A very interesting and quick read. I loved the movie High Fidelity so I figured I would like the book too. I find that the main character, Rob, is loathsome yet likeable at the same time. I guess we all can find a bit of his horrible characteristics in ourselves at some point. I also love lists, making them, seeing what would make others top 5, etc…
After reading the book I want to look up some of the songs that I have never heard of that are in the book and I want to rewatch the film too. I think John Cusack was the perfect choice to play Rob in the movie. I kept finding myself picturing Cusack, Jack Black, etc. as the characters… I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing persay, but I usually like reading the book before seeing the movie cause I like to make the characters my own creation, if that makes since. Anyway, I feel Hornby’s tale of modern life, love & music to be cynical & grim, honest & witty, and oh so entertaining

Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity is the guy version of Bridget Jones’s Diary, only even funnier.

Rob, the slacker hero, mopes around his used record store, obsessing on the girlfriend who just dumped him and on all his prior failed relationships. Fanatically opinionated, phobic about commitment, and neurotic to the core, Rob is the Everyman of the post-sexual revolution era. There is a little something of Rob in all bad boyfriends and good husbands, which is what makes him so appealing.

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Very similar to the movie, but I actually liked the movie better. The main character is still fairly despicable, though.

Forget all of those namby pamby self-help books. Aside from being a highly enjoyable account of the 90s and pop music, High Fidelity taught me so much about how men’s minds work. Guys – read it for the empathy; girls – read it and understand the things that should be blindingly obvious. I also loved it because it was wonderfully British and sarcastic. Yay.