Housekeeping vs. The Dirt
by Nick Hornby
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Housekeeping vs. The Dirt.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 650)
Read in December, 2006
The title represents a range, the superb novel by the sublime Marilynne Robinson is Housekeeping, and The Dirt is the oral history of Motely Crue. The range is Hornby’s reading for a year or so and the collection is his second such month-by-month chronicle of that reading for The Believer magazine. The first, The Polysylabbic Spree, was a wonderful diverting pleasure and this one is quite as enjoyable. Funny, clever, insightful, and charming. Some old jokes (the Spree) and some new ones that t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
As with his The Polysyllabic Spree, the first collection of these columns, Hornby is funny and informative. Perhaps too informative as reading about these books is dangerous if one doesn’t want one’s to-read list to get too much longer. Each essay covers one month of books Hornby bought and books Hornby read.
The structure continues to be inspired but I didn’t enjoy this collection as much as the last one because he goes off in tangents and talks somewhat less about books and because, i...more
The structure continues to be inspired but I didn’t enjoy this collection as much as the last one because he goes off in tangents and talks somewhat less about books and because, i...more
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
Hornby is as clever and funny as in his first collection of columns, The Polysyllabic Spree, but I liked this one better for one simple reason: I was familiar with more of the books. I need to flip back through to make sure I've picked out all the ones I want to read, and it's going to be a sizable list.
He focuses on the idea that all reading is good reading, and that all books have some merit. I'll cop to being a book snob, but...more
He focuses on the idea that all reading is good reading, and that all books have some merit. I'll cop to being a book snob, but...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
I can't claim that this book was great, by any means. It was witty and informative and entertaining, though, and that's just what I was looking for when I decided to read it.
For those not familiar: "Housekeeping..." is a sort of sequel to Hornby's earlier work "The Polysyllabic Spree." Both of these books were originally published in monthly segments in "The Believer."
The premise of these pieces is to track the contant readers' dilemma: which books do I bu...more
For those not familiar: "Housekeeping..." is a sort of sequel to Hornby's earlier work "The Polysyllabic Spree." Both of these books were originally published in monthly segments in "The Believer."
The premise of these pieces is to track the contant readers' dilemma: which books do I bu...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in December, 2007
This book and its predecessor, Polysyllabic Spree, seem to be made for posters on this site. These collections of Hornby's columns for the magazine The Believer are his musings on what he has read this month. Supposedly -and Hornby makes it clear he's not necessarily to be trusted on this or any other topic- the magazine stands by one commandment: "THOU SHALT NOT SLAG ANYONE OFF." This means you're getting a fan's notes more than a critic's analysis.
This seems just the forum for t...more
This seems just the forum for t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
A friend was getting rid of this, so I plucked it from her. It's a collection of Hornby's writings in Believer magazine. Every month, Hornby wrote about the books he read, the books he bought but didn't read, or books he tried to read but ultimately gave up on. His writing is easy to read and often like a one-sided conversation, even with witty asides (like this one, see how I did that?). Also included are excerpts from some of his favorite books that he reviews, although if I thought there ...more
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in October, 2007
Housekeeping vs. The Dirt is the continuation of a series of book critiques that Hornby wrote for The Believer, the first batch which was published as The Pollysyllabic Spree. Of course, I still adore Nick Hornby, but this book didn't make me laugh as often as the Spree. However, I got a larger number of good book recommendations this time and now my "to-read" list is a long reading in itself. And pleasingly, several of the books that Hornby reviewed are already on my "to-read&quo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in May, 2008
I've been stuck in periodical-land for a while. in addition to the usual sunday times + new yorker habit, i got a free subscription to nylon so that my exile in california will not kill my sense of fashion. plus, with the recent political landscape, i've had to add atlantic monthly to my repertoire. add to that the occasional issue of JAMA & New England Journal of Medicine, and it equals me having no idea even where to start when I want to get back to reading books. hence the Hornsby. h...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of funny brits, books, arsenal
I can't even begin to say how much I liked this book. Almost enough to subscribe to the Believer, at least, if only for Hornby's essays. At the risk of offending lots of critics, his essays do something that so few book reviews ever do: entertain the reader on their own merits, and and AND, so much more importantly, actually inspire you to WANT to read the books he talks about. A uniquely witty and "literary" (I mean that in the good, intelligent way) reader who actually has, like, ...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comments
A collection of essays from Hornby's column in The Believer magazine. This is the "sequel" to "The Polysyllabic Spree". Hornby writes monthly about the books he's bought and the books he's read, along the way offering insightful and witty advice about reading - what to read, why people read, what not to read, and how not to feel guilty about all those books on your shelves (and in the library) that you haven't read. I love Hornby's novels, but his essays have truly made him o...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
Nick Hornby and I have pretty much the same way of going about reading--just sort of faff around and read what looks interesting, buy or check out a bunch of books and then never read them, give up halfway through if you're not loving it, etc. However, he gets paid to write about them in The Believer (a magazine that I would kind of like to subscribe to, but I'm also glad it's too expensive because I would probably never read it and it would s...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
No need to actually read books. As long as there are books of the books Nick Hornby has read. I'm on page 87 and so far I know 2 of the books reviewed by NH ("Little Children" and "Adrian Mole and the Weapon of Mass Destruction" - the later i didn't even finish). But who cares: None of the literature Mr. Hornby so warmly describes is probably worth my while (Wild guess). But reading his witty, honest, sincere & passionate words about these books makes me feel all warm an...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
fans of Nick Hornby, fans of reading
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.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I really like Nick Hornby. I enjoy his fiction, and I really like his writing on books. It's very conversational and feels modern - not stuffy at all. He writes a column in the magazine "The Believer" called "Stuff I'm Reading" that is great, and he wrote a book called "The Pollysyllabic Spree" which was a collection of those essays. I definitely want to read this one (unless it's just a collection of his more recent Believer columns, in which case I've already
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
People looking for book recommendations
I enjoyed reading his pieces in book form rather than in magazine form. Not sure why. But now I have a whole hell of a lot more books to add to my to-read pile. I like how he approaches book criticism. Most times I get the sense that the writer was paid or not paid enough to read a book and then write about it. But it was cool to get a more realistic look at books, or at least I feel a unique and interesting one, written with style and humor.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This book, and his earlier collection, Polysyllabic Spree, are wonderful and some of my favorites for a lot of reasons that are mostly only of interest to me, but I particularly appreciate that I came away from reading them with a new ability to accept -and even enjoy- the place of the partially read book in my life. It's not a failure to not finish a book! What a paradigm shift to realize!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. So much, in fact, I am seriously considering a subscription to The Believer magazine which is the periodical that housed the collected columns in their original. That and Nick Hornby has a good light-hearted sense of humor mixed with serious consideration of literature, books, and all good things to read as well as WHY we should give them the time of day. Or not.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2007
Look, I love Nick Hornby and this book definitely made me want to subscribe to The Believer, but some of these columns are significantly better than others. I also didn't see any need for the inclusion of the excerpts from books he liked. Cute if you're into reading about reading (which I very much am), and bite-sized enough that you can breeze through it with a quickness.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
Nick Hornby is one of the greatest writers out there and certainly one of my favorites, so to read his take on other books is just priceless. I loved that he pointed out early on that he doesn't necessarily endorse reading big, famous, canon-esque, books, but more reading the things you want to read and actively avoiding those you don't. Good stuff.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
Oh Nick Hornby and his endless well of wit. Most of the time his commentary was far more interesting than his book reviews, mostly because I wasn't interested in about 80% of what he read. However, I did pick up a few suggestions, which I'll have to remember to add to my "to read" list. If you already know and love Nick Hornby, it's a good read.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment