Welcome to Litsy!

I still have very little time to post, but here are the next 4 books I've read for the #52bookclub24 challenge.

Libro super. Consiglio di leggerlo. Ti fa entrare nella testa di un professionista. Capire che le cose non sono scontate e si raggiungono sono con tanto impegno e mai senza difficoltà. Molto bello. Interessante, piacevole, scorrevole. Consigliato

“I open my eyes and and don‘t know where I am or who I am.”

Enjoying this biography while watching the US Open (at least what I‘ve managed to see of it with the stupid Spectrum/Disney dispute) Surprised to find out in the early pages that Agassi has always hated tennis😳#FirstLineFridays

This story is both incredible and astonishing. Andre Agassi is someone I have liked but now completely respect and have well of compassion for. I remember cheering both for and against him and now I will only cheer for him. What a life he was first forced to lead and now chooses to do so. Don‘t need to be a fan to enjoy it.

What an apt title! Open, honest, and raw. Especially touching were the parts about Stephanie and his father figure, Gil. There‘s a lot of tennis, obviously, but it doesn‘t dull the book at all.

I've never picked up a tennis racket or watched a tennis match, but I picked this one up and boy, oh, boy, it is SO good.

Finished the top one: 👍
Starting the bottom one: 🤞

#WeekendReading #BookNookBuddies2022 #BookSpinBingo

Finally decided at the 40% mark that this one is just not for me. Nothing wrong with it, just wasn‘t catching or keeping my attention.

#Two4Tuesday

1. The tagged book by Andre Agassi is my favorite sports memoir. The ghost writer on this was J.R. Moehringer, who is a great writer. (P.S. he‘s working with Prince Harry on his book)

2. Favorite is college basketball (ACC specifically) but I also love to watch the Olympics, baseball, and tennis.

I‘ve always been a massive tennis fan and had a huge crush on Agassi when i was younger, he‘s still my favourite player of all time so I‘ve been dying to read this. Such charisma and style on the court and I‘d still class him as the best returner ever (although many would argue Djokovic has taken this title).
The book was raw,honest and emotional and I loved every minute of it!
A definite pick
4.5 ⭐️

I thought about Andre even as I was alphabetizing Mayoral Election mail-in ballots at work. I just wanted to get home to continue reading. While the middle dragged just a tiny bit, this book was very personal and I now have a deeper love for Agassi than I did before. The downside of the book, if you can call it that, is that I was compelled to watch long sections of the matches that he discusses. What a thoughtful and generous guy he is. 💖

This book wasn‘t even on my radar. However, the other day I saw it on Libby. Now I can‘t stop reading it. When he writes of finally winning Wimbledon I just had to watch the last 45 minutes of the game (hooray for Youtube). I cried right alongside him at the end.

Andre Agassi‘s father‘s guardian angel.

My last read from January, & what a good read it was. You would think reading about tennis matches from 20+ years ago would be tedious, but the book is written in such an accessible way. 4🌟

#sundayreads

It‘s been a gorgeous weekend. Squeezing in more park reads while I can.

I‘m putting together my #OctoberTBR this morning, and this book has been on my shelf for years. Just now discovering this note inside.

Ruth & Marty. Perhaps not the Ginsburgs, but #RBG is in and of the universe now.

Great book. Very well written and superb format. The beauty of tennis was conveyed brilliantly and the intensity of the matches were captured so well. Incredible level of discipline and

Not sure why I picked this up except that I love autobiographies. This one taught me that even the greatest competitors have self doubt and travel the same winding roads to self realization as everyone else. Not a must read, but interesting to get into the head of a competitive person.

Library Haul📚❤️ I‘m still reading Duma Key but I‘m ready for the heat wave this weekend, baby! Now I just have to buy stuff for a vegan sundae, and I‘m going to have a jolly good time!!🎉#libraryhaul #heatwavereading

I enjoyed reading the book despite not knowing anything about the author or tennis. The book has been written in a very simple language and the author is able to articulate the mental and emotional struggles throughout his star career with ease. Overall a 3.5/5

1) Tagged book, Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
2) Gryffindor
3) Final season of House of Cards - not impressed

#weekendreads
@rachelsbrittain

Little bit disappointed that Andre isn't narrating, but enjoying nonetheless.

Today‘s book #5 was Open. This, to me, was the most real and raw autobiography I‘ve ever heard. The truest form of pure grit. If you like autobiographies, this is one of the best.

1. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. HATED it.
2. 🍿
3. Tagged book, I‘m a big Agassi fan, but his memoir is so well written and entertaining I recommend it to anyone!

#tuesdaytidbits

The book's excellent. Agassi talks about his experiences in depth. Great read even if you're not interested in tennis .

Thank you for the tag, @SilversReviews !

1. Tagged book, because I was viewing my #FreakyFriday list!
2. Agatha Christie - great mysteries, especially And Then There Were None
3. Humpty Dumpty cannot be put together again??
4. If you would like to do this, consider yourself tagged!
#TrivialThursday

How was my book? In a word, riveting. Also, powerful, compelling, heartbreaking, surprising, & brutally honest. From a childhood shaped by his father‘s relentless drive to mold Andre into the best tennis player in the world, to his rise & fall & rise again, this memoir provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of professional tennis & what it takes to be the best. Agassi spares no one, himself included, & tells a remarkable tale. A great read.

What type of “gnarled hobbit” indeed?!?

Love this description of Roland Garros.

Heartbreaking, these early chapters, and a fascinating look at the pursuit of being the best in the world at something. Relentless, uncompromising and at what cost? Makes for some very powerful reading.

The urge to read nonfiction strikes again. This time, I‘m diving into the autobiography of my all-time favorite tennis player. It‘s frequently described as one of the best sports memoirs ever written and I anticipate, much like one of Agassi‘s matches, it will not disappoint. And just look at that cover...

This is the first sports memoir that I have read. I‘m not a tennis fan, I‘m not even a sports fan, but I enjoy athletics. Because of that, I could appreciate the parts that involved kinesiology and Agassi‘s experience with pushing physical his boundaries and (as he copes with aging) pushing a body that doesn‘t do what it once did.

To read more: http://www.amyyuki.com/books/2018/02/02/open-by-andre-agassi/

1. As a little, little kid my favorite show was Mr Rogers' Neighborhood. And after that, if I'm honest, General Hospital, which I watched with my babysitter every day once I turned 5.
2. Tie: Open by Andre Agassi and Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
3. Mac & Cheese
4. Winter Olympics!
5. Hi Littens! We made it to Friday.

#FriYayIntro
@jesshowbooks

Since I've already read the few sports books I own, I decided to go the #audiobook route for the #OlympicSport prompt of the #Booked2018 challenge. He uses some expressions that made me laugh out loud a few times.

For a sports book (not my thing at all) this is a remarkable story laying bare the torment and torture of living a life you didn't choose. It has made me rethink everything I thought I knew about stroppy and obnoxious tennis players and made me want to watch old Agassi games, at least to check out that hair! A truly great read, thanks for recommending this one Littens.

Home alone.... time to read the afternoon away. It is so beautiful here today I'm asking the most of it sitting out on the deck.

Sports biographies are really not my thing but so many people talked positively about this one I thought I'd give it a go. I'm only a short way in but boy is it good (despite the odd cliched line). I hope he can sustain my interest.

I love reading about the lives of real life people. These are the ones I have in my stack at the moment. Any suggestions for other great or surprising memoirs, biographies or autobiographies.

I surprised myself by reading this, because I don't like sports, especially tennis. But many people who have said the exact same thing still loved this book, and I'm no exception. In fact, I had trouble putting it down. Agassi is a wonderfully complicated and fascinating individual, a man who was forced to play tennis by his overbearing father. The result? He ended up being one of the all time greats, but also secretly hated the game.

I was late in discovering the magic of books. Of all my many mistakes that I want my children to avoid, I put that one near the top of my list.

That perfect blend of caring and not caring, the best preparation.

Rock bottom can be very cozy because at least you're at rest. You know you're not going anywhere for a while.

I tell myself: Remember this. Hold on to this. This is the only perfection there is, the perfection of helping others. This is the only thing we can do that has any lasting value or meaning. This is why we're here. To make each other feel safe.

With his own serve, he's uncannily accurate. If he misses, it's only by a bee's dick.

When my father catches me thinking, daydreaming, on the tennis court, he reacts as if he caught me taking money from his wallet. I often think about how I can stop thinking because he knows I'm a thinker by nature. Or with all his yelling, has he turned me into a thinker? Is my thinking about things other than tennis an act of defiance?

I like to think so.

What you feel doesn't matter in the end; it's what you do that makes you brave.

Listened to on audio, if you are a tennis fan this is a really good look at Andre's road through tennis greatness. Oh and that Brooke seems like a schmooze!

My absolute favourite autobiography 🎾🏆#celebritylove #sizzlinsummerbooks #tennisfan

Excellent. The book I want to recommend to everyone

I'm a huge tennis fan, but anyone would get a lot out of this book. He lets the reader get inside his life, describing his struggles, his celebrity, his hate for the game of tennis. More than a story about tennis, it is about a demanding father, defining oneself, finding love and meaning in life. I came away with a great deal of respect for Agassi and a better understanding of the world of elite tennis. If listen on audio I rec 1.25x speed.