Fever pitch

I genuinely don't know if I like this book because it's good or because it's about Arsenal. I like to think it's the former, and the latter was just what made me pick it up.

A well-written entertaining memoir of a football obsessive and the highs and lows of fandom. He does not hold back from painting the full picture of his addiction, regardless of how it makes him look. I was laughing at a few of the moments I could relate to far too much. This book will obviously appeal to men who can relate to these sort of feelings - whether it's about football or something else - but I like to think anyone could read this and still enjoy it.

I am nowhere near as big a fan as him, I will hold my hand up and admit it, but I'd be lying if I said this didn't leave me a little more obsessed with the Gunners, and football in general.

It was also nice to hear how boring Arsenal were in the 70's after having to endure the 2010's.

As someone who knows very little about soccer, I approached this book a bit apprehensively. Each short chapter is written in the context of a specific Arsenal game, with autobiographical details integrated throughout. The first half of the book was a bit heavy on the sport for me, but then things seemed to open up and included more about the author, his relationships, his concern about issues like racism and anti-semitism in the sport, and of course the deadly Hillsborough game in 1989.

This book is as much about obsession as it is about soccer. It was fascinating for me, a non sports follower, to try and understand the motivation of a fan who virtually never misses a home game, and who has even chosen to live near Arsenal's home field so he can walk to the stadium. The Hornby wit is evident throughout the book, and it was a fun read.