I finished Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree, and absolutely loved it. It’s a collection of his columns from the Believer from September 2003 to November 2004. I was happy to discover there was another book, a continuation, with his columns from February 2005 to June/July 2006 – Housekeeping vs. The Dirt which I promptly went out and purchase at Barnes and Noble.
The Believer’s site describes it best:
Here, in his monthly accounts of what he‘s read — along with what he bought and may one day read — Nick Hornby ably explores everything from the classic to the graphic novel, as well as poems, plays, and sports-related exposes. And if he occasionally implores a biographer for brevity, or abandons a literary work in favor of an Arsenal soccer match, then all is not lost. His warm and riotous writing, full of all the joy and surprise and despair that books bring him, reveals why we still read, even when there’s soccer on TV, a pram in the hall, and a good band playing at our local bar.
Nick Hornby makes me love reading more, feel ok about the sheer mass of books on my ‘to-be-read-someday’ pile, and also helps clue me in on absolutely fantastic books to purchase next.
He also inspired me to keep track of my own Polysyllabic Spree, of books purchased and books read on a month to month breakdown, which I will do here: http://emwilson.googlepages.com/polysyllabicspree
(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com.)
