It’s an Olympic year! Woohoo! And this time there’s not a pandemic waiting in the wings to cancel it (or postpone it - whatever). The Opening Ceremony kicks off on Friday, July 26 and the games run until Sunday, August 11. If you can’t get enough, check out some of my favorite fiction and nonfiction Olympic reads. And if you still want more after reading these, check out the You May Also Like section at the end for a bunch of Olympic bios. Let the games begin!

Avery Abrams was on the fast track to the Olympics as a gymnastic phenom, when an unexpected injury ended her career. Seven years later she has no job, no house, and her boyfriend just dumped her due to her lack of ambition. Somehow she manages to find a coaching position at her old gym, helping an aspirational gymnast with her floor routine. I really enjoyed this one. The only weird thing about it was that it was set in 2020 - when the Olympics didn’t happen. The author explains in a note at the beginning that she finished proofing her book two days before the IOC postponed the 2020 games due to COVID. I’m glad that she didn’t go back and change it. It’s fun to imagine what could have been. This is a great read that is sure to kick off your Games on a high note.

This past spring, I went to see James Patterson speak at Vanderbilt. As he was talking - out on tour promoting his latest book, The Secret Lives of Librarians - he happened to mention this one. I had no idea that he’d written something about horse jumping. Also - did you know that it’s an Olympic event? I always like watching jumping. When compared to the other events, horse jumping is the only one where men compete against women and age does not matter. In this case, Becky McCabe is on the same path to the Olympics as her mother, famed horsewoman, Maggie Atwood. I liked this one so much I polished it off in two days. It was a little stressful with all the ups and downs of competition, but it was better to read about it than to have to live it. Excellent read about getting ready for the Paris Olympics to enjoy during the Paris Olympics.

I first read this book a few years ago when it came out, but the story is making waves again because George Clooney recently released a film that was based on it. It is a fascinating look at the sport of rowing in the Olympics. During the Depression, a team of boys from blue collar families at the University of Washington took the world stage to compete against some of the best rowers in the sport at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This has been nicknamed the Nazi Olympics and Hitler was very keen to show off his top-notch athletes. I found the story captivating. I didn’t know much about the sport of rowing or what it takes to put together a solid team. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but it’s on my short list to watch because I enjoyed the book so much. Check out the book and/or movie today!

Ok, I know that Gracie is a figure skater, which means this was for the Winter Olympics, not Summer. Sigh. That said, this is still applicable. All Olympians face massive amounts of pressure to perform, and for figure skaters, they also have to look good doing it. I remember watching Gracie in Sochi, but I had no idea what all she’d been through. Unlike gymnastics, which has had to retool after the Larry Nasher abuse scandal came to light, figure skating hasn’t really had to deal with the mental side of the sport. But Gracie, and her fellow skaters, are trying to change that. This was a great read that goes deep and bares all with the end goal of making things better.

So those are my most recent Olympic reads. Keep reading below if you want to check out more books by and about Olympians.

Go Team USA!

Happy Olympic-sizing…
:) Amanda