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The Polysyllabic Spree Nick Hornby Books

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The Polysyllabic Spree Nick Hornby Books

Nick Hornby, the author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, among other novels, began writing his monthly column "Stuff I've Been Reading" for Believer magazine in September of 2003. Fourteen of Hornby's essays are collected here in The Polysyllabic Spree. Each is prefaced by lists of the books the author read and purchased in the month preceding the column's appearance: Hornby, who reads a lot of books and buys even more, is admirably comfortable with populating his shelves with books he is unlikely ever to get to.

In his column Hornby discusses what he's read during the month, how he came to read or buy the books he did, how the books under discussion relate to one another. In the course of writing about his reading life Hornby hits on any number of topics: the dampening effect of parenthood on one's reading; his experience watching an unwitting stranger read his book poolside; Anton Chekhov's unfortunate use of sappy endearments--"little ginger-haired doggie," "my dearest chaffinch"--in letters to his wife ("For god's sake, pull yourself together, man! You're a major cultural figure!"); the surprising similarity between reading and, well, being the leader of the free world:

"Being a reader is sort of like being president, except reading involves fewer state dinners, usually. You have this agenda you want to get through, but you get distracted by life events, e.g., books arriving in the mail/World War III, and you are temporarily deflected from your chosen path."

Hornby's tone in his essays is conversational, his observations often witty. The book is most interesting, inevitably, when Hornby's reading life intersects with one's own, but familiarity with the books he discusses is not necessary to one's enjoyment. (I fear I've read regrettably few of the books on his lists.) One comes away from The Polysyllabic Spree liking Hornby and appreciating his regular-guy take on the highbrow world of letters.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece


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The Polysyllabic Spree Nick Hornby Books Reviews

I adore nick hornby, but this is not his best writing. An extremely short version of ten years in a tub
This is nice, easy reading for bibliophiles, as Hornsby does a monthly summary on which books he has bought and which he has read. His sense of humor is a delight, as is his sharp intelligence and critical prowess. A nice read for those who need to clear their palates between those challenging novels.
Not only does Hornby provide humor with his tales of fights with the Polysyllabic Spree, he provides excellent suggestions for new reading material. His brief descriptions of various books and chipper but honest opinions on them led me to purchase several of the books that he read (or bought intending to read) during his time writing for The Believer.
Lots of humour and enjoyable writing, more than useful book reviews. Good insights and thoughts on the process of reviewing and reading, in summary a good read.
I am attracted to books that discuss the author's reading and ideas about it and inevitably I get so far and wonder, why aren't I out there reading for myself instead of holding this person's hand? Not so with this, which is over far too soon. Hornby, riffing about his own reading, his life, his outlook, is holding the reader's hand.

The title would suggest a word riot, which THE POLYSYLLABIC SPREE is, but it is also the name Hornby puts to the murkily protean powers that be at "The Believer Magazine" where the book was born in monthly columns. Each month's chapter begins like an entry in Bridget Jones's Diary, books bought, books actually read, then leaps off into what happened, what he actually read, what he thought about it, how it connects (and sometimes does not, like when one's football team is on the television) to life. Hornby is very funny, and also very serious. He is also full of contagious, unabashed wonder. He is quick to skewer pretension or gratuitous content. His style is highly caffeinated and raspy from nicotine, hilariously hyperbolic one moment, piercingly specific the next. He is willing to say he is wrong or doesn't know. He keeps it all about our mutual love of reading, but divulges other insights along the way, like what it's like to be the dad of an autistic child, to become a father for the third time, to try unsuccessfully to quit smoking, to be a writer amongst all the reading, the parenting and everything else going on.

The proceeds of this book go to charity. How can you not like this guy?
I know Hornby says this in his book, but I gotta review it anyways

"Oh, man, I hate reviews. Even the nice ones, who say nice things. They're bastards, too."

You know what's more fun than writing about great books? Reading a great book about reading good books and writing, written by a great (and a personal favorite) writer. Three of his columns in particular were genius. In one he describes a boxing match between various forms of cultural entertainment, and why--usually--books win. The second is about Dickens and the glory of long and descriptive Victorian literature against the stark "good" writing of contemporary times. Third is his definitions of "finger-steepling" (more artsy, profound books) and "rubber sharks" (exciting, interesting books), and the need for books/readers to do both. More than just some great recommendations (of which there are plenty to be had), Hornby's book delves into what it means to be a reader, what books mean to us, the delights of both junk and literature, the undeniable urge and pleasure of reading them and buying them (and stacking them in one's closet). Always, Hornby's writing is down-to-earth, intelligent, fun, humorous, and human. It's like sitting down with a friend to talk books. Grade A
Nick Hornby, the author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, among other novels, began writing his monthly column "Stuff I've Been Reading" for Believer magazine in September of 2003. Fourteen of Hornby's essays are collected here in The Polysyllabic Spree. Each is prefaced by lists of the books the author read and purchased in the month preceding the column's appearance Hornby, who reads a lot of books and buys even more, is admirably comfortable with populating his shelves with books he is unlikely ever to get to.

In his column Hornby discusses what he's read during the month, how he came to read or buy the books he did, how the books under discussion relate to one another. In the course of writing about his reading life Hornby hits on any number of topics the dampening effect of parenthood on one's reading; his experience watching an unwitting stranger read his book poolside; Anton Chekhov's unfortunate use of sappy endearments--"little ginger-haired doggie," "my dearest chaffinch"--in letters to his wife ("For god's sake, pull yourself together, man! You're a major cultural figure!"); the surprising similarity between reading and, well, being the leader of the free world

"Being a reader is sort of like being president, except reading involves fewer state dinners, usually. You have this agenda you want to get through, but you get distracted by life events, e.g., books arriving in the mail/World War III, and you are temporarily deflected from your chosen path."

Hornby's tone in his essays is conversational, his observations often witty. The book is most interesting, inevitably, when Hornby's reading life intersects with one's own, but familiarity with the books he discusses is not necessary to one's enjoyment. (I fear I've read regrettably few of the books on his lists.) One comes away from The Polysyllabic Spree liking Hornby and appreciating his regular-guy take on the highbrow world of letters.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece