There was a time not so long ago when I couldn’t finish a book – I literally could not get to grips with reading the whole thing through to the end without nodding off or getting distracted in some way and only ending up reading a couple of pages at a time, then losing the momentum of the story and finally abandoning it.

The only books during that time that kept me interested enough to finish them were “The Gingerman” and “One Hundred Years of Solitude“. Those days are long gone and I’ve no trouble flying through books these days, but the length of the book is an important factor in measuring how much you enjoy it.

Yawn! Getting through too much detail has its toll

All credit to the likes of War and Peace, but I’m firmly on the side of keeping it brief. If a book sticks to the essence of the story without deviating too much, staying humorous as much as possible, then it will entertain and grab you and you won’t want to put it down. Moreover, if it hasn’t waffled on, then you’ll want to read more by the same author.

There is a problem with a lot of GAA books, hurling books and other sports books in that they are overloaded with waffle. There’s a dilemma, for sure, to be faced by the authors of such books: If they are being written primarily for the benefit of the fans of the subject, then the assumption is that the fan/buyer will want to know as much as possible about their beloved subject. The tendency, therefore, is to make sure to cram as many facts, figures, scores and results as possible into the thing.

The trouble with that is that it makes it boring and that has been a problem that has plagued such books. They become reference books.

In setting out to write this book, ( about former Waterford hurler and skills coach Ned Power) I wanted it to be not so much a reference book but entertaining in the first place, and devoid of the boring overload of technical detail that drags down similar books.  Hopefully, that’s been achieved – we’ll see what people have to say…

“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009.  Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.

Before delving into the latest GAA Book this year, it’s worth noting that our national broadcaster is looking after its citizens in the area of transmitting what remaining important matches there are left to play this season.

The national club championships are a strange sort of end to the year, I have always thought.  I’ve wondered about how motivation can be kept going at this late hour of the year, when so many people have deserted the trail of adventure that the summer brought and when the weather is even more awful than it is in summer.

Ballygunner - Waterford's representatives take on Cratloe next Sunday

From the comfort of your home, you can follow most of the action live by tuning in to one of the most worthwhile uses of tax euros – TG4: as creative and energetic a channel as you’re likely to find anywhere.  So many people in this country of ours pay out a subscription to a nasty half-wit megalomaniac to watch overpaid clowns cheat and feign injury on the circus that is the English professional soccer league.

See some real people playing real sport for real reasons on TG4 every weekend with the All-Ireland hurling and football championships.  Once they’re over, then get back to your GAA books.

“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009.  Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.

Over at An Fear Rua, a vote has been gathering as to what is the best GAA book of 2009.

So far, Henry Martin’s “Unlimited Heartbreak” seems to be well in front with Cody’s biography scoring a low count just at the moment. Also, Donal Og Cusack‘s biography/autobiography is not really on the radar just yet.

A view of approximately one tenth of the GAA Books of 2009

The poll should be more interesting once the reading public has had a chance to get their teeth into the books that will be put out over the coming month.  So far, the size of the votes seem to be reflective of how long the book is out, so before the end of the year, we may get a more representative picture emerging.

One that isn’t out yet (although it will shortly be in print – this week, in fact) is the biography of Ned Power – due to be launched in Dungarvan on the 26th of November.

Part hurling book and part memoir, it will have a broader appeal than most so-called GAA books and it will therefore be interesting to see how it fares.

“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009.  Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.

There was time when hurling books and GAA books were all about snippets of reminiscences of the good old glory days of one team or another or some player or group of players.

There’s nothing wrong with that.  There are still books like that coming out.  Even the one about Ned Power is a little bit like that in many ways.  The GAA itself brought out a coffee table book of many images recently too.

But nowadays, the tendency is for the “tell-all” book; the one that reveals something spectacular, something sensational, something controversial that will have the head honchos in Croke Park bristling and the ladies in every parish blessing themselves while the gentlemen hang their heads and tut them over and back in disbelief and disgrace.

But are these books saying anything worthwhile? Yes, and no, I suppose. It’s all down to how sincerely and entertainingly the thing is written. The novelty wears off and you soon see what you’re left with.  Just don’t judge a book by its cover.

“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009.  Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.

Concerns of safety seem to be dominating a lot of the decision-making by the GAA national council.  The attempted halting of the pitch invasion at the Hurling All-Ireland final and the new rule requiring the wearing of protective head gear by all players (even goalkeepers) were decisions that were taken in the name of improving safety for players.

The debate is going to continue on both issues for a time to come.  From my own slightly cynical point of view, when I hear organisations talking about safety issues, I feel the pervasive presence of an insurance company whispering in the ears of decision-makers.  It’s also linked, perhaps, to the growing presence of the GPA and it represents, perhaps, a marking of lines – a defensive ploy, a laying down of a few sandbags if you like – in anticipation of the bitter battles to come between the GPA and the GAA.

Kilkenny Helmet Police arresting Dan Shanahan for the non-wearing of his helmet during this years AI SF.

But being bright and positive about it, although the measure of forcing senior goalkeepers to wear the sight-restrictive clobber seems quite daft, the whole exercise has already proven itself at lower levels in reducing the rate of serious accidents.  So that’s a good thing to be welcomed.  It remains to be seen what effect it will have on defenders and goalkeepers, however.  I’m betting that next year’s championship could see an even higher aggregate score amongst teams.  Fifty years ago, Waterford were knocking in an average of about six goals per game on their way to their last All-Ireland win.  If they could get ahead of the posse and invent some class of helmet that would allow the goalie to see through it, then the advantage would be with them and we’ll see how many goals they’ll knock in against the likes of Kilkenny then!

“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009.  Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.