Skating Books

[SkateGuard]

The new anthology book Athlete Is Agender: True Stories of LGBTQ+ People In Sports features essays by Karina Manta, Adam Rippon and A.J. Sass:

Athlete Is Agender: True Stories Of Lgbtq+ People In Sports ('po') | Indigo

Buy the book Athlete Is Agender: True Stories of LGBTQ+ People in Sports by at Indigo

www.indigo.ca

 

[TanithandBenFan]

The Favorites Kindle ebook is on sale for $1.99 for a very limited time

Amazon.com: The Favorites: A Novel eBook : Fargo, Layne: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: The Favorites: A Novel eBook : Fargo, Layne: Kindle Store

www.amazon.com

 

[ChelleC]

The Favorites Kindle ebook is on sale for $1.99 for a very limited time

Amazon.com: The Favorites: A Novel eBook : Fargo, Layne: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: The Favorites: A Novel eBook : Fargo, Layne: Kindle Store

www.amazon.com

I was just coming to post this. I inwardly squealed when I opened my BookBub email.

 

[Yuri]

I’m most of the way through The Favourites. The take on the Russians, particularly the quotes from the bitch coach, is She got everything in there but American fans eating cheeseburgers.

For an author who’s not a skater or skating expert she did a very good job. I hate audiobooks but casting Johnny as Ellis must be brilliant.

I finished reading The Favorites book a couple days ago and it was a perfect beach read, particularly for an ice dancing fan! OMG I was hearing Johnny Weir in my head as Ellis Dean seemed like a cross between him and Dave Lease (if he had been a forgotten Olympic skater)! I agree the author really caught a sense of the figure skating world without being part of it herself. I really appreciated her use of the real-life venues and Grand Prix series in an otherwise fictional tale, as well as capturing the changes in the ice dancing rules, elements and scoring methodologies over the time span of the book. I didn't catch any glaring errors.

But I really cracked up when about halfway through the book when I decided to read the Wikipedia article on Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and compared the main character names of The Favorites to it! OMG, it's just too funny! SO CLEVER! I think that I need to read Wuthering Heights next to compare the plot lines as well as the multi-narrator style of both novels.

 

[SkateGuard]

Cover reveal for my new books A Complete History of the World Figure Skating Championships & A Complete History of the European Figure Skating Championships - coming November 2025:

Cover Reveal - New Collector's Edition Series

Cover reveal for a new collector's edition series of books about the history of the European and World Figure Skating Championships

www.skateguardblog.com

 

[Wyliefan]

Nice!

 

[Spiralgraph]

I finally got "The Favorites" at my library. (I was so low on the waiting list I forgot about it.) While I appreciate the effort the author put in for research, unlike many of you I was a bit disappointed by the novel. Trashy as befits some aspects of skating, but some of the plot and remarks about skating just made me roll my eyes. I think I'll stick to real skating drama.

 

[SkateGuard]

The Nicole Bobek memoir Bobek: The Wild One is available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble:

BOBEK: THE WILD ONE|Hardcover

She was the wild child of figure skating—graceful, rebellious, unforgettable. This is her story, in her own words.Nicole Bobek didn't just skate. She soared, spiraled, and crashed in ways the world could never look away from. With a ponytail flying and a wink to the judges,...

www.barnesandnoble.com

Nicole Bobek on Instagram: "It is with great honor that I am able to announce my book that is coming out. After six long months, over 26 hours of interviews, several breakdowns and many breakthroughs. I pray that this book will be a guide for so many

1,160 likes, 173 comments - nicolebobek77 on July 8, 2025: "It is with great honor that I am able to announce my book that is coming out. After six long months, over 26 hours of interviews, several breakdowns and many breakthroughs. I pray that this book will be a guide for so many. it is...

www.instagram.com

The release date is October 8.

A Complete History of the World Figure Skating Championships is now available on Netgalley.

If you'd like to request a digital Advance Review Copy and leave an advance review on Goodreads, The Storygraph and LibraryThing, the link to apply is here:

https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/687872

The pre-order link from Indigo, Chapters & coles is here:

https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/a-compl...gure-skating-championships/9781069170590.html

The release date of this book and its sister book A Complete History of the European Figure Skating Championships is November 18.

 

[my little pony]

has anyone else read nicole's book? what do you think? I guess it is what I expected

 

[TanithandBenFan]

has anyone else read nicole's book? what do you think? I guess it is what I expected

That was fast! I ordered it from my library.

 

[4rkidz]

has anyone else read nicole's book? what do you think? I guess it is what I expected

I am just reading it, it is interesting but just ‘okay’. I had an interest in that era is when I was just really getting into the skating more so familiar with all the skaters and drama.

 

[Badams]

I am reading Bobek now. I am actually bored out of my mind with it. She repeats herself so much, I feel like it could have been 100 pages shorter if she wasn't so repetitive. And it still wouldn't be very interesting.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

I am reading Bobek now. I am actually bored out of my mind with it. She repeats herself so much, I feel like it could have been 100 pages shorter if she wasn't so repetitive. And it still wouldn't be very interesting.

I’m glad I ordered it from the library and didn’t buy it!

 

[4rkidz]

I am reading Bobek now. I am actually bored out of my mind with it. She repeats herself so much, I feel like it could have been 100 pages shorter if she wasn't so repetitive. And it still wouldn't be very interesting.

I wasn't a fan of the jumping about either from different times. Although it is getting a bit more interesting now with the realities of life with starts on ice.

 

[my little pony]

it's very poorly written, like a long form people magazine article
it's a shame because in the hands of a good writer, it's a compelling story

 

[angi]

Gabriella Papadakis is also set to release a memoir titled "Pour ne pas disparaître", which will be out at the start of 2026 (January 15th).
The Google translations of the summary reads:

In March 2022, Gabriella Papadakis was crowned Olympic champion and world figure skating champion for the fifth time. Just as everything seemed to be converging toward the 2026 Olympics, Gabriella chose to step down and announce her retirement. This book recounts the intimate and political reasons for this unexpected gesture: why leave the ice when another Olympic gold medal was within reach, and why reappear a few months later alongside a woman, to break the codes of skating?

The result of radical introspection, this story reveals a life trajectory shaped to shine, whatever the cost. Between resounding victories and invisible injuries, the vital need to dance and the violence of the environment, worldwide acclaim and the intimate conviction of the necessity of leaving, Gabriella delivers a testimony that is both lucid and sensitive about the reality of high-level sport. She writes so as not to disappear into the silence imposed on women, and to reclaim her story and her art.

https://www.fnac.com/a22185392/Gabriella-Papadakis-Pour-ne-pas-disparaitre

 

[TanithandBenFan]

I finished The Wild One and yikes what a hot mess of writing. The book did not need to be 400+ pages. I skimmed through so much that was unnecessary. And there was such a glaring error when they said the plane crash took place in 2024.

 

[Badams]

I finished The Wild One and yikes what a hot mess of writing. The book did not need to be 400+ pages. I skimmed through so much that was unnecessary. And there was such a glaring error when they said the plane crash took place in 2024.

Yes! That drives me crazy! There were a few things like that in the book. Like when she said she was robbed at 1991 Junior worlds because she was better than the top 3, but later says 1993 junior worlds was her very first big international competition.

 

[cholla]

The Wild One is a cure against insomnia. Not sure I will ever be able to finish it, I doze after a few pages. So many repetitions and a few false facts make it a real bore. It's a shame because Bobek's life has been a rollercoaster and if it was not so poorly written, it could have been a real good book.

Edit: I have to watch my autocorrect as it has an annoying tendancy to switch to French mid sentence.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Gabriella Papadakis is also set to release a memoir titled "Pour ne pas disparaître", which will be out at the start of 2026 (January 15th).
The Google translations of the summary reads:

https://www.fnac.com/a22185392/Gabriella-Papadakis-Pour-ne-pas-disparaitre

Holy Merde. Europeans are going to be a media shit storm for LFB & GC with the timing of her book's release, that's for sure.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Yes! That drives me crazy! There were a few things like that in the book. Like when she said she was robbed at 1991 Junior worlds because she was better than the top 3, but later says 1993 junior worlds was her very first big international competition.

A real editor would be shot for making such a glaring mistake.

I think Nicole should have hired a ghost writer, or at least an 'as told to' assistant to help her write her book.

As others have said, her story could have been so compelling. A share really, because she is very good in interviews.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

A real editor would be shot for making such a glaring mistake.

I think Nicole should have hired a ghost writer, or at least an 'as told to' assistant to help her write her book.

As others have said, her story could have been so compelling. A share really, because she is very good in interviews.

Nicole didn't write it - she was just interviewed for it. It sounds like the publisher approached her about doing the book and arranged the writer/interviewer, who Nicole described as young. Considering it's a "boutique" publisher, I don't think they have the best resources available.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Nicole didn't write it - she was just interviewed for it. It sounds like the publisher approached her about doing the book and arranged the writer/interviewer, who Nicole described as young. Considering it's a "boutique" publisher, I don't think they have the best resources available.

The publisher looks like a vanity press to me.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

The publisher looks like a vanity press to me.

It may be, but from how she described her financial situation, I don’t think Nicole would have paid to have the book done.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

It may be, but from how she described her financial situation, I don’t think Nicole would have paid to have the book done.

They're likely some sort of "hybrid" press. I imagine that having some commissioned "celebrity" books is good for their business. The fact that they don't have submission guidelines listed anywhere does seem to indicate that they're not a traditional publishing house. Some hybrid presses do put out very good books.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

They're likely some sort of "hybrid" press. I imagine that having some commissioned "celebrity" books is good for their business. The fact that they don't have submission guidelines listed anywhere does seem to indicate that they're not a traditional publishing house. Some hybrid presses do put out very good books.

Oh yeah I definitely don’t think there’s anything traditional about them considering the writing quality of this book

 

[MacMadame]

It may be, but from how she described her financial situation, I don’t think Nicole would have paid to have the book done.

The author might though.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Nicole didn't write it - she was just interviewed for it. It sounds like the publisher approached her about doing the book and arranged the writer/interviewer, who Nicole described as young. Considering it's a "boutique" publisher, I don't think they have the best resources available.

I wasn't aware of that.

Given their limited resources, running it through ChatGPT could have worked wonders!