• Fantasy Life

  • The Outrageous, Uplifting, and Heartbreaking World of Fantasy Sports from the Guy Who's Lived It
  • By: Matthew Berry
  • Narrated by: Matthew Berry
  • Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (497 ratings)

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Fantasy Life

By: Matthew Berry
Narrated by: Matthew Berry
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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)

Featured Article: The Best Sports Audiobooks to Get You in the Game


Whether you’re a die-hard sports fanatic or a casual observer, you’ve likely felt the rush of adrenaline that comes from watching a world-class competitor at peak performance. Another way to capture the high energy of professional athletics? A sports audiobook with the perfect balance of substance and style. From rags-to-riches stories to tales of the biggest comebacks, these audiobooks will bring you closer to the game than ever before.

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What listeners say about Fantasy Life

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Even better than I expected!

Funny and insightful. Having Matthew Berry narrate made it even better! Fun times for all who love playing fantasy sports.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Wasn't quite what I expected, but a pleasant surprise.

I started this book expecting to get some fantasy advice, but instead quickly realized there wasn't going to be much in the way of strategy. With that said many of the stories in the book are quite entertaining and in the end I enjoyed the listen.

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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.

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Every Fantasy football Fanatics life

Great stories, that bring up great memories...and some bad ones too. Every fantasy player will relate to this book, and if you don't play fantasy then this gives you a sneak peak at what this amazing game has to offer. Definitely recommend this book!

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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.

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Loved it!

The stories are fantastic and really hit home. Matthew Berry is an excellent sorry teller.

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I didn't play fantasy

I never played fantasy before reading this book and it was still great. So long as you appreciate sports you should appreciate the stories contained here.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Beyond just playing the game of fantasy!

A great job of going beyond just the game. Fantasy truly is an escape, a way to bring people together, and at the least, a guaranteed talking point with any sports lover.

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So Much More Than a Stat Book

Matthew Berry is a great storyteller.

Since I'm only into my third year as a fantasy football owner, I was still skeptical this would be a good listen. Within 2 chapters, all doubts were cast aside. Not only that, I want to listen to it again.

You'll laugh. You might be moved to a tear or two. You'll even be inspired personally and professionally.

Berry's book is so much more than a fantasy sports book. You'll hear about his parents, his job as a screenwriter, the wit and wisdom of his great uncle, and of course his rise as a fantasy sports entreproducer.

I also believe the listening experience was enhanced because Matthew read it himself.

I'm now a Matthew Berry fan for life.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Tales from Fantasy fanatics

I've been in a keeper fantasy football league for over 10 years so was surprised at how much of this I couldn't relate to. I had no idea fantasy sports had a cult fanatic mentality amongst other players. Glory, shame, mean spirited, obsessive and every vile thing in between. On occasion some virtuous yet tragic stories are shared.

I did enjoy Mathew Berry's passion and unconditional love of sports. His own personal story was always interesting and often full of heart.

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