Pool Memoir

On Monday I received an email with a link to a Leonard Lopate interview with Heather Byer, author of the recently published "Sweet: An Eight-ball Odyssey." When I realized a large part of it dealt with the NYC APA league it was only a few hours before I had a copy in my hands. I finished the book yesterday. To sum it up, it's Byer's memoir about picking up a cue, literally, and learning how to play pool. She starts out at pool school at Chelsea Billiards and gets invited to join an APA team. She writes about her teammates as well as the places she plays. She changes her teammates' names to protect their identities and is also somewhat vague about bar locations. Apparently she played a lot in the East Village, and does in fact mention Ace Bar by name. She also mentions a whole slew of Third Avenue bars: Barfly, Bullshead Tavern, Plug Uglies and Paddy McGuires. Though it's not mentioned by name, Bleecker Street Bar is another, considering it's the only bar "near Crosby Street" that has three pool tables. She mentions SoHo Billiards, Broadway Billiards Cafe, Corner Billiards and later in the book bemoans the Chelsea Billiards/Slate transformation.

I read somewhere once, something to the effect of "playing pool, like playing poker or wearing stiletto heels, is something that one should learn between ages 12 and 17, or never at all." Byer doesn't start playing until her 30s. She claims that she's never held a pool cue until until then, which I can't fathom. But over the course of five or so years she follows her passion for pool and sticks with it, even through an eight-match losing streak.

I have mixed opinions about the book. I would say technically the book is good, it was a decent read. I did get the feeling it was a bit dumbed-down in terms of technical pool details. There is a romance factor to this book that I would guess you could say is central to the story, but I was sort of bored by it. The lines that made me laugh were describing what jerks she would come across in her matches, as well as other stories about league nights. I was nowhere near as glued to "Sweet" as I was to David McCumber's "Playing Off the Rail." But I don't think the two books are a necessary comparison. No doubt this book has gotten more publicity. Surprisingly, I came across another interview with Byer via the Boston affiliate of NPR which can be found here. In the end, I'm glad she got the book published. She's giving a reading next month at KGB bar. I think I'll go and check it out.