You wouldn’t think that a series of essays in which Nick Hornby describes which books he bought each month and which books he actually read would be so entertaining, but it was. Hornby peppers his essays with humor and brings his own life into the context to help explain what he’s reading, so there is an underlying narrative to them. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of the “Polysyllabic Spree,” the mysterious editorial board of the The Believer, the magazine where these essays were originally published. Reading this made me want to give up writing my own humble book reviews, which could never measure up (obviously, that feeling didn’t last).

Wow. Nick Hornby is so cool and interesting and funny. This collection of essays of his own personal reading choice in 2003 is a wonderful read. Even though I didn’t recognize half the books he chose and don’t personally read much non-fiction especially sports related non-fiction I loved hearing his opinion and description of them all.

Why did I wait 5 years to read this? And what has he been reading since then? Do you think he’d consider joining my now defunct book club? I want more!

Nick Hornby is a joy to read. I read this book over the last few months while giving my daughters baths. On a good day, I might finish 2-3 pages at a sitting, but it was easily dropped and picked back up. Having Hornby in the room created enjoyable adult conversation, and I always felt like he’d understand having to set down his disputations on Dickens when the little one started throwing bath water at her sister.

I don’t know that this book holds up to repeated perusals, but it’s certainly an enjoyable read the first time through. I love Hornsby’s prose.

This book was so funny and enjoyable to read. I love books which talk about how great books are. (Another good one if you liked this one is “So many books, So little time” by Sara Nelson.) I’m officially a big fan of Nick Hornby. I went out and got “The Believer” magazine since these were all essays from it, and he’s still writing about the books he’s read. oh why can’t he be a friend of mine?

Too short. Because it is so good. A pleasure to read.

list of books to check out noted. collection of articles from Believer. Another list book.

A good read… very enjoyable… makes you want to read more.

The book (mostly Hornby’s views on books and reading itself) was refreshing, but I think it could have used an introduction from the editors of “The Believer.”