favorite skating books?

[littlerain]

I'm curious about what books about skating you all like. (I am quite a shopaholic and have this odd desire to purchase books on figure skating lol)

Of the instructional nature, I like Figure Skating School best. Lots of pictures, unlike most other books, and it is exactly like its name suggests! I think i've browsed through most of the others I could f ind too!

When i was a kid, i loved Skating for the Gold, a book written about Michelle Kwan & Tara Lipinski before the 98 olympics. :-)

I also read, at some point, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making & Breaking of Elite Gymnasts & Figure Skaters and Inside Edge by Christine Brennan. I'm not sure how I feel about books that claim to have an inside view on things, but it is quite sad to read about how these sports take over the lives of young girls. (And I think I must've been 12 or 13 when I read them!)

[Tiggerwoos]

I've just finished reading Fire On Ice which is Sasha Cohen's autobiography and very inspirational. Couldn't put the book down!

I've also recently bought Inside Edge but haven't been able to get into it yet.

[SynchroSk8r114]

...and Inside Edge by Christine Brennan. I'm not sure how I feel about books that claim to have an inside view on things, but it is quite sad to read about how these sports take over the lives of young girls. (And I think I must've been 12 or 13 when I read them!)

Same here! I absolutely loved Inside Edge and I was about the same age when I read it. But as far as feeling pity for the young girls whose lives are consumed by the sport, you have to consider that to attain the goals that many of these girls desire, they have to make a lot of sacrifices. I think that some of them had to have known what they were getting into when they took up skating, for instance.

[montanarose]

Best skating book ever IMHO: "The Second Mark." Can't remember the author's name; IIRC she was with ABC sports in an off-camera capacity. The book uses the infamous 2002 Olympics pairs competition as a departure point to delve deeply into the world of pairs skating.

She lays out the stories of the three pairs who finished on the podium (Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze; Sale/Pelletier; Shen/Zhao), not only their childhoods but the cultures -- skating and otherwise -- in which they grew up and trained. I don't know if the author was herself a skater, but she really knows her stuff: she manages to give perhaps the best layperson's analysis I've ever read of what made the Russian pairs so different, and so much better than the rest of the world's, for so long.

The book ends with Shen & Zhao's gold medal-winning World Championship performance following the SLC Olympics. I can practically guarantee you'll be in tears by the end of this chapter -- the contrast of that triumphant moment with the abject conditions and profound deprivations under which they grew up in China is profound.

Also recommended: "Frozen In Time: The Enduring Legacy of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team" by Nikki Nichols.

[Muskoka Skater]

I read alot of skating books like: About real Skater: Ice Skating Stars, The Best on Ice, Inside Figure Skating,and Super Stars on Ice. I also read skating books that aren't about real skaters: Bells on Finland Street, Skating Dreams, Silver Blades, and Cold as Ice.

[littlerain]

aww i used to love silver blades! I want to read them again!

[jcookie1982]

I love Katarina Witt's autobiography, as well as Rudy Galindo's. I also love Christine Brennan's books. I think my favorite though were the Silver Blades series. I used to collect the books and they were so much fun to read.

[SynchroSk8r114]

If anyone's interested in reading fictional books about synchronized skating, you should check out the Jazzicals series about the fictional synchro team, the Jazzicals.

http://www.jazzicals.com/novels-c.html

[flikkitty11]

some of the fiction books for kids (i was about nine when i read them) are "Silver Blades" and "Sliver Skates" I cant remember the author though, sorry.

[kayskate]

I remember the classic figure skating movie, Ice Castles, from my childhood. I think it was released in 1978 or 79. I read the novelization when I was a kid. it's a great read for fans and skaters. The movie is wonderful too. Lots of real skating. The star, Lynn Holly Johnson, did most of her own skating and was a competitive skater in the 70s. I think she competed at novice level.

Kay

[babyrabbit]

I got the Emily Hughes book for my young daughter and she loves it.

[Skittl1321]

My favorite skating book is "A Very Young Skater" which is an old book, I think from the 70s and has the most beautiful photographs.

I recently got a used copy, and it's unfortunately missing 2-4 pages :(

The book is a great look into the life of a skater/ballerina (the girl ended up becoming a dancers) back in the days of figures!

[kayskate]

My favorite skating book is "A Very Young Skater" which is an old book, I think from the 70s and has the most beautiful photographs.

I recently got a used copy, and it's unfortunately missing 2-4 pages :(

The book is a great look into the life of a skater/ballerina (the girl ended up becoming a dancers) back in the days of figures!

The book is modeled on Katherine Heeley. Is a prof skater w/ NY Ice Theater and was a prima ballerina in Europe. I think she coaches too.

Kay