 | Forum
Reply | Books
at 08:34 27 Aug 2025
'Expected Goals: The Story of How Data Conquered Football and Changed the Game Forever' by Rory Smith. A highly readable account of the modern football data revolution. A bit of an eye-opener for me and, given our CEO’s background, a very timely read...
'John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs' by Ian Leslie. You might think you’re heard/read all you need to about The Beatles. If so, think again. Makes you re-consider long-held assumptions about the Lennon-McCartney relationship and draws you back again to the songs.
Still on the non-fiction front, 'Live!: Why We Go Out', a gem from legendary QPR fan Robert Elms. An engaging personal reflection on his, and our, experience of live music. Here’s my review - https://bernardokeeffe.com/live-why-we-go-out/
On the fiction front, the best novel I’ve read recently is Jonathan Coe’s 'Proof of My Innocence'. Also enjoyed Alan Hollinghurst’s 'Our Evenings'.
If you like crime fiction you might be interested in the DI Garibaldi novels by Bernard O’Keeffe (shameless plug). The detective’s a QPR season ticket-holder and the books have plenty of R’s references.
‘He smiled as he remembered the line from Larkin – ‘man hands on misery to man’. That’s what he had done – handed on the misery of being a QPR season-ticket holder to his son. And he didn’t regret it one bit.’
‘It was the first home game of the season and the air was fresh with the crazy optimism familiar to all football fans, even those who supported QPR. Maybe this might be their year. Get back into the Premiership. Have a cup run. Rekindle the spirit of 1975–6, or the magic of that Bobby Zamora Wembley moment in 2014. Before a ball had been kicked in earnest anything was possible – it was like clutching a lottery ticket before the balls had dropped.'
‘Smug was never a word applied to QPR fans’
And some of the characters share names with QPR players – look out for Marsh, Bowles, Ainsworth, Gallen, Dunne... [Post edited 27 Aug 8:39]
|
| Forum
Reply | Books (n/t)
at 16:18 26 Aug 2025
[Post edited 26 Aug 16:23]
|
| Forum
Reply | Novels that mention QPR
at 21:27 8 Oct 2023
Shameless plug -
‘The Final Round’ and ‘Private Lessons’ by Bernard O’Keeffe feature a detective (DI Garibaldi) who’s a QPR season ticket-holder.
Lots of QPR references. For example -
‘He smiled as he remembered the line from Larkin – ‘man hands on misery to man’. That’s what he had done – handed on the misery of being a QPR season-ticket holder to his son. And he didn’t regret it one bit.’
‘Smug was never a word applied to QPR fans’
And many of the characters share surnames with QPR players – there’s an Ainsworth and Gallen in the latest one...
You can get hold of the Garibaldi series here – https://shorturl.at/iouwL |
| | BernardOK
|
Site Scores| Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 0 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.