The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby is a collection of columns he did for The Believer magazine on books he was buying and books he was reading each month (not the same thing). This book has been enormously enjoyable. Constrained by The Believer's policy of No Slagging Off, Hornby tries to read only those books he will enjoy. What relish - not to read those books we Should Read, but those we Want To Read. Hornby's book has inspired this blog, so I am pleased to acknowledge his influence. And also his absolution - he writes that "I suddenly had an epiphany: all the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal." So all those books I have yet to read which threaten to smother me one night, a huge sliding pile of words, are justifiable - even if I never read them. Hooray!
5 comments:
I'll pass this over to wifey. I read one Nick Hornby book and it was too accurate in its description of men, so I've decided not to read anything else.
angryman, I should give you a prize for being the first Blue Flyer comment maker. Thank you, come again.
Not so much.
This sounds like a great book! Also, I have a theory about the great piles of unread books. I figure I can't die until I read them all, therefore my books are my ticket to immortality.
Hi phoebe fay - nice to see you here. I like the idea of books being a ticket to immortality - good luck with that. Let me know how it goes.
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