Every two years, something pretty magical happens: the nations of the world set aside their political differences in favor of something equally competitive…but way more heart-warming, inspiring, and fun to watch on TV.

The Olympics.

Hundreds of prime athletes from all corners of the globe converge on stadiums in places as different as Sochi, Russia and Atlanta, Georgia to strut/swim/snowboard their stuff. And the result is as dramatic as anything HBO or Starz could cook up: dreams being realized, devastating defeats being endured, a few dozen spectacles that literally involve blood, sweat, and tears. And—oh yeah—the whole shebang is underscored by the low murmur of geopolitical stress that's been put aside in favor of rooting on talented sportsmen.

Yeah. It's no big shocker that books have been written about the Olympics: the events at the Games read like every great story ever told.

In fact, the only shocking thing about Sports Lit that focuses on the Olympics is that so many people dismiss it as fluffy, cute, light-weight…or some other adjective that's a compliment when used to describe a kitten and a (very pretentious) insult when talking about literature.

If you're a newb to the genre of Sports Lit, you might be surprised by its breadth, depth, and sheer scale. Because, even in an enlightened era where everyone (finally) knows that sci-fi can be high art, murder mysteries can be as brilliant as any zillion-page Henry James novel, and fantasy can make your heart sing like the best Romantic poetry, Sports Literature still gets a bad rap.

But we'll silence the haters once and for all: there are as many kinds of Sports Lit as there are events at the Olympic Games.

A book that falls under the umbrella term "Sports Lit" can a serious political, historical, and journalistic approach of the Olympic Games (like Rome: 1960, by David Maraniss). Or it can be a light-hearted look back on the short-but-thrilling life of a gold-medal winning gymnast, like Gold, Grace and Glory by Gabrielle Douglas.

It can be a strategic public-relations move like Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike, which was the tale of his triumph over cancer…and was released just as his doping scandal started hitting front pages worldwide. (Clever.)

It can even be an emotional memoir like Greg Louganis's Breaking the Surface, or Amanda Beard's In the Water They Can't See You Cry, which relate their struggles to overcome drug addiction, abusive relationships, and other serious issues.

Whatever the subject, the thirteen books in this anthology all have one thing in common: they all have something to do with the Olympics. Whether it's a tragic terrorist act that spurred international intrigue, like the events in the prologue of Vengeance by George Jonas, or Jesse Owens's story of Triumph, cataloguing his amazing athletic feats and wins on the global stage, these books all try to capture the unique atmosphere that the Olympics create.

An international event that inculcates peace, friendship, and sportsmanship across political and philosophical boundaries, the Olympics are a pretty unique (and insanely exhilarating) venue, and these books all address what the Games have meant for the athletes that were talented—and lucky—enough to participate.

Some are funny, some are sad, and all are downright awe-inspiring. But, much like in the Olympic Games, the fact that they're so diverse is why they're so thrilling…and so important.

So without further ado, we invite you to dive in (reversed, with a few twists: got to impress those judges). Here are the Olympics-themed books we've given perfect 10.0 scores to:

• Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team, George Jonas, 2005
• No Limits: The Will to Succeed, Michael Phelps with Alan Abrahamson, 2008
• Rome: 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World, David Maraniss, 2008
• The Boys in The Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Daniel James Brown, 2013
• Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics, Jeremy Schaap, 2007
• The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, Wayne Coffey, 2005
• Grace, Gold and Glory: My Leap of Faith, Gabrielle Douglas with Michelle Burford, 2012
• In The Water They Can't See You Cry: A Memoir, Amanda Beard with Rebecca Paley, 2012
• Running For My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games, Lopez Lomong with Mark Tabb, 2012
• Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of all Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever, Jack McCallum, 2012
• The Amateurs: The Story of Four Young Men and Their Quest for an Olympic Gold Medal, David Halberstam, 1985
• It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins, 2000
• Breaking the Surface, Greg Louganis with Eric Marcus, 2006

Hey: maybe you don't love sports. Maybe you'd rather build a robot. Or rewatch Citizen Kane. Or build a daisy chain to weave in your hair.

Maybe you'd rather clean the entire gym with your toothbrush than participate in whatever torture your PE teacher has in store for you. (If you want us to start screaming, just whisper "burpees.")

But here's the thing: you don't have to be an athlete yourself to appreciate the Olympics.

The Olympics are one of the only times us normal people can watch the best athletes in the world competing against each other in their highly specialized fields. And that amazing fact aside, they're just simply amazing to watch.

Maybe it's the thrill of being able to root for your country in a totally apolitical way.

Maybe it's because, while they show competition at its highest level, they also bring athletes together in a way that no other sporting event ever will. The sportsmanship on display is unrivaled, and the Olympics are a space where people strive to learn about each other's culture, and forge unlikely friendships in the heat of battle.

Maybe it's because it's hard not to appreciate the level of dedication, determination, and insane skill that's on display during the Games. A race is won by fractions of a second, games are won in a single lucky pass, and World Records are beaten at great personal cost.

The Olympics are the best place to see underdogs take out titans of sport, or watch a rookie take on a decorated veteran. There's rumored petty infighting, and over-produced drama that will either suck you in or make you roll your eyes at Bob Costas—either way, it's enthralling.

And, unlike baseball's "World Series", or the "Miss Universe" competition, the Olympics is actually participated in by countries all over the world. It makes you realize how simultaneously massive the earth is—so many countries we'll never, ever visit—and how small it is—we're all just hairless monkeys bound together by a shared love of watching synchronized swimming.

We'll say it again. You don't have to be an athlete to love the Olympics. You don't even have to like sports (no, air hockey doesn't count).

You just have to a) appreciate that human bodies are capable of amazing things, b) be interested in the fact that you live in a world full of different countries and cultures, and c) enjoy stories about humans that persevere against incredible odds to—quite literally—go for the gold.