Fantasy Life

By: Matthew Berry

Narrated by: Matthew Berry

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

Fantasy football, fantasy baseball, fantasy basketball, even fantasy sumo wrestling: the world of fantasy sports is huge, and still growing. Today, more than 35 million people in the United States and Canada spend hours upon hours each week on their fantasy sports teams. And as the Senior Fantasy Sports Analyst for ESPN, Matthew Berry is on the front lines of what has grown from a niche subculture into a national pastime.

In Fantasy Life, Berry celebrates every aspect of the fantasy sports world. Brilliant trash talk. Unbelievable trophies. Insane draft day locations. Shake-your-head-in-disbelief punishments. Ingenious attempts at cheating. And surprisingly uplifting stories that remind us why we play these games in the first place. Written with the same award-winning style that has made Berry one of the most popular columnists on ESPN.com, Fantasy Life is an audiobook for both hard-core fantasy players and people who have never played before.

Between tales of love and hate, birth and death, tattoos and furry animal costumes, the White House Situation Room and a 126-pound golden pelican, Matthew chronicles his journey from a 14-year-old fantasy player to the face of fantasy sports for the largest sports media company in the world. Fantasy will save your life. Fantasy will set you free. And fantasy life is most definitely better than real life. You'll see.

©2013 Matthew Berry (P)2013 Gildan Media LLC

Critic Reviews

"As a longtime fan of Matthew Berry, I'm happy he's finally collected the most inane and hilarious things people will do in pursuit of fantasy glory. If I was in a fantasy league where you drafted people who write about fantasy leagues I would draft Matthew first. Also, I would need to make some major changes in my life." (Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live Head Writer and three-time fantasy champion in a league you don't care about)

"You don’t have to play fantasy sports to enjoy Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life. You don’t even need to be a sports fan. If you like great writing, if you appreciate irreverent humor, if stories about friendship, family, backstabbing, and regrettable Justin Bieber tattoos warm your heart, you’ll love this audiobook." (Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times best-selling author)

Fun but repetitive

Would you try another book from Matthew Berry and/or Matthew Berry?

Yes

Would you be willing to try another book from Matthew Berry? Why or why not?

Yes

What about Matthew Berry’s performance did you like?

He is reading his own work and is a practiced speaker so it works well.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

N/A

Any additional comments?

This was fun but got a bit repetitive. Would only recommend if you are into Fantasy or want to know what the fuss is about.

A must for Fantasy players

This book was not what I expected. Yes it has a lot of goofy fantasy sports stories, but it has the autobiographical story of Mathew Berry. Nice to hear about someone chasing their dreams, never giving up, and achieve what they wanted but got more than they bargained for.

Excellent!!!

This was a fantastic book about fantasy sports and Matthew Berry is the best! Funny, real, serious, and knowledgeable. Well worth the read/listen if you are into fantasy.

Fantasy Life Review

This book is great! It really inspires me to work in the fantasy sports world.

Hilarious, entertaining, and inspirational!

I have always loved Matthew Berry's writing, but this took it up a notch! Inspired me to follow my passion as well!

Exactly what you'd expect

I love Matthew Berry and the fantasy podcast but this is just a collection of stories people have sent to him. It feels disjointed at times and I can't tell where one thought starts and ends. Not terrible. Just not for me.

Unexpectedly boring

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I love Matthew Berry and I love his stories on his podcast, I was surprised that so many of the stories he used were not fun or interesting. I really didn't think it was fun or funny that people make losers in their fantasy football leagues get terrible tattoos, etc. I also just don't care a whole lot about Berry's college leagues.

Has Fantasy Life turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not at all. If Berry puts out another book I'll give it a try.

What about Matthew Berry’s performance did you like?

I think Matthew Berry is a good story teller, he has a good voice, you can tell he enjoys what he does and talking about what he does.

No Squeezing of the Bitter Berry here!

Would you listen to Fantasy Life again? Why?

Fantasy Life is not a book about fantasy sports. You won't learn how to set your lineup correctly every week. You won't instantly learn how to become the next talented mr roto. But this part biography, part story telling book is full of entertaining paragraphs.. and a few pub to Matthew Berry's website (HEY! did Tell you about rotopass yet??? let me remind you). Exactly what you expect from Matthew Berry and more. They don't call him the prettiest girl in the bar for nothing.

What other book might you compare Fantasy Life to and why?

You tell me one other book thats half full of the crazy things people do in fantasy sports, and I'll tell you that you're Dwayne Bowe.

Have you listened to any of Matthew Berry’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Matthew Berry is a co-host of Fantasy Football NOW on ESPN2 (Sundays before kickoff, check your local listings) as well as the podcast host of Fantasy Focus Football (no longer Baseball because of that weasel?). His personality is great with great advice, good talking skeels, and random bits of nonsense to get you through your day.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Matthew isn't always vocal about his hard times between starting his fantasy websites and the strain on his first wife. Hearing it in a little more detail was very interesting to see the struggle.

Perfect

This was a perfect explanation of why I play and enjoy fantasy football. The weaving of Matthews personal narrative with the Collection of stories around the country provides insight to a game that is equally silly and sentimental. Thanks TMR.

Great book!!!

If you like fantasy football you'll love this book!!!
Matthew berry is the king of all fantasy sports....KING.