GREAT READS

Playing for Pizza

John Grisham.

Those of us mourning the end of football season, and those of us considered to be "foodies," will enjoy this stylistic departure from John Grisham's lawyer-centric stories, Playing For Pizza.  If quarterback Rick Dockery, who delivered what was considered to be the worst single performance in the history of the NFL, wants to continue playing football he must first find a team that will take him.  His only option is the Panthers--not in Carolina but the Parma Panthers... in Parma, Italy!  Speaking no Italian and ignorant of Italian culture, he takes the job and the adventure begins. Part football story, part travelogue, and part Italian food primer, this novel is about finding yourself when all you know has been taken away.  This book does come with a warning, however.  Do not read this book on an empty stomach, as the food descriptions will have you running to your favorite Italian restaurant.

Recommended by Tim Andrews