Nick Hornby!

"What can I possibly say about Nick Hornby’s essays on his reading that I haven’t said before?" My thoughts exactly. A few years ago, when Nick Hornby's previous book of articles came out, I linked to things mean a lot and dubbed us "Hornby groupies". Today, she reviews Hornby's latest collection of articles, More Baths, Less Talking, and the result is the same: she loves Hornby even more with this volume, an emotional response similar to my own. She writes that

His columns appeal to me even when they’re about books I’m not likely to pick up myself because they’re never just about that one specific book. Like all the best writing, they use a particular reading experience as a point of departure to discuss, well, Life, the Universe and Everything. Hornby does this unassumingly, and his thoughtfulness and insight go hand in hand with a wonderful sense of humour. In short, I’m kind of in awe of his writing: he does everything I’ve always aimed for as a blogger, only a hundred times better.

Once again, she captures what it is to be a fan of Nick Hornby. He is of the people, "the people" being readers, as well all are. Sure, we like to read about writers, and are interested in what they have to say about writing, but we love to read what readers have to say about reading. This is also why Alberto Manguel's The Library at Night is the easiest book recommendation I can make.

I will end this post as I ended the previous post: "Go get this book so that you either a) know what I'm talking about or b) don't have to listen to me prattle on about Nick Hornby."