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Nick Hornby


tanjaha

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Alright, I think I understood your point now. I'm very new to Hornby myself, I've only just recently discovered that his books are actually good so I don't have much to base my opinion on, but I thought (based on The Complete Polysyllabic Spree) that he was only trying to reassure people that just because he's one of the "literary, academic people" being a writer and all, he still doesn't believe in "high vs low" literature and that he's pro people reading anything they like and not pro classics only. I actually liked him saying that because I have the tendency to think writers are suprahumanbeings :lol: I think he tried to compare himself with the average normal people and tell them he's no different. But that's just my opinion. It was interesting to see how you thought different about it :lol: And believe me, there are those snobbish people who'd snicker at you for reading something other than canonised classics.

 

Happy to hear you're enjoying Hornby's stuff all the same :D

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I have read and enjoyed Fever Pitch and High Fidelity, so I was looking forward to The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, but I am about 70 pages in and not really enjoying it at all. I am finding his style of writing mildly amusing, but I am not interested in any of the books he is reading or what he has to say about them :) Hornby himself would say that if I'm not enjoying it I should just stop, but I'm reading it for Rory Gilmore and am going to keep going.

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I have read and enjoyed Fever Pitch and High Fidelity, so I was looking forward to The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, but I am about 70 pages in and not really enjoying it at all. I am finding his style of writing mildly amusing, but I am not interested in any of the books he is reading or what he has to say about them ;) Hornby himself would say that if I'm not enjoying it I should just stop, but I'm reading it for Rory Gilmore and am going to keep going.

 

Oh noes :lol: I did not see this happening! Fortunately there are those book lists at the beginning of each month and you can skip them, and the months go by rather quick, so I hope that'll make you finish it more quickly. Are you sure you want to persevere though, if you're not enjoying it at all? I know it's a challenge read and I don't want to be discouraging, but I think there are so many Rory books ahead that I'm bound to find one that I can't finish. Maybe you'll enjoy the book more at some later point? :)

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Thank you for the hug, it will comfort me as I keep reading! :) I was really looking forward to the book, and I'm hoping I will start to enjoy it more later on, if not I will start to just kind of skim through it I think. I don't like to give up on a book once I have started it, I'm a bit compulsive like that ;) The weather has turned cold and rainy here now, so I might make myself a hot chocolate and snuggle up in bed to read, that's always nice :lol:

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Thank you for the hug, it will comfort me as I keep reading! :) I was really looking forward to the book, and I'm hoping I will start to enjoy it more later on, if not I will start to just kind of skim through it I think. I don't like to give up on a book once I have started it, I'm a bit compulsive like that :lol: The weather has turned cold and rainy here now, so I might make myself a hot chocolate and snuggle up in bed to read, that's always nice :D

 

I'm not sure what Hornby would say about you compulsiveness. Or rather, I do know exactly what he would say, but I don't know if you want to hear it ;) Anyway, I guess the compulsive cannot-quit-it-once-I've-started-it is a good thing as well because it's a challenge read, so at least there's something positive to it ;) I hope you enjoy you choccy cup and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed about the book!

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The other thing that has just crossed my mind is that I have swollen glands and a sore throat and am feeling very tired - so maybe it's not the book that's the problem, maybe I'm not well! Hot choc and bed it is and maybe I will be writing more positive things tomorrow :)

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The other thing that has just crossed my mind is that I have swollen glands and a sore throat and am feeling very tired - so maybe it's not the book that's the problem, maybe I'm not well! Hot choc and bed it is and maybe I will be writing more positive things tomorrow :lol:

 

Or, maybe the boring quality of the book is making you physically ill! ;) Jokes aside, I hope it's just a passing condition and you've not caught something. Take care :)

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I'm half way through The Polysyllabic Spree now and still not much enjoying it, so I'm going to put it to one side and enjoy Miss Smilla now and go back to it afterwards. I can see that as one column a month I would probably enjoy it because of his writing style, but not two years worth of columns put together in one book! Too, too much! I do think it's because I only read fiction which means I'm just not interested in most of the books he writes about.

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  • 1 year later...

I have read Fever Pitch and loved it, and I am planning on reading another Hornby book - any recommendations?

 

Did you like it because of the autobiographical footy aspect, or just because of the general .. um.. greatness of the book? My personal favorites have been About a Boy, A Long Way Down, and Juliet, Naked. High Fidelity might also be to your liking, if you're into music.

 

Personally, I'll read anything by Hornby now. The only novels that were a bit disappointing were Slam and How To Be Good. But they were decent all the same.

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  • 2 years later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I saw this book the other day in a bookshop and immediately thought: 'I must tell Frankie about this!' I hadn't seen this thread so didn't realise you already knew about it. I'm interested in reading it too. :)

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I saw this book the other day in a bookshop and immediately thought: 'I must tell Frankie about this!' I hadn't seen this thread so didn't realise you already knew about it. I'm interested in reading it too. :)

 

Hehee! :) It'll be interesting to see what Hornby has been up to... That's going to add to wishlist again, though.... :blush:

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If you don't like the title of the book, it looks like it has also been published under the name More Baths, Less Talking. I found out when I went to add it to my wish list at the Book Depository. When I went to Goodreads to try and confirm whether they were the same book, I found out that there are four books about his reading! How did we miss the other two?! Here's the list.

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:)

 

Strangely, for the second last collection, which came out in 2008, the Book Depository calls it 'the third and final collection'. I guess he changed his mind!

 

I really like the covers of the books, too (as shown in the link). I like the sort of dull colours with the circles and outline of Hornby's head. :)

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I´m thinking about reading Slam. I thought that since it´s centered  around a male character there might be less problems with the female characters but I see frankie said it was disappointing. Has anyone else read it?

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