “Diary of a Stressed Out Mother”. Dora Loveday (harassed mother of four kids, two unruly dogs, and a psychotic cat), records the daily chaos and madness of her family life in this laugh-out-loud, comic romp of a diary!
Boogers for Lunch: A Sight Word Book (Billy Bad)
Billy Bad - 2014
It may be gross, but kids love this stuff, and that's the point! I originally wrote this book for my son, a first grader, who was struggling with sight words and reading speed. The sight word books, decodable word books, early reader books, and flash cards they offered him at school were boring, which made it a challenge to get him excited about reading. So I decided to write a series of children's books using sight words but with stories about the things I heard him and his friends laughing about. It worked! My son was able to read my Billy Bad sight word stories with speed and confidence. And because he was laughing I knew his reading comprehension was improving. This book is written using mostly Dolch sight words and a few other words that are easily decodable. Unlike most sight word books and decodable word books, Billy Bad's sight word books have stories that will capture the attention of early readers and make them laugh. When kids enjoy the stories they read they fall in love with reading. I hope your child enjoys these silly (and gross) sight word books as much as my son does.
Raw: My 100% Grade-A, Unfiltered, Inside Look at Sports
Colin Cowherd - 2015
But Colin Cowherd knows what really goes on—and he’s not afraid to share the vivid details of everything we don’t see on ESPN. From hotel parties for athletes and other industry professionals, to gossip from the road between games, to what happens at ESPN behind closed doors, Cowherd draws on personal experiences to offer you an exclusive look into the rarefied, outrageous, ego-stuffed sphere of the professional sports world.If you want honest, unvarnished opinions on current sports rivalries, scandals, and statistics, it’s all in Inside the Herd—from one of America’s most outspoken sports broadcasters on air today.
Duke Sucks: A Completely Evenhanded, Unbiased Investigation into the Most Evil Team on Planet Earth
Reed Tucker - 2012
It's like a nasty virus you catch from a door handle at a public toilet.No team in sports is as uniquely hated as those smug, entitled, floor-slapping, fist-pumping, insufferable Blue Devils. The loathing has almost reached the level of a religion. Christian Laettner is a punk. Amen. The Cameron Crazies are obnoxious. The Plumlees are worthless times three. Coach K is a jerk. Kumbaya.The team is dogged by an intense hatred that no other team can match—and for good reason. Millions of hoops fans and March Madness aficionados around the world are not imagining things. Duke really is evil, and within the pages of Duke Sucks, Reed Tucker and Andy Bagwell show readers exactly why Duke deserves to be so detested. They bruise and batter the Blue Devils with fact after fact, story after story, statistic after statistic. They build an airtight case that could stand up in a court of law.So sit back in your "I Hate Duke" t-shirt, and in true Duke fashion, force someone poorer than you to do your work as you crack open the ultimate guide to Duke suckitude.
Get Divorced, Be Happy: How becoming single turned out to be my happily ever after
Helen Thorn - 2021
Helen shares her own roller coaster journey from the initial shock of a surprise separation, the messy months hanging out in her PJs through to the highs of rediscovering online dating, tiny pants, rock-solid female friendships and the glorious joy of just being by herself.With the help of relationship experts and an army of women "who know", Get Divorced, Be Happy will show you that going it alone isn't the end, it is just the beginning, and you will come out the other side, stronger, happier and goddamn sassier than ever before.
Lily Tomlin: The Kindle Singles Interview (Kindle Single)
Tom Roston - 2015
Of course, the 75-year-old actress and comedian has been turning out unforgettable roles for the better part of five decades, from Ernestine, the condescending telephone operator on “Laugh-In,” to Violet Newstead, the secretary in “9 to 5.” In this wide-ranging, intimate and often hilarious Kindle Singles Interview, Tomlin covers all aspects of her extraordinary life and career, turning a drab Manhattan hotel room into a one-woman show with tales of her childhood in Detroit, her early years in New York, and the origins of her classic characters.Tom Roston is a veteran journalist and author of two previous Kindle Singles Interviews, with Ted Allen and Ken Burns. Roston began his career at The Nation and Vanity Fair, before working at Premiere magazine as a senior editor. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and his book, I Lost It At The Video Store, a filmmakers' oral history, will be published by The Critical Press in September. He lives with his wife and their two daughters in New York City.Cover design by Adil Dara.
FIELDHOUSE
Scott Novosel - 2016
while re-inspiring yourself!" - Rick "Shaq" Goldstein, author of 669 reviews for Amazon "Novosel's autobiographical narrative of self-determination inspires and delights, in large part because it isn't a lofty tale of grandiose achievement but a humble one; he merely wants, and earns, a chance to show what he's got." - Publisher's Weekly Based on actual events, FIELDHOUSE is a story of embracing adversity through challenges, teamwork, perseverance, grit, determination, and a positive attitude! Fieldhouse follows Scotty Novosel on his journey to play basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. What he lacks in size he makes up for in heart, but countless obstacles and a devastating setback push his dream further and further out of reach... With incredible persistence, positive energy, and help from a cast of endearing characters, Scotty discovers just what it takes to transform vision into reality! In March 1995, Scott Novosel started for the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 8 Championship game. For the next 20 years, through endless determination and a mantra of never giving up, Scott completed the all ages graphic novel FIELDHOUSE with the help of the Eisner Award nominated artist Sam Sharpe. Together the duo produced an instant classic! The story of the making of the book was featured on Sports Illustrated. Find out why parents, teachers, librarians, parents, and grandparents are declaring FIELDHOUSE a "MUST READ!"