Good Sports at the Library

The recent Commonwealth Games, and in particular that epic netball final between New Zealand and Australia, showcased the wonderful drama of sport. Unfortunately sport is often placed in competition with books, reading, and by extension, libraries. The reality is that books and sports can complement each other very productively and here at Masterton Library we have an extensive collection of books relating to sport. And contrary to our somewhat ‘bookish’ image, many librarians are very keen on sport, if not participating themselves, at least following it with a passionate interest.


The range of sports covered in our collection is vast, from racket games like tennis to air sports like hot-air ballooning; from ball sports like basketball to outdoor pursuits like mountain climbing. While we logically have more books on sports that enjoy greater popularity with the public, we also make an effort to cover less popular sports. We also have a large number of books on hunting and fishing but whether these are sports or recreation is a matter that is open to debate.

Books offer an opportunity to go deeper into sports than simply watching, to learn about the personalities of the competitors, the backgrounds and histories of different sports, events and contests. Many of the sports books we have in the library are biographies which are very popular with borrowers wanting to learn more about their favourite sporting heroes. Sports biographies are a great way to discover the personal histories of sports people, their views on sporting matters, and how they achieve at the highest level.

The majority of our sporting biographies are about New Zealanders such as Changing Colours: the Irene Van Dyck story, Changing Pace by Sir Richard Hadlee, or Murph’s Law about motorsport legend Greg Murphy. But we also have books about sporting figures from other countries including legendary Australian cricketer Don Bradman, My Side by English soccer star David Beckham, and Open by U.S. tennis great Andre Agassi. These profiles of leading figures in different sports offer an unparalleled insight into what makes a champion sportsperson.

And it’s not just the players who are the subject of sporting biographies. Ricki Herbert: a New Fire is about the former player who more recently has made his name as coach of the successful Phoenix and World Cup qualifying All Whites. Titch tells the story of the remarkable Gordon Tietjens, coach of the NZ Sevens team who won their fourth consecutive gold medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. A Life in Sport by Brendan Telfer and A Lucky Man by Keith Quinn tell the story of two broadcasters who have made their careers reporting on sporting events and matters.

In addition to books about sports and sportspeople, we have many books that offer advice on how to improve your own sporting performance. These range from those that offer general advice on matters like fitness, motivation, and nutrition, to those that target specific sport skills. Examples of these are Marathon Runners Handbook, Mastering Mountain Bike Skills, and Swimming Past 50. We also have a selection of magazine titles including Multisport and Triathlete, The Cut, and Walking New Zealand that cater to those with an interest in sports.

Given that it is our national game, it is not surprising that books about rugby form a large part of our collection of sports books. We have the unrivalled Men In Black and biographies of legendary players from the past including Colin Meads and local hero Brian Lochore, and more recent times such as Dan Carter, Tana Umaga, and Mils Muliaina. Beneath the Māori Moon is a celebration of the involvement, impact and success of Māori in rugby. For a deeper and perhaps more contentious view on the game, Chris Laidlaw’s Somebody Stole My Game looks at effect professionalism has had on rugby in New Zealand.

There are a number of sporting issues looked at by books in our collection. Breaking the Chain by Willy Voet looks at drug use in competitive cycling, How They Stole the Game by David Yallop looks at corruption in international football administration, and more positively Winning Isn’t Everything celebrates instances of great sportsmanship. We also have books like Why a Curveball Curves which takes a scientific approach to sports, and on a lighter note, The Bowler’s Holding, the Batsman’s Wyllie is a collection of humorous sporting quotations, such as “They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken” – Raymond Floyd.

Sport can provide great reading material, and books in turn can provide inspiration and information to help sports people improve their performance. And whether your sport of choice takes place on the field, on the snow, in the water or even in the air, we are bound to have a book that will interest you. And for those of you a bit bemused by sport and its prominent place in society, try Get Her Off the Pitch by Lynn Truss, the author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves. It tells, often hilariously, of the four years she spent as an unlikely sports reporter for The Times and is described as a book for those who love sports, those who can’t understand what the fuss is about, and everyone in between.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library