The most recommended ice hockey books

Who picked these books? Meet our 14 experts.

14 authors created a book list connected to ice hockey, and here are their favorite ice hockey books.
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Book cover of Make It Sweet

Rachel Bowen Author Of Thin Lines

From my list on romance with a chaotic family and friend groups.

Why am I passionate about this?

I didn’t grow up with a close family, but I yearned for one. Which is why I gravitate towards books with a cast of characters who are family, or a found family. I also prefer romantic plots or subplots. Combining romance and amazing side characters that are close automatically hooks me. That’s why I always include these dynamics in the books I write. I write my books for my own entertainment and hope others who love romance with swoony leads and a fun cast of characters will find my book and enjoy it as much as I do. 

Rachel's book list on romance with a chaotic family and friend groups

Rachel Bowen Why did Rachel love this book?

I love stories where neither of the main characters are looking for love, and sometimes are actively avoiding it, and then bam they meet someone they click with and can’t help but fall.

This is one of those books. Both leads are using a sprawling estate as an escape from their pasts and from people in general. They fall in love with the help of a meddling grandmother, forced proximity, baking, and off-the-chart chemistry.

The fact they fight it, and try to deny it, makes it all the more satisfying when they finally give in. 

By Kristen Callihan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Make It Sweet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From New York Times bestselling author Kristen Callihan comes a charming, emotional romance about redefining dreams and discovering unlikely love along the way.

Life for Emma isn't good. The world knows her as Princess Anya on Dark Castle, but then her character gets the axe-literally. The cherry on top is finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. She needs a break, and sanctuary comes in the form of Rosemont, a gorgeous estate in California promising rest and relaxation.

Then she meets the owner's equally gorgeous grandson, ex-hockey player and current recluse Lucian Osmond, and she sees her own pain…


Book cover of It Had to Be You

Carolyn Miller Author Of The Breakup Project

From my list on for romance-loving Christians.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a long-time lover of Christian romance, and now with over a dozen Christian historical romance books published, and a similar amount of Christian contemporary romances published or soon to be, I think I’m someone who has a true appreciation for romance that is soul-stirringly Christian, not just clean or sweet, but which contains truths that will inspire and encourage as well as entertain with swoon-worthy romance.

Carolyn's book list on for romance-loving Christians

Carolyn Miller Why did Carolyn love this book?

This is the second book in the Christiansen family series, but in my opinion, is one of the best. Why? It’s about a hockey player (hello!), and the over-committed sister of one of his teammates. This book explores things such as family obligations and unspoken expectations, discovering God’s purpose for your life, and learning to accept God’s grace. The use of Scripture is powerful and inspiring yet used so naturally that I’m sure readers will be encouraged as I was, and as for the romance – prepare for some swoon-worthy kisses!

By Susan May Warren,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked It Had to Be You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen’s cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter, but is stuck writing obits―and starting to fear she doesn’t have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and…


Book cover of Slap Shot Science: A Curious Fan's Guide to Hockey

John Eric Goff Author Of Gold Medal Physics: The Science of Sports

From my list on combine sports and Science.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a boy, I wanted to play baseball professionally. But, alas, talent was not within me, and I became one of the few people in the world who chose physics as a career because something else was too hard. Part of my career as a scientist is learning new things; another part is teaching and, hopefully, imbuing students with a love of science. The sports science books here all taught me a great deal, and I have recommended them to several of my students. Sports can be an excellent vehicle for learning some science, and such learning about a sport one loves can make watching the sport even more fun.

John's book list on combine sports and Science

John Eric Goff Why did John love this book?

The publisher asked me to review this book before its publication. I had been a sports physicist for a few years, but I had never been that interested in ice hockey. Haché’s passion for the sport helped to change that. I thoroughly loved seeing physics applied to a sport that I had never played.

Learning about the science behind the various pieces of equipment was especially illuminating for me. I do not claim to be an avid ice hockey fan, but Haché’s love for the sport allowed me to go outside my comfort zone and have an exciting time with a book.

By Alain Hache,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Slap Shot Science as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the moment the first player steps onto the ice, every conceivable principle of science is in play. To understand hockey - fully understand it - Alain Hache argues that you must first learn how ice reacts to a passing blade, how the trajectory and aerodynamics of the puck affect its chances of getting into the net, how the tension on the stick transfers energy to the puck, and dozens of other details of the game. Slap Shot Science is an under-the-hood, behind-the-scenes, action-packed romp through special moments in the game as seen from the perspective of science and explained…


Book cover of Uncommon Weather: Alaska Stories

Zack Rogow Author Of Hugging My Father's Ghost

From Zack's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Zack's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Zack Rogow Why did Zack love this book?

Uncommon Weather by Richard Chiappone has my two favorite qualities in a book: a laugh-out-loud sense of humor, and deep emotions.

These short stories feature many characters I've never seen before in literary works. The protagonists include a woman on an all-female ice hockey team struggling with a teetering marriage; workers in a remote oil drilling site where few females ever visit; and a do-gooder trying to save an abandoned dog that doesn't like people.

With sharp insights and amazing one-liners, Richard Chiappone brings us right into these lives against the backdrop of current-day Alaska, rooted in majestic natural beauty, and rootless in a world of displaced souls seeking happiness.

Book cover of The Game

Jason Wilson and Richard M. Reid Author Of Famous for a Time: Forgotten Giants of Canadian Sport

From my list on the impact of sport on social history.

Why are we passionate about this?

Between the two of us, we have written over a dozen books and won numerous prizes. Wilson, when not writing critically-acclaimed music or explaining how to catch a haggis, has received the Ontario Historical Association’s Joseph Brant Award for King Alpha’s Song in a Strange Land. Reid, who wisely passed up the chance of a law career in order to play an extra year of soccer, received the C. P. Stacey Award for African Canadians in Union Blue. Both writers believe that sports offer a valuable lens by which to examine a society’s core values.

Jason's book list on the impact of sport on social history

Jason Wilson and Richard M. Reid Why did Jason love this book?

Ken Dryden is a lawyer, a politician, and a gifted writer. He also happens to be one of the most important goaltenders in Canadian hockey history.

Armed with such lived experience and trained in a variety of disciplines as he has been, Dryden provided hockey with its central and perhaps most enduring literary work. Unlike some of our other choices, The Game is less about larger socio-cultural trends (though there is some of this, especially when he recounts his crucial role in the famous Summit Series against the Soviets in 1972), but rather more about the inner dynamics of a team and what it means to win or lose together in professional sport.

Dryden’s work is, yes, historical, but also highly philosophical; his unique position in goal gave him an ice-level perspective that few enjoy (his iconic stance, gloves atop stick, ever-observing play at the opposite end has already…

By Ken Dryden,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Widely acknowledged as the best hockey book ever written and lauded by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 10 Sports Books of All Time, The Game is a reflective and thought-provoking look at a life in hockey. Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goalie and former president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans. He gives vivid and affectionate portraits of the characters—Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, and coach Scotty Bowman among them—who made the Canadiens of the 1970s one of the greatest hockey…


Book cover of Deadlock

Catyana Skory Falsetti Author Of Facing Death: A Julia Rawson Mystery

From my list on solve mysteries & learn something at the same time.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've always wanted to be a detective. I remember writing stories on my mom's old typewriter and playing pretend investigator with my childhood friend. I have had an appetite for stories and mysteries for as long as I remember. I was intrigued by human behavior and had the desire to find justice. This led me to study forensics and use my fine art ability and critical mind to get answers for victims and their families. I have a Master's Degree in Forensic Science and years of government and experience as a forensic artist and investigator, making my writing as authentic as possible. My story and personal struggles, and life's discoveries are highlighted by my stories.

Catyana's book list on solve mysteries & learn something at the same time

Catyana Skory Falsetti Why did Catyana love this book?

As someone who has never been to Chicago and knew nothing about the Great Lakes shipping industry, the book was fascinating in so many ways. Sara Paretsky has a compelling, strong female lead but also takes us places we never conceived of. Paretsky’s murder investigation is thrilling, and the characters are well crafted and ones that the reader will care about. It is an excellent book that has stayed in my memory for decades.

By Sara Paretsky,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Deadlock as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Who're you working for then, Warshawski?' 'My cousin.' 'Boom Boom? He's dead.' 'I know. That's why I'm working for him.'

Boom Boom's body was found floating near the docks, chewed up and spat out by a ship's propeller. More like brother and sister than cousins, Vic and Boom Boom looked out for each other. Boom Boom grew up to be an ice hockey hero, and Vic a private eye. And now V.I. Warshawski would like to know how, exactly, her cousin died . . .


Book cover of The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction

Linda T. Kaastra Author Of Grounding the Analysis of Cognitive Processes in Music Performance: Distributed Cognition in Musical Activity

From my list on meaningful engagement with objects and people.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an interdisciplinary scholar with professional musical training, I surveyed the literature in cognitive science for conceptual frameworks that would shed light on tacit processes in musical activity. I was tired of research that treats the musician either as a “lab rat” not quite capable of fully understanding what they do or as a “channel” for the mysterious and divine. I view musicians as human beings who engage in meaningful activity with instruments and with each other. Musicians are knowledgeable, skilled, and deeply creative. The authors on this list turn a scientific lens on human activity that further defines how we make ourselves through meaningful work and interactions.

Linda's book list on meaningful engagement with objects and people

Linda T. Kaastra Why did Linda love this book?

This is a moving and profound book about how to reclaim our sense of self through meaningful activities and relationships. Crawford carefully studies how our attention is manipulated in various modern contexts, and what we can do to reclaim our sense of individuality. It is a book that underscores the importance of dealing with the real world—the people we encounter and the objects we use. This is the book that might convince you to take up knitting or the guitar. At the very least, it will help you understand some of what you gain by doing those things.  

By Matthew B. Crawford,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The World Beyond Your Head as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In his bestselling book Shop Class as Soulcraft, Matthew B. Crawford explored the ethical and practical importance of manual competence, as expressed through mastery of our physical environment. In his brilliant follow-up, The World Beyond Your Head, Crawford investigates the challenge of mastering one's own mind.

We often complain about our fractured mental lives and feel beset by outside forces that destroy our focus and disrupt our peace of mind. Any defense against this, Crawford argues, requires that we reckon with the way attention sculpts the self.

Crawford investigates the intense focus of ice hockey players and short-order chefs, the…


Book cover of Riding on the Roar of the Crowd: A Hockey Anthology

Tim Falconer Author Of Klondikers: Dawson City's Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey

From my list on the game of hockey.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been reading hockey books since I was a kid and could usually count on finding one under the Christmas tree. I still keep many of those books from my childhood on the shelves in my office. Eventually, I was old enough to buy my own books, some of which are about hockey (and, lucky for me, I continue to receive hockey books as gifts on occasion). When I started to write books, I knew that someday I would write one about the game I love to play, watch and read about.

Tim's book list on the game of hockey

Tim Falconer Why did Tim love this book?

I love this collection of writing about hockey. It includes memoirs, essays, magazine articles, book excerpts, fiction, poetry, and even a one-act play about the game. Some of my favourites are an elegantly written 1954 magazine article by Hugh MacLennan called "Fury on Ice"; Morley Callaghan’s “The Game that Makes a Nation,” an essay on Canada’s “national drama”; Hugh Hood's riveting close-up look at Jean Beliveau's artistry; and Mordecai Richler’s sad look at a retiring Gordie Howe, who sidelines as an Amway salesman. This book is so full of great reads.

By David Gowdey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Riding on the Roar of the Crowd as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A thirty-item collection of magazine articles, book excerpts, poetry, a one-act play and the transcript of a Foster Hewitt radio broadcast ... the best single book about hockey I've come across... a rare, worthwhile project in sports literature- Steven Wickens, Financial Post


Book cover of Make It Sweet
Book cover of It Had to Be You
Book cover of Slap Shot Science: A Curious Fan's Guide to Hockey

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