by Sophie
The Winter Olympics are upon us! This year Milan-Cortina hosts. The Dutch hope for tons of speed-skating medals, Canada will hope they beat the U.S. in ice hockey, and Norway and Sweden will just want to beat each other for medals in any sport, as always. (Which reminds me, please watch this Norway vs. Sweden biathlon in an IKEA. You’re welcome.) To honor the occasion I thought I’d round up 5 Olympic-sports-related items for you. Read or wear them as you enjoy athletes from around the world give their all in the next 2 weeks.
Powder – Patrick Thorne
For those of you who ski or snowboard this coffee table book with the best ski runs across the globe will be perfect. It won’t just transport you to the Alps or the Rockies, but also to Hawai’i, Japan, New Zealand, and more besides. It promises to whet your downhill appetite just as much as to thrill you with beautiful scenery.
The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports – Michael Waters
While not focused on the Winter Olympics as such, this award-winning book spotlights the tortuous relationship that almost all sports have with gender and sexuality. Strict male vs. female categories leave out anyone who doesn’t identify as either, or both, or who makes the incredibly courageous decision to live in their proper skin that wasn’t assigned so at birth. An eye-opening book that sheds light on an ongoing sports topic.
The Favourites – Layne Fargo
All the figure skating drama you could wish for, in this Wuthering Heights retelling set on ice. There are documentary-style chapters throughout which make for a delicious structure, and the leads aren’t quite as impossible as Emily Brontë’s. All in all a novel filled with all the tea and sequins you could want!
Heated Rivalry – Rachel Reid
I can’t not feature Heated Rivalry, of course. This steamy romance between two ice hockey players (or just plain hockey players, if you live in North America, where field hockey is not such a big thing) has taken TV by storm, and is promising to do for that sport what Taylor Swift has done for (American) football. And, who knows, perhaps open up the door of the closet so many gay professional athletes live in. Watch our blog for a special blow-by-blow accounting of both the book and the TV series later this month, by superfan Naomi! Also, watch ice hockey, if possible live: it’s fast, exciting, and so much faster than it looks on a screen.
I Love Sports (Romance) hat
And finally, I heartily recommend this excellent hat by Out of Print, which lets you proclaim your love for both sports and romance. Or just sports romance. One size fits all. We have the tote bag, too.
