This is what’s at my front door this week.

Yes, it’s footy season. That special time when my weekends are planned around junior football. In a new family best, we have six separate footy commitments in the weekly schedule, not including trying to get to see these guys:

I enjoy watching it (preferably Carlton but I have been known to attend any old game) and I particularly love watching my own kids play, whether it be a match or kick-to-kick in the backyard.

I also don’t mind reading about footy. Honestly, I don’t get into the Herald-Sun’s weekly 80-page football lift-out but I don’t mind a football theme in a story. I have four on my winter to-be-read list:

1. Eleven Seasons by Paul D. Carter – a coming-of-age football story set in Melbourne and last year’s winner of the Vogel prize. The draw card? It’s all about the suburbs I know and being a teen in the eighties.

2. Players by Tony Wilson – for a witty footy story. Also check out Tony’s blog – he always makes me laugh out loud and writes about everything from sports to In the Night Garden.

3. Footy Town edited by Paul Daffey and John Harms – a collection of football yarns from around Australia, perfect for picking up at half time. The collection is written by players, has-beens and fans –

“They paint a vivid picture of footy’s rich culture; a picture of mud and dust; of Dencorub and the clack of stops; of lumpy back pockets and racehorse half-forwards; of spiralling torps and once-upon-a-time drop kicks; of savs bubbling away forever.”

4. The Whole of My World by Nicole Hayes – This one’s not out until June but I have an ARC that I’m looking forward to reviewing. Nice to see a footy story written by a female author and about a female character.

For my international readers who have no idea what kind of football I’m talking about, find out a bit about Australian Rules Football here or check out the video clip below – it’s the last two minutes of the best Carlton game I have ever seen (Essendon supporters, look away now).