Arthur Seaton

Hello and thanks! Im only really basing it on a vague impression from the Complete Polysyllabic Spree and bits and pieces from his online blog (and Im sure he means it in jest) but he talks a lot about 'those people who think a novel cant be any good unless it makes you weep with the effort of reading it'. He is probably subject to a lot more literary snobbery than I am but its a bit like he is trying too hard to stick it to the man and I dont know if anyone actually thinks reading has to be a struggle. I meant to join the forum to sing his praises! High Fidelity and Fever Pitch are two books Ive reread too many times and without Fever pitch in particular I dont think I would enjoy reading as much as I now do and he has pointed me in the direction of lots of other authors I would otherwise have missed. Like Patrick Hamilton. I hope you like about a boy and how to be good!

I think all of Nick Hornbys novels are first and formost really funny. Even How To Be Good which is my least favoourite of his has at least one belly laugh in it. There are lots of other plus points but the key thing with his books is the comedy. The thing that is a wee bit annoying with him is that he congratulates himself too much on being a 'popular reader'. I get the impression from the Polysylabic spree and his recent intro to the new edition of Scenes From A Provincial Life that he thinks there is a top secret reading police headed by an angry critic who reads Proust when he fancies a break and laughs at anyone who enjoys a book shorter than a thousand pages.