Books by author: Nick Hornby

This novel did not resonate with me quite as strongly as did High Fidelity, which I wholeheartedly recommend (moreso in retrospect than when I first read it). About a Boy is quite good, however, managing to avoid some of the cliches that the opening gambit (a single man pretends to have a son so that he can hook up with single moms) suggests. Hornby's novels are steeped in pop culture, and I wonder how they will hold up over time. For now, however, they are quite a lot of fun.

Eric recommended this to me and let me borrow his copy. It's a breezy read, but engulfing at the same time, as it tells the modern day story of a Londoner on the road to nowhere, managing his used record shop and abused love life with nothing approaching aplomb. Hornby is dead on about male insecurity.

This is Hornby's weakest book to date. High Fidelity remains his only great novel.

This slight book contains fourteen of Nick Hornby's monthly columns from The Believer magazine. In each article, Hornby starts off by listing the books he bought and the ones he read during the past month (as it is with many book lovers, the former list is often quite longer than the latter). Hornby goes on to describe the highlights from each month of reading, much in the way you might chat with a friend over a cup of coffee. The result is conversational, entertaining, and oddly satisfying. The only real downside is that Hornby was prevented by the editors of The Believer from writing anything negative about the books he's read, so several books are referred to only as "Unnamed Literary Novel". I give it three stars only because it's more of an appetizer than a meal.

Hmm. Writing colloquial reactions to books you've read shortly after reading them. Not a bad idea.

Nick Hornby is a serious music geek. This was obvious from reading High Fidelity (gah, has it been nine years already since I read that!), but this collection of essays on music makes it explicit. My music taste overlaps substantially with Hornby's, but that's not at all a prerequisite for enjoying his musings on 31 songs and 15 albums. The enjoyment comes from listening to a gifted writer convey his enthusiasm for a subject he deeply loves.

Coincidentally, the cover artwork features headphones made by my employer.