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409th out of 4,072 books
—
19,795 voters
Playing for Pizza
by
John Grisham (Goodreads Author)
Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingst...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
September 24th 2007
by Doubleday
(first published 2007)
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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 ever read. At times, Grisha...more
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 ever read. At times, Grisha...more
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 had a cute premise: a thir...more
Logical reading choice, isn't it?
But the book had a cute premise: a thir...more
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
4 likes · like · see review
Feb 15, 2010
Indah Threez Lestari
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
in-english
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 mengingatkanku pada para pemai...more
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 mengingatkanku pada para pemai...more
2 likes · like · see review
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 lot o...more
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!
9 likes · like · see review
We listened to this on an audio book from Tye. I agreed with his view that it wasn't great writing, and, for Grisham, not even an intense legal story. It's about a released NFL quarterback who gets picked up to play for a team in Parma, Italy. Tye said Grisham probably went to his editor and offered to write a story there as an excuse to get to live in Italy for a while, and I would buy that supposition. His story was weak but the descriptions of food were mouthwatering. The parmesan cheese and...more
a departure from Grishams usual, nevertheless i loved this book. the writing seemed so effortless and the characters are enjoyable.
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 dishes rather...more
Oh, I also listened to this in the car, and when I did dishes rather...more
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
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
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
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
4 likes · like · see review
Jan 14, 2008
Ty Bouwens
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Ty by:
my mom
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 made me wan...more
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 made me wan...more
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 like · like · see review
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
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 place....more
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.
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 within be...more
1 like · like · see review
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 hardy Italian...more
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 hardy Italian...more
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 Eyed Girl" or "Minuet in G"... just sa...more
*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 Eyed Girl" or "Minuet in G"... just sa...more
1 like · like · see review
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
2 likes · like · see review
Aug 06, 2011
Jim Thornton
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
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
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
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 is self-absorbed, and pretty lousy a...more
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 promised...more
So I felt nostalgic for writers I'd read as a kid. And suddenly this book turned up on my radar and I thought, hey, why not?
A few pages into the book, I was able to answer that question: Because I had zero knowledge of how American Football worked. Unfortunately rendered most of the book as gibberish for me. However, the setting was interesting (felt like the early buildup from the film In Bruges, quaint little town, historically significant, good food and people), the characters were rather int...more
A few pages into the book, I was able to answer that question: Because I had zero knowledge of how American Football worked. Unfortunately rendered most of the book as gibberish for me. However, the setting was interesting (felt like the early buildup from the film In Bruges, quaint little town, historically significant, good food and people), the characters were rather int...more
I read Playing for Pizza by John Grisham, it's about an NFL player and he was the third string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. John never got the chance to play but one game his team was up by 17 points he got put in. He was abosolutely terible and was the laghing stock for the past month and sooner or latter got cut by the browns. Rick(the former NFL quarterback) was all about football, it was his life and he really wanted a job that contains football in it. Rick asks his agent to see if...more
EDITORIAL REVIEW: Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock—and was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams. But all Rick knows is football, and he insists t...more
I have read "a painted house " from Grisham and found it as one of his very easy paced books. And when I read the back cover of this one, I felt it is going to be of the similar narration style. Absolutely no drama - a book just as easy as driving on 5th gear on an empty highway during sunset.
Rick Dockery is an American Footballer (read rugby) who is already having a very average career, and manages to mess it up further with just a single match. His agent, unable to find any team who can take...more
Rick Dockery is an American Footballer (read rugby) who is already having a very average career, and manages to mess it up further with just a single match. His agent, unable to find any team who can take...more
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"Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.
Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of...more
More about John Grisham...
Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of...more
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