Things I generally like...Back of the Net

I have a confession before I start this- I don't get football. I find it for the most part boring and less skilled compared to other sports. I am dreading the TV schedules being filled with the World Cup this summer. I hate the assumption that you have to care about it because the national side is involved. I can't be bothered to be patriotic in general. I only vaguely care about my local side (Charlton) but that isn't that much.


So it is odd then that I really enjoy reading a blog about football. Back of the Net is a very different type of football blog. It is run by Mark Watson (who I like anyway as has previously mentioned), his brother Paul (who also runs the national football team in Micronesia) and John Foster. Rather than talking about fixtures and transfers of players etc. it makes up stories and are whimsical and very silly. Things like players making cakes, shopping during penalties, being lost in ticker tape parades and Flight of the Conchords being named in the New Zealand World Cup squad. They also satire the nature of football, the over played players, the general commercialisation of the game and the desire to keep things the same. 


Even if you don't like football, read this blog: http://backofthenet.markwatsonthecomedian.com/ 

Recommendations: Dara O'Briain- Tickling the English

A little post about Dara's book. I really like it because he is a very good writer and encapsulates what makes the English tick and what they are like, as well as comparing them to his native Ireland. How sets it out, like a tour diary makes it more compelling as well as easy to dip in and out of. It is also interesting to see how different shows are around the country. He is also funny. It is definitely something that people should read.

Recommendations: Rhod Gilbert podcast

I am ill, so I'm keeping the post simple and just giving a recommendation of something I think you could get into. Rhod Gilbert does a radio show for BBC Radio Wales on Saturdays from 11am to 1pm and it is brilliant. His co-host Chris Cochran is also good and people should try and listen. I've put down the podcast as it is available world wide. It's on iTunes so subscribe. 

Book post: Quirkology by Richard Wiseman

I do enjoy reading books and would like to use this blog to recommend some of the ones I have read recently or ones I just adore. I'm starting with Quirkology, which looks at the interesting experiements that scienists have performed and what this means for our lives.

Richard Wiseman writes in an engaging way and it is obvious that this is his passion. He explains the studies clearly, so you know what he is on about even if you do not have the knowledge to fully understand the topic. The things he chooses to talk about are fascinating and he looks at various scientific experiements that are on the surface silly and pointless but actually tell you a lot about how humans behave. You can learn a lot from this book, like how to spot when people are lying as well as the worlds funniest joke.

I am a fan generally of Wiseman's work, as I have also read 59 Seconds and loved it. I think I love books that inform as well as entertain and I do love learning random information. I certainly recommend Quirkology, as well as Wiseman's other books and am planning to read the Luck Factor soon.