"...I suddenly had a little epiphany:  all the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal. [...] But with each passing year, and with each whimsical purchase, our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are, whether we read the books or not."

 

I loved this book; even though I'll likely never read most of the books Hornby talks about, I loved reading his thoughts about them.  He's hilarious and insightful and, I think, fair (although it's hard to say given the constraints he claims to be under by The Believer).

 

Each chapter is one of the monthly columns he wrote for The Believer and at the beginning of each is a list of the books he bought that month and the books he read.  Hornby talks about the books he read in a free form style; one book leading to the next.  Interspersed throughout are excerpts from some of his favourite books, including David Copperfield and a selected letter from Anton Chekov that is brilliant; I want to copy it, frame it and send it to several people I know.

 

If you enjoy reading about books, I highly recommend this one; it's a fun read. 

So I was really bored awhile back and I found this article:

http://flavorwire.com/335372/10-essential-books-for-book-nerds

listing 10 books about books.  I sort of think the only thing better than books is books about books, so I bought 6 of them (I already had two of them) and the first four arrived this week.

 

I've already started Books: A Memoir  and I have to say so far... not impressed.  Too much "I" and not enough "book".  Hopefully, I'll have better luck with the others.

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hornby's book reviews are almost as engrossing as his novels, and this book encompasses a year's worth of book reviews, or more accurately, this book holds a year's worth of Hornby's Believer magazine columns. He lists the books he buys each month vs the books he actually reads, a practice which makes me feel much, much better about the 50 or so titles piled on my nightstand table.Hornby's reviews are sly and insightful and he says a lot in a few words, and as a bonus for the fanboy stalkers like myself, they contain a lot of autobiographical references.I'm currently two books through the three-book set of reviews (the fourth is about to be released), and I'm sorta running through my list of friends who might be worthy of a recommendation.These are relatively fast reads and I admit to having read only a few of the titles (damn you Hornby for adding to my unread book burden!), but even if you didn't read any of the titles in the book, Hornby's reviews are worth the price of admission.Highly recommended stuff.

Nick's diary of reading is wonderful and witty. He admits to and encourages abandoning works that bore. He believes in enjoying reading and encourages this in others. His tastes are eclectic and he enjoyes books, something he passes on to a reader (his fascination with Arsenal is something I will never fathom despite his enthuasim!) I love the way he writes and the fun he obviously had writing these columns.

First half was good - second half was a bit of a let down