Here we are, slap bang in the middle of the World Cup and the Queen’s Club Championship with Wimbledon, the new football season, The Tour de France, British Grand Prix, The Open, Hockey World Cup and cricket test series on the horizon (and more besides). While books and reading, a usually solitary activity, might not seem like the obvious companion to these varied activities, our libraries have several links to events and, of course, have many books to whet your sporting appetite.

While the World Cup is on, for those collecting World Cup stickers or cards, we have swap events in several Warwickshire libraries. Bring your duplicates along and swap them to complete your collection. So, if you’re missing Messi but have triple Ronaldo, have double Jedinak but need a Kane, our swap sessions are for you. Details can be found on our Twitter feed (@warkslibraries) or by contacting your local branch.

Several Warwickshire libraries could be found along the route of the recent Ovo Women’s Tour bicycle race. Stage 3 took place on Friday 15 June, beginning in Atherstone, skirting round Kenilworth, Warwick, Wellesbourne, Shipston, Southam before finishing in Leamington Spa. We look forward to a repeat later on in the year when the men’s Ovo Tour will start its fourth stage in Nuneaton, pass through Stratford, Kenilworth and Rugby before, once again, finishing in Leamington. We hope to see you cheering along the route!

Did you know, you can check out, (literally) to your smartphone or tablet with the RB Digital app, the latest issues of TwoFourFour, Cycling Weekly and Runner’s World UK (or some of our libraries have physical copies of varying titles). You can find more information about our e-magazines here

And, obviously, our shelves have many, many books about many, many different sports, all of which can be looked up using our catalogue.

If you don’t know what to pick this summer, here are some of my favourite suggestions:

World in Motion by Simon Hart – a look back at Italia 90 (and sure to give you an earworm for the rest of the day).

Higher Calling by Max Leonard  – find out why the Tour favours the mountains and what drives cyclists to take on the ups and downs.

Unstoppable – by Maria Sharapova – the life story of a tennis ace

Swell: a waterbiography by Jenny Landreth – a history of public swimming and quite possibly, my favourite subtitle ever!

E.D