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The Wood Life: A Not so Helpful How-To Guide on Surviving Cricket, Life and Everything in Between
Need to know how to propel a cricket ball at unimaginable speeds? How to give the perfect speech at a wedding? What to feed an imaginary horse? The best way to celebrate an Ashes win? The worst way to watch a World Cup final chase? Planning the perfect date? What to do when you come across a dead body in the middle of Ashington?
Answers to all these vital questions are here, and more. Full of laugh-out-loud anecdotes, The Wood Life is a hilarious guide to life by one of English cricket's most beloved characters.
Answers to all these vital questions are here, and more. Full of laugh-out-loud anecdotes, The Wood Life is a hilarious guide to life by one of English cricket's most beloved characters.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published December 15, 2023
22 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 19, 2024
what a read. mark’s personality and charisma naturally carries across the page, reading it almost feels like listening to an audiobook, you can hear his voice so clearly. the perfect ratio of personal stories and ideas on self-help - without the arrogance of pretending he knows everything. it’s a very honest book that had me both crying and laughing throughout. the inserts from his friends & family was very insightful to his character and of course all the england cricketing stories are incredibly interesting. i can’t recommend this enough for cricket fans, woody is a national treasure.
June 15, 2023
First impression from the cover, the man himself with that expression and raised eyebrow, this is going to an amusing quirky book. On this score I was not disappointed.
I'm not a fan of authors reading their own work, narration is a talent or skill that is better left to the professionals. Here though it is one of those exceptions, I would go so far as to say that I don't think anyone could have done it any better. Mark Wood is a true original and that comes through on the audiobook, where there is a sense of mischief and fun, especially where he reads the comments of friends and colleagues. There is one piece where he is quoting Joe Root and he can barely do it without sniggering and snorting, here is a man having too much fun, but it is infectious.
It is autobiographical in essence but is more anecdotal than settling out his life in a linear progression. There are also interludes, comments by his family, friends and colleagues which add to the fun, prick his bubble, or keep him in is place. A foreword by his international captain Ben Stokes and an epilogue by comedian and podcast collaborator (Middle Please, Umpire) Miles Jupp book end it perfectly and are heartfelt tributes. In a world of sports superstardom, it is great to see such a sincere and grounded individual, a man proud of his background and family.
Cricket is still an incredible amount of downtime to fill amongst all the action. Football and rugby players experience this boredom during World Cups, which last only four or five weeks, but when on tour cricketers are away from home for months on end. In professional cricket there are long periods of inactivity even within matches, such as when your team is batting or long days in the field. Non cricket fans may recall that a few years ago one cricketer even pretended to have an invisible pet horse with him on the outfield, yes that was this Mr Wood and a very entertaining story it turns out to be.
Time on their hands (there is a whole section on how to kill time) still leads to a bit of mischief which you can read about, and it also breeds superstition. This explains why someone would be sat on top of a washing machine in the laundry room during a World Cup final.
Most damaging of all though is the effects this has on a young family, the periods of separation and missing out on children growing up. Things may have got a little easier as families are allowed to join the tours at certain points and new technology with Zoom, but it is still a big sacrifice. This was really brought home during the Covid bubble period when cricket was restarted. Here we can see into the diary of a man who appreciates the rewards and sacrifice trade off and is trying to navigate it the best way he can and enjoy the journey.
I'm not a fan of authors reading their own work, narration is a talent or skill that is better left to the professionals. Here though it is one of those exceptions, I would go so far as to say that I don't think anyone could have done it any better. Mark Wood is a true original and that comes through on the audiobook, where there is a sense of mischief and fun, especially where he reads the comments of friends and colleagues. There is one piece where he is quoting Joe Root and he can barely do it without sniggering and snorting, here is a man having too much fun, but it is infectious.
It is autobiographical in essence but is more anecdotal than settling out his life in a linear progression. There are also interludes, comments by his family, friends and colleagues which add to the fun, prick his bubble, or keep him in is place. A foreword by his international captain Ben Stokes and an epilogue by comedian and podcast collaborator (Middle Please, Umpire) Miles Jupp book end it perfectly and are heartfelt tributes. In a world of sports superstardom, it is great to see such a sincere and grounded individual, a man proud of his background and family.
Cricket is still an incredible amount of downtime to fill amongst all the action. Football and rugby players experience this boredom during World Cups, which last only four or five weeks, but when on tour cricketers are away from home for months on end. In professional cricket there are long periods of inactivity even within matches, such as when your team is batting or long days in the field. Non cricket fans may recall that a few years ago one cricketer even pretended to have an invisible pet horse with him on the outfield, yes that was this Mr Wood and a very entertaining story it turns out to be.
Time on their hands (there is a whole section on how to kill time) still leads to a bit of mischief which you can read about, and it also breeds superstition. This explains why someone would be sat on top of a washing machine in the laundry room during a World Cup final.
Most damaging of all though is the effects this has on a young family, the periods of separation and missing out on children growing up. Things may have got a little easier as families are allowed to join the tours at certain points and new technology with Zoom, but it is still a big sacrifice. This was really brought home during the Covid bubble period when cricket was restarted. Here we can see into the diary of a man who appreciates the rewards and sacrifice trade off and is trying to navigate it the best way he can and enjoy the journey.
July 10, 2023
The Wood Life is a fun book and tries hard to not be a typical sports autobiography.
For me it could be a lot better. It is meant to be a fun, mock 'self help' book where Mark puts his career and life into various themes. It brings in team mates to add in banter and talk through stories which are told and tries to capture Mark's fun personality, working man nature and the hard working cricketer.
While I think the book is worth reading I feel the ghost let's Mark down. The cod Ashington accent which effectively puts the odd word into a local dialect doesn't help, neither does the basic lack of structure which mean that stories are repeated but also appear to be randomly inserted into the chapters.
What does come through is Mark's genuine love of life and cricket, his team mates and his determination to do well. For that the book is a good one and an enjoyable read.
For me it could be a lot better. It is meant to be a fun, mock 'self help' book where Mark puts his career and life into various themes. It brings in team mates to add in banter and talk through stories which are told and tries to capture Mark's fun personality, working man nature and the hard working cricketer.
While I think the book is worth reading I feel the ghost let's Mark down. The cod Ashington accent which effectively puts the odd word into a local dialect doesn't help, neither does the basic lack of structure which mean that stories are repeated but also appear to be randomly inserted into the chapters.
What does come through is Mark's genuine love of life and cricket, his team mates and his determination to do well. For that the book is a good one and an enjoyable read.
April 30, 2023
I really enjoyed the audiobook - Mark Wood has always seemed to come across as a funny, down-to-earth bloke and this book backed that up completely.
Really like the fact he's not afraid to just be himself and is proud of his working class roots, and I love the honest parts of the book about mental health and anxiety.
I must admit it did take me a little while to get used to the Geordie - sorry, no, Northumbrian! - accent on the audiobook but I think it added a lot him reading it himself and was much the better for it.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review, delighted I can say that this one was a mint listen!
Really like the fact he's not afraid to just be himself and is proud of his working class roots, and I love the honest parts of the book about mental health and anxiety.
I must admit it did take me a little while to get used to the Geordie - sorry, no, Northumbrian! - accent on the audiobook but I think it added a lot him reading it himself and was much the better for it.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review, delighted I can say that this one was a mint listen!
September 9, 2024
Enjoyable but soon forgettable.
Mark Wood has written an autobiography in the form of a self help book. It sort of works as he covers the main events in his personal and cricketing life just not in chronological order. He's honest and funny but doesn't do many big reveals and by now plenty of team mates have given similar insights into the England dressing room. There were some interesting contributions from his team mates and friends. Stokes has certainly not risen in my estimations!
If you only read one cricket autobiography then each for Warne not Wood
Mark Wood has written an autobiography in the form of a self help book. It sort of works as he covers the main events in his personal and cricketing life just not in chronological order. He's honest and funny but doesn't do many big reveals and by now plenty of team mates have given similar insights into the England dressing room. There were some interesting contributions from his team mates and friends. Stokes has certainly not risen in my estimations!
If you only read one cricket autobiography then each for Warne not Wood
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2025
I had a blast reading Mark Wood‘s self help autobiography!
Not only did I learn more about Woody as a person but also for cricket in general. I loved the chapters, how to be fast, how to travel and how to stay healthy, they gave me really useful information that could help me in the future as a cricketer.
It was really interesting seeing a new perspective on England winning the 2019 World Cup.
There are many jokes and laughs throughout the book, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves cricket.
Not only did I learn more about Woody as a person but also for cricket in general. I loved the chapters, how to be fast, how to travel and how to stay healthy, they gave me really useful information that could help me in the future as a cricketer.
It was really interesting seeing a new perspective on England winning the 2019 World Cup.
There are many jokes and laughs throughout the book, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves cricket.
April 28, 2023
Laugh out loud funny. This guy is one of my favourite cricketers to watch, but also seems like an absolutely top class bloke. The book is hilarious, but also sensitive and vulnerable as he discusses the difficulties he’s faced, the turbulent life as a professional sportsmen, and what his family, friends, teammates and hometown mean to him. I was blown away by the depth and honesty in this book- loved it!!
July 4, 2023
A lovely collection of funny and heartwarming anecdotes about life and cricket from eccentric England fast-bowler Mark Wood, with many interjections from friends, family and colleagues to try and keep him on the right path (a forlorn objective, I fear!). It's full of humour, warmth, and genuinely serious points about home, honesty, and opening up when you're in trouble. A delight for any cricket-lover.
April 12, 2023
A down to earth, loveable and truly bizarre person shares his thoughts on life on and off the cricket pitch in a very chilled self-help manner. A while ago when I read it so can't remember exactly the takeaways, but I found it a very funny laid back read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2023
Pretty funny and has some good stories and a pretty good novel although wouldn't say its a must read and there are better books about successful crickets that I would recommend over this one. However I would recommend for any fans of Mark Wood.
June 18, 2024
A great book has a life long cricket fan it is great to hear stories about the team spirit and all the on-field stuff. Mark wood has come across as a really down to earth guy he's funny and warm hearted well woody you have another fan
January 3, 2023
Laughed out loud so many times! Loved it. Great Christmas gift from my son and nice to hear how grounded and true to his roots he has remained.
Class!
Class!
May 23, 2023
Very funny and personal.
Read
July 22, 2023My favourite England cricketer on vibes alone and he certainly brought those to the audiobook lol
December 30, 2023
Entertaining, if light, read. Clearly comes across as an unusual character, but clearly a very nice bloke.
August 3, 2024
This book is so funny , I'm a big fan of woods and was not disappointed with this
September 23, 2024
was quite funny, exactly how i'd expect a book from mark wood to be
December 7, 2025
Jumped all over the place and I don’t think the thematic self help style worked well as a book. Lots of quick snippy anecdotes but no real substance
February 16, 2024
I have an interest in cricket and received this book as a gift.
My initial thought was that it was a bit silly in content, but it proved to be an interesting read, and I was won over by the sheer irrepressible nature of the author.
An easy page turner and funny
My initial thought was that it was a bit silly in content, but it proved to be an interesting read, and I was won over by the sheer irrepressible nature of the author.
An easy page turner and funny
February 27, 2024
Mark Wood had me laughing out loud, weeping, and reading whole paragraphs to my wife to laugh together. He takes himself so un-seriously and his reflections on life are deep, funny, and resonant.
January 2, 2025
This book actually makes me laugh so much! It’s perfection
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews