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Rating: 
Summary: Don't wait for the movie!
Review: A stinker of a book, I finished it only because of the many favorable reviews on this site. I laughed 2 or 3 times in 256 pages, or for you mathematicians, 0.01 laughs per page. It has no character development, a weak, boring, and confused plot, unauthentic and uninteresting dialogue, and countless unfunny one-liners. Over-all, it is a downer like the Valium the protagonist is addicted to. Scheft wrote that Letterman made him much funnier than he made Letterman, and if you bother to read this book you'll agree with him in spades.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ringer Worm
Review: Bill Scheft is a funny man. Just ask him. Or listen to him.
But asking Scheft to write a novel is like asking Shemp to do Shakespeare, you just don't do it.
Don't mistake it. Scheft knows sports, humor, and has a wealth of lifetime experiences. I also must be his target reader: White, middle aged, college educated, sports fanatic, borderline alcoholic. But the one dimensional characters, distracted dialogue, and shallow plot lines, make one trifecta no one should bet.
The humor comes off like an inside joke that you aren't party to, there isn't enough sex to make it interesting, and you end up hoping the characters die before you do -- of boredom.
The novel went from 'can't put down', to 'won't pick up'.
I suggest you don't either.
Rating:
Summary: Don't judge by the cover.
Review: Given the cover and the jacket blurbs accompanying 'The Ringer' I expected a sports novel along the lines of 'Balling the Jack' by Frank Baldwin ( which is a GREAT book, by the way). Instead, I found a novel with literary tendencies that relied on characters, thoughts and tone over plot alone. I'm probably way off here, but it's almost as if the narrative pace is like Thomas Pynchon in his lighter moments, circa Vineland era ( and I'm fully aware of how crazy that comparison sounds). All this, while still being very funny and readable. I highly recommend The Ringer to anyone looking for a fast read but doesn't want to sacrifice substance, thought and ideas about the big picture of what makes people tick. Thanks to Bill Scheft for providing reading time well spent.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully entertaining and thought provoking
Review: I bought The Ringer for my husband because I thought he'd enjoy the humor and sports theme. After hearing him laugh out loud for several days, I decided to read it myself. I loved it! It is a moving, poignant tale of vulnerability and self-discovery. It's a fast read, energized with humor, memorable characters, and an unpredictable series of events. A wonderfully entertaining and thought provoking book. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Bob and Tom!
Review: I heard Bill Scheft on "The Bob and Tom Show" last month when he was in Indianapolis promoting this book. They kept him on the air for three hours, unheard of, and he was so funny, I had to go out and buy the book. I was blown away. I can't believe it was written by the same guy who writes the humor column in Sports Illustrated. This is a classic piece of fiction with a very serious message about modern medicine. More more more!!!
Rating:
Summary: LORD OF THE RINGERS
Review: Kafka's "The Trial", Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow", Melville's "Moby Dick", and now Scheft's "The Ringer". These are all great novels; what makes The Ringer different is that's it's much funnier, and the only one of the four containing a "Match Game" reference. Only a masterful writer like Scheft can merge the worlds of baseball, drug addiction and pop culture into one delightful vision. Plus, Scheft 's ability to construct memorable, ORIGINAL jokes is inspiring. If I were capable of writing one great book it would be "The Ringer." Fortunately, I don't have to write books, only read them -- and Scheft has created an brilliant one.
Rating:
Summary: Why did I wait so long to read this?
Review: Kafka's "The Trial", Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow", Melville's "Moby Dick", and now Scheft's "The Ringer". These are all great novels; what makes The Ringer different is that's it's much funnier, and the only one of the four containing a "Match Game" reference. Only a masterful writer like Scheft can merge the worlds of baseball, drug addiction and pop culture into one delightful vision. Plus, Scheft 's ability to construct memorable, ORIGINAL jokes is inspiring. If I were capable of writing one great book it would be "The Ringer." Fortunately, I don't have to write books, only read them -- and Scheft has created an brilliant one.
Rating:
Summary: Scheft: Lord of the Ringers
Review: Melville's "Moby Dick"; Kafka's "The Trial"; Conrad's "The Secret Agent"; now Bill Sheft adds to this list of great novels with his own, "The Ringer." Unlike those other works, however, Sheft's book is laugh-out-loud funny. In fact, his joke writing skills are so tremendous that every page contains a line that's quotable AND original. Sheft is the only writer I know who can successfully merge the worlds of sports journalism, pop culture and drug addiction into one coherent, hilarious vision. There are very few comedy writers capable of creating characters with more depth than what's on a given episode of "Becker." Yet, Scheft succeeds in giving us a wonderful anti-hero. If I were able to write a book, I'd want it to equal the comedic perfection of Bill Scheft's "The Ringer". The real treat is getting to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Lightweight TV series
Review: OK, I was sucked in. I read all the endosements. And I thought this would be a good book.
As it turns out the endorsments are from fellow show-biz people.
I shudda known.
This book would make a good TV series.
It is lightweight and the characters are shallow and unimaganative.
A 35 year old who thinks he is still in school is not cute, it is ill.
And his uncle who thinks he is a sliver tounged wise-cracker, but is an Ivy-league bore.
Oh yes the cleaning Lady, Lady? Yeah who am I to judge?
She's just running from life, so be a hooker!
And the so-called jokes in this book, bland, but I do wish I was half as clever as the author thinks he is.
Later,
Out
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