Merry Wanderer of the Night:
nick hornby

In high school I was a huge Nick Hornby fan, but when I tried to read his book Slam

I could not get into it no matter how hard I tried. I was a little put off after that experience and avoided Hornby for awhile. I mean, he was my favorite writer and he totally let me down. It felt like a nasty break-up where I hid around the corner so he wouldn't see me. In the last year I've slowly worked back into loving Hornby by reading his Believer column collections and short stories. Towards the end of this semester I was looking for a funny, reliable, relaxing book and a good story. I finally picked up Juliet, Naked

.

This is true Hornby in my opinion. It's all the things that made me fall in love with his books in the first place. The self-indulgent characters, pop culture references, and perfectly comical depiction of real life. In this story Annie and Duncan have reached the end of their relationship together. They take a vacation from their North England town to America, although it's really more of a pilgrimage than a vacation. Duncan is an obsessive fan of the rock star Tucker Crowe, an elusive musician who disappeared after touring for his album Juliet. Duncan and other obsessed fans talk constantly on the Internet about Tucker Crowe and their theories of his disappearance.

When a new version of Tucker Crowe's album shows up on Duncan and Annie's doorstep all hell breaks loose. Annie is forced to really acknowledge the nowhere place she has ended up with by being with Duncan and attempts to figure out how to get her life back.

I wouldn't say the novel is genius or anything, but it's great. Hornby is wonderful at writing characters no one really likes but still want to read about. I think it's because we can all see our own flaws in these characters and that makes them more likable. This is a great book for a vacation or a rainy afternoon. You'll get some laughs and have a good time with the story. It's a very comfy book.

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After my last final on Friday I went to work for five and a half hours, so I didn't really feel like I was done with the semester. I figured once I got home it would start to feel like winter break, but I was overwhelmed by all the options. For once I could do whatever I wanted when I got home and be guilt free about it. It was such a change I think I was a bit in shock, and I still don't quite feel like it's winter break yet-- probably because I'm checking on my grades at least once an hour. I usually get myself a little something at the end of each semester to congratulate myself on a semester of hard work, and my package arrived on Friday, which was obviously perfect timing! I walked into my house and ripped it open as soon as the door was closed. So what did I get?

Lonely Avenue. 11 songs by Ben Folds and Nick Hornby. 4 stories by Nick Hornby. Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz. If someone wanted to create the absolute perfect gift for me, this would be it. It screams Ash on so many levels. I adore Ben Folds, I've seen him three times in concert and can't go a week without listening to his music. Nick Hornby is one of my all time favorite writers. Joel Meyerowitz's vintage style photographs fit my design style to perfection. This had to be the best thing ever, and I'm happy to say it basically is.

I've only read the first two stories by Hornby, but I really loved both of them. I've felt that Hornby has been a little hit and miss for me as of late but these short stories were fantastic and reminded me of all the things that made me love him when I was in high school. Each story is paired with a photograph, as are the song lyrics, and the photographs add a lot to the stories in my opinion.

The songs are also wonderful, and since this is kind of a concept album it's a little different from Ben Folds' other work. Although I think Ben Folds is one of the best musical storytellers ever. I've really enjoyed listening to these song while perusing the stories, but there are just so many stories happening I had to stop myself and try to really absorb each individual story. Which is why I love this! It's three totally different and effective methods of storytelling. You can listen to a story in a song, read a story by Hornby, or just look at the images and try to understand the story behind them. For a lover of music, books, and art this is an awesome find, and even more so for someone who loves Ben Folds and Nick Hornby.

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Housekeeping vs. the Dirt

is the second volume of Nick Hornby's columns for The Believer. I recently reviewed the first volume, The Polysyllabic Spree, but these books can be read in any order you like. The columns list what Hornby has read, what books he has purchased, and what he thought about everything. I mentioned in my last review that Hornby isn't allowed to say negative things about a book because it is Believer policy. This is kind of annoying but I guess one plus side is that you can only come away from this book with at least mediocre recommendations.

One thing that still amazes me about Hornby's column is that the stuff he reads is really nothing like the stuff he writes. It seems like Hornby has a real thing for mysteries and if you've ever read a Hornby book you know there really isn't a whole lot of mystery to them. That being said, I think I liked Housekeeping vs. the Dirt much more than The Polysyllabic Spree as far as book recommendations go. From this book I found Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan, Early Bird by Rodney Rothman, Saturday by Ian McEwan (or really just anything by Ian McEwan, this book reminded me I've yet to read him), In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (which I did read), The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler, and Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris (which I bought). So as you can see, that is quite a few more than the three books I came away from The Polysyllabic Spree wanting to read. He also talks about Persepolis and includes a selection from it, and since I really like that book the recommendation made me like this book even more.

I also really enjoyed the first few columns where Hornby references books that make you walk into a lamppost because they are so gripping. When I read this I had just finished Envy, which was a book that gripped me in such a way. I think in this volume Hornby really gets a good stride with his column, and he carries ideas through columns more. This is something you might not notice as much when you read each column individually as the new issue of The Believer comes out, but when you read them altogether you see how he brings back old ideas.

Loved this book, I give it an A.

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I have been obsessed with Nick Hornby since I was fifteen years old. High Fidelity was one of my favorite books in high school, and when my English teacher saw me toting other Hornby books around he asked me if I read Hornby's column in the Believer. I had never even heard of The Believer before but luckily he had a few issues on hand for me to read. I gobbled up the columns he did have and was hungry for more. Anyone who reads the Believer knows how expensive it is though, so it wasn't until last year that I got a subscription and at the point I did, Hornby was no longer writing his column (this has recently changed). Along with my Believer subscription I got Hornby's three collections The Polysyllabic Spree, Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt, and Shakespeare Wrote For Money. I've read The Polysyllabic Spree

and I am pleased.

The column is about what books he has purchased and what books he has read- the two lists always completely opposite in length. Like most book lovers, Hornby buys more books than he reads. The first column from September 2003 shows him buying 10 books and reading 6. Been there, done that. Some months it's much worse and some months it's much better. It was really interesting for me to read this book as a blogger, because he talks about some things, like abandoning books, that I see in a much different way since I've become a blogger. In addition to his thoughts on what he has read and what he has bought sometimes there are excerpts from books he really enjoyed thrown in.

I haven't read, or heard, of most of the books Hornby is reading, but that just shows that this book is really great because I enjoyed reading about all of them anyway. I did come away with a few recommendations. For instance, I need to read the remaining Salinger books, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Mystic River. My one complaint about the column is that Hornby isn't allowed to say anything really bad about books. If he really hated a book he can't even mention the title. I think this is a bit unfair, you can dislike a book and give an explanation why you didn't like it. It might work for someone else who doesn't care about your reasons.

I give this an A.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.