Reviews
Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Jess Walter, Nick Hornby, Joshua Ferris, Jennie Erdal, Sarah Vowell
amandadelbrocco's review against another edition
4.0
I’m a sucker for books about people reading books.
lisa_mc's review against another edition
4.0
I love these essays by Nick Hornby -- he talks about what books he's bought and what he's read over the past month, plus other observations and insights. They're interesting and funny, and have given me a bunch of new book ideas to add to my list!
bt329's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this and will definitely pick up The Polysyllabic Spree next. This was hilarious and inspiring and it added at least a dozen new books and/or authors to my reading list.
irinagoldberg1's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this collection. I will be reading all of Nick Hornby's book reviews.
anetq's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe he lost out to the fact that I've just read Andy Miller's "A Year of Reading Dangerously" - in comparison Hornby was not nearly as funny and read not-as-great books (and there's that weird bit about not being allowed to slack off the crap books. Maybe it's because I've started reading real books again, not just the occasional book about struggling to read books?
Shame - I usually like Hornby's writing, and remember the first of these collections (The Polysyllabic spree) as much more interesting.
Shame - I usually like Hornby's writing, and remember the first of these collections (The Polysyllabic spree) as much more interesting.
ms_aprilvincent's review against another edition
5.0
This collection of essays comes from Hornby's columns for The Believer.
He just writes about what he's read. He's not writing book reviews, exactly; he just tells why he chose to read a certain book,what he learned from it,how he felt about it, and how it compares to other books he's read.
I love reading other people's views on books, and Hornby's style is really great for this type of writing, conversational and casual, like you're sitting with a friend over coffee.
He just writes about what he's read. He's not writing book reviews, exactly; he just tells why he chose to read a certain book,what he learned from it,how he felt about it, and how it compares to other books he's read.
I love reading other people's views on books, and Hornby's style is really great for this type of writing, conversational and casual, like you're sitting with a friend over coffee.
shelfimprovement's review against another edition
5.0
Delightfully snarky. I wish I could get paid to write a column about the books I'm reading and be able to make people laugh about it the way Nick Hornby does. There's something almost masturbatory about it. I loved the first in the series and a quiet Friday night in called for the second.
tschmitty's review against another edition
3.0
I must admit I did skim a tad on this one, but Nick has his moments like he always does. I can so see him as Sarah Vowell as pals too. Classic. And I loved Nick's ultimate message here: Read what you like, not what you think you need to be reading. My reading hero!
moirab's review against another edition
4.0
I love and hate these books because I end up with a much longer to read list!