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Jan 02, 2008

Ted rated it:

I started reading John Grisham books when I was the nerdiest sixth grader of all time and thought I'd grow up to be a lawyer. And though I found none of them particularly memorable, I did enjoy his huge slew of legal thrillers back in the day.

Out of pure curiosity I now occasionally pick up one of his more offbeat efforts, like this one about an American quarterback playing semi-pro football in Italy.

This was, quite simply, one of the dumbest and strangest books I've eve More...

8 comments like (10 people liked it)

Aug 14, 2008

April rated it:

I had never read John Grisham before and had never really thought to give him a try. Naturally, the one time I read him, I read something that's atypical of his usual work. It was my familiarity of his name that prompted me to pick him up at all, and then it was only because I anticipated a long wait at the doctor's office and needed something to read. I don't even read legal thrillers, and I'm really not that into football.

Logical reading choice, isn't it?

But the book ha More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 21, 2008

Nolatari rated it:

A die-hard fan will read anything written by a favorite author, and I am that for John Grisham. I don’t always care for the end results, but I will always give his books my all. Last winter I finally got around to reading The Broker in which Grisham none-too-subtly extolled the virtues of the Italian culture. The premise of Playing for Pizza leaves no doubt that his entire point in writing this slim novel is to continue sharing that love affair with his readers. Pizza, above all else, is a lengt More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 26, 2010

Indah "Threez" rated it:

Ternyata di negeri sepakbola Italia ada Liga American Football!

John Grisham tidak selalu identik dengan novel hukum. Novel ini bercerita tentang pemain American football kelas tiga (atau malah empat?) yang karirnya tamat di negerinya sendiri karena blunder abad ini, dan kemudian terpaksa menerima tawaran pekerjaan dari sebuah tim di Italia, yang sebagian besar pemainnya tidak digaji, just play for fun and pizza!. Tentu saja, dia malah jadi bintang di sana!

Well, ini mengin More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2010

Sara rated it:

This is another gem from Grisham in which he gives us a glimpse of his tale-spinning away from the courtroom dramas. This time he whisks us away to Italy. The vivid descriptions of ingredients, foods, and full course meals will make you hungry - reminded me of reading Part 1 of Eat, Pray, Love. This book is a real treat if you enjoy international travel and are a football (NFL that is!) fan. But even if you aren't into quarterbacks you can easily skim the sporty paragraphs and still have a l More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 08, 2008

Mistersportsquiz rated it:

An entertaining, quick read that will hasten your desire to see Italy. This is a departure from a typical Grisham novel, but it's a refreshing sports story with a romantic twist that will probably be made into a movie someday. Enjoy!

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jun 24, 2008

Marion rated it:

a departure from Grishams usual, nevertheless i loved this book. the writing seemed so effortless and the characters are enjoyable.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2009

Mark rated it:

I liked this story more than a little. I'm no big sports fan, but I enjoyed hearing about the physical aspects of football as described in this book. I'm also a big food nut, and liked how that was the second focus of this book. There was plenty of good humor. So, if you want a happy feel good book that doesn't strain the brain but makes you wince when the character strains something else. This title should be on your gameplan.

Oh, I also listened to this in the car, and when I did di More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2008

Kevin rated it:

Rick Dockery is the classic NFL journeyman quarterback. He travels from team to team playing with whoever will give him whatever paltry paycheck he can scrounge up. Yet he serves as nothing more than a third-string backup to a backup wherever he winds up. However, while playing for the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship game, he gets called to helm the team when the other two ahead of him go out injured. Upon recovering in a hospital bed from a massive concussion that rendered him unconsci More...

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Jun 12, 2008

Bybees rated it:

Katie: Ryan read this one first and informed me it was more of a guy book because it was all about football. I read it anyway and was thoroughly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, not being much of a football fan. I would probably up the rating to 3 1/2 or 4 stars. I loved the characters, though not necessarily the protagonist, which was my main criticism of the book. I just couldn't get over that he was a man slut and kind of a sleaze ball so I didn't really care to rally behind him and was ki More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 24, 2008

Johnny rated it:

Until Skipping Christmas, I had thought that Grisham was completely locked into formula novels. I had loved The Firm, The Pelican Brief (even though it is so often criticized for its improbability), The Client, and The Rainmaker, but thought The Runaway Jury was stale and contrived. Then, I read Skipping Christmas and The King of Torts. I suddenly realized that everything wasn't formula for Grisham. Recently, I read The Last Juror and thought it was a delightful book, even if the mystery angle w More...

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Feb 03, 2008

Tom rated it:

A good rule to live by is that any book that has detailed descriptions of Italian meals is worth reading. I found Playing for Pizza very enjoyable and no exception to that rule. It tells the story of Rick Dockery, a journeyman third string quarterback in the NFL, who after a disastorous game in which he was the goat, can only find work on a semi-pro football team in Parma, Italy. Somewhat predictably, he rediscovers his love of the game, is welcomed by his gregarious teamates, and discovers the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 14, 2008

Ty rated it:

This book was by far one of my favorite books. I think I liked it so much for a few reasons. One was because I really liked the way the author decribed things, including the football stadiums and the hospital. Also it was a book that challeged me but nopt so much i didn't like it. Lastly, I love football and that's what the book was mainly about.
This book was very interesting and made me keep flipping the page once I was done with another one. Plus I'm not a huge reader but this was mad More...

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Jan 15, 2008

Lucas rated it:

Up 21-7 with five minutes left in the AFC championship game, the Cleveland Browns had lost both their starting and backup quarterback due to injuries that resulted from vicious hits. Enter Rick Dockery, a perennial third stringer who has been stuck at the bottom of the depth chart for every team he has ever played for since entering the NFL from the University of Iowa. All Dockery had to do was run out the clock and give Cleveland, a city long deprived of success in professional sports, a trip t More...

1 comment like

Sep 07, 2010

Anne rated it:

I am a shameless fan of John Grisham. I find his legal thrillers comforting, even though they follow the same formula everytime. But, his non-legal books have never quite held the same appeal for me (Bleachers and The Painted House, for example). So, I was a little hesitant to pick this one up - but he's always a fast read, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Playing for Pizza is the story of a third-string NFL quarterback. He's spent his career bouncing from team to team, until he absolutely blows More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 07, 2007

Janell rated it:

Short review: a nice travelogue/play-by-play in the life of a washed up football player discovering the romance and life changing elixir that is Italy. Long review: I’ve read, or attempted to read, many John Grisham novels since The Firm, including A Time to Kill, which I found more riveting than The Firm, if not as quickly read. But Playing for Pizza was reminiscent of The Firm in that, like an old friend, I’d found the familiar easy prose that made me want to read The Firm in the first pl More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 26, 2009

Charly rated it:

When Grisham comes away from his cookie cutter legal works he shows an interesting skill as a storyteller. This is a fun and at times funny look at a has been NFL quarterback who chases his football dream to Italy. A fun and at times funny tale well told. Light and quick like much of his non-legal work but far more entertaining than the legal thiungs he writes.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 23, 2008

Arlene rated it:

OK, first off, I have NEVER enjoyed watching football. However, Ryan really enjoys John Grisham and I thought I would take a chance and read one of Ry's most recent reads. It is about a struggling NFL player has been who ends up playing for a small Italian team in Parma, Italy. Grisham has written some great books, so I thought how bad could it be? OK, well...not great at all. I gave the football subject a chance because it included great descriptions of cities and local color subjects with More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 08, 2008

Rebecca rated it:

Not a bad story, but ended a little abruptly and honestly, I felt like I was reading Danielle Steel much of the time. (If, of course, she knew a LOT about football plays!)

Washed-out 3rd string NFL quarterback Rick Dockery has just struck out, big time -- losing a huge lead in the division championships in the last 11 minutes of the game. His agent manages to pull some magic and find him a position as starting quarterback, for the Parma Panthers team in Italy. This is a world where More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 27, 2008

Lauren rated it:

Reading John Grisham is like watching "Two and a half men" the jokes are corny, it's obvious what's going to happen, and way over explained. But sometimes you need a mindless story to while away the hours.

*Really deserves one star after an extremely lacking explanation of Othello.

A note to authors. Never explain the plot of another book in your own. Never Never write the words to a song. It's just tacky. If you want the character to be listening to "Brown Eye More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 05, 2008

Seamus rated it:

I liked the book, it is very funny and if you love football you will like this book. Rick Dockery is a football player who's career is pretty much over. He's a member of the Denver Broncos, and has been on practically every NFL team. His last mistake was a third concussion during the Superbowl. His manager Arnie is trying to gey him a job on another NFL team, people are sending him death threats and hate him. Arnie finds a team in Parma, Italy that is desperate to have any Pro-Football Player no More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 06, 2011

Jim added it

This must rate as one of the most awful books I have ever read. Why didn't I give up after 30 pages? Because I was trapped on a nine hour flight with nothing else to read. It's almost hard to decide where to start insulting this piece of mind-cabbage.

First, I've read most of Grisham's books, and have generally enjoyed them, so this isn't a rant against an author I dislike, but against this particular book. Second, the whole setting is farcical. Americans may enjoy this as they understand America More...

0 comments like

Mar 03, 2009

Jarod rated it:

During class I have been able to read more than I usual. Because of this I was able to read multiple books. One of the books that I enjoyed quite a bit was Playing For Pizza by John Grisham. I didn’t understand the title when I first picked up the book, but after reading the book the title makes sense now. We have people that play football because they love the game, but they complain when someone is making more money then they are. The men over in Italy love the game so much that all they play More...

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Jan 23, 2009

Elissawolf rated it:

Now I remember why I stopped reading Grisham. This book goes into great detail of mundane things. Other than the incredibly boring descriptions (and I love football!) of the weekly football games and practices, I wouldn't qualify this book as a "guy book." Not enough about the glories of Italy, Italian food, personalities, or relationships to make it "chick lit," either. The main character is "just a guy." He really doesn't seem too likable or interesting. He More...

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Dec 11, 2008

Blake added it

This book is about Rick Dockery, a third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. He screws up in a playoff game, throwing the pass directly to the opposing Denver Broncos, giving himself his third concussion, a trip to the hospital, and a bad reputation. Wanting to help Rick continue playing football, even though he is unwanted by all NFL teams on the North American continent, Rick's agent finally finds him a job playing football for a team in Italy. Rick only agrees because he is promise More...

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Oct 25, 2011

04FosterK rated it:

playing for pizza...... playing for pizza represents many things .... drive.. passion.. love for the game... and true determation. this book got gave to me by my dad i first i thought what in the heck could this mean. so i started reading the first 10 pages i read the first ten pages and got bored. the next day i kept reading as i got into it i couldnt find my self time to put it down. wich is suprising for me since i am not a fan of reading expecially books i dont chose my self. i think that o More...

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Sep 14, 2011

Deirdre rated it:

I can't believe I'm reading this book. Why am I reading this book? Where did it come from? It's such a guy book. It's in a stack of to-reads at the side of the bed. I need a quick read before reviewing "great Expectations" for the next book group. I pick it up. I read the first page. Why?

Then my obstinate why-not comes pouncing forward. A book about football. What? I went to one Broncos game around 1973. Later would meet a bunch of stoned players back stage at var More...

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Aug 23, 2011

Andrew rated it:

A friend sent me this book a while back, knowing that I like American Football. Two things, however, have meant that it’s been lumped on my bookcase in “the stack”. Firstly, it’s by John Grisham. Whilst I enjoyed some of his earlier stuff, his work is mainly the litary equivilant to a bowl of Doritos. And secondly, it describes itself as “a heart-warming tale”. Yeuch.

Anyway, I was actually in the mood for something pretty light, so this got picked up the other day. Needless to say, it More...

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Aug 03, 2011

James added it

In Playing for Pizza, Grisham returns to the genre of literature he explored in his earlier book, Bleachers. Like that book, football provides the backdrop. In this delightful little book, Rick Dockery, a struggling NFL quarterback near the end of his short and abortive career finds himeslf heading off to Italy to play American Football after a disastrous performance in a big playoff game for the Cleveland Browns (he was the third string quarterback, and came in after a couple injuries and threw More...

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Jun 01, 2011

Chase rated it:

This is a breezy novel, but if you are a fan of Grisham novels (which are always a joy to read) and love football and/or Italy, this is the book for you. I also recommend this book for food lovers: many passages made me crave the traditional dishes from the Emilia-Romagna province of Italy, which were described in detail (I assume the author himself enjoyed the research). The plot involves a third-string quarterback taking a job in Italy, where, yes they have a football league and yes, even an More...

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