Looking at the books

The "2008 Engage Super League Review" (Vertical, £16.99) does exactly what it says on the cover, as Mike 'Stevo' Stephenson of Sky Sports fame guides the reader through a comprehensive look at the goings-on last season.

Every game is examined via statistics and a detailed match report containing quotes from the men involved and there is a section at the end containing the league standings after every round.

Some lovely photography from Peter Morley brightens up the pages in a full-colour volume that does a good job of freshening up the memories of some classic encounters.
"Down and Dirty: A Rugby League Blogging Year with Chris Irvine" (YFP Publishing, £12.99) is another year-in-review publication, only this time with a subtle difference — it is co-written by fans of the game.

Chris Irvine put forward a series of posts throughout the year on his Times Online blog and fans all over the world added their ten-pence worth to create living, breathing articles that are set out in this volume (with spelling mistakes — if not logical flaws — helpfully corrected).

It is colourful, thoroughly entertaining and easy to dip in and out of from time to time.
It is the time of year that the "Gillette Rugby League Yearbook 2008-2009" edited by Tim Butcher and Daniel Spencer (League Publications, £14.99) graces the shelves and this particular tome ticks all the right boxes once again.

Including coverage of the recent World Cup in Australia, the latest version of the RL bible contains every statistic you could wish for.

It isn't just a dry, numbers-based book, though. The month-by-month review of the Super League season is a good read, as is the club-by-club analysis which includes the Co-operative leagues, while the inclusion of a full fixtures guide to 2009 comes as a welcome bonus.