The Polysyllabic Spree

by Nick Hornby

The Polysyllabic Spree

published

November 30th 2004 by McSweeney's

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binding

Paperback, 230 pages

isbn

1932416242 (isbn13: 9781932416244)

description

"Books are, let's face it, better than everything else," writes Nick Hornby in his "Stuff I've Been Reading" column in The Believe...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2012)

All ratings | 5 stars (297) | 4 stars (579) | 3 stars (466) | 2 stars (99) | 1 star (25) | avg 3.70

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Núria

Núria rated it:

(review of isbn 0141028491)

12/17/07

bookshelves: 2007, 3-buenos, literatura-en-ingles, mios, no-ficcion, siglo-xxi

Read in December, 2007

recommends it for: a los que les apasiona leer

The Complete Polysyllabic Spree es la recopilación de una columna de Nick Hornby que aparece cada mes en la revista Believer y en la que comenta los libros que ha leído en el mes pasado. Es un estilo parecido al de '31 canciones', mezcla de reseña/crítica y relato autobiográfico. Y no importa si no has leído los libros de los que habla, porque más que hacer una crítica ortodoxa de un puñado de libros, lo que hace es hablar de su experiencia como lector y de sus hábitos de lectura, de l...more

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27 comments

Lisa Vegan

Lisa rated it:

09/22/07

bookshelves: nonfiction-general-nature-biography, reviewed

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: all bibliophiles & anyone with a good sense of humor

By the time I got to page 40, I had emailed 2 friends to recommend this 140 page book; it’s a very quick read. Some of those early chapters turned out to be my favorites but I thought the whole book was brilliant.

These are funny and smart and well-written essays: autobiographical and about books. Wonderful concept: each chapter is an accounting of one month of the author’s book buying and book reading and starts with a list of books bought and books read and then goes on to wonderful com...more

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Lauren

Lauren rated it:

08/18/07

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: anyone who can't stop buying books!

This is for the true bibliophile - for those I-can't-stop-buying-new-books-even-though-I-have-piles-unread-at-home types (a group to which I happily claim membership). Nick Hornby spent a little over a year analyzing his reading habits - what he bought, what he started and couldn't finish, what he loved - and each month printed an article in the Believer magazine with his musings. I was hesitant at first to read the collected articles because I though I'd have to have Nick Hornby's taste in bo...more

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Ginnie

Ginnie rated it:

05/24/08

bookshelves: books-about-books

I had to hunt this up and post it to explain that in an important way this delightful book of Hornby's about his 14 months of current reading isn't the same as Alberto Manguel's A Reading Diary: a passionate reader's reflections on a year of books which was essentially a re-reading of old favorites. Whew! Now that I've got that off my chest I can go back to my notes when I first read this in 2004.

What works for Hornby is his easy-going voice, his enthusiasm and passion. It is not i...more

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Diana

Diana rated it:

09/12/08

Read in October, 2007

A collection of Hornby's columns from the Believer magazine. He starts with a plea for eliminating dullness in books:

'It is set in stone, apparently: books must be hard work, otherwise they're a waste of time. And so we grind our way through serious, and sometimes seriously dull, novels, or enormous biographies of political figures, and every time we do so, books come to seem a little more like a duty, and Pop Idol starts to look a little more attractive.'

And then:

'If' you're reading...more A collection of Hornby's columns from the Believer magazine. He starts with a plea for eliminating dullness in books:

'It is set in stone, apparently: books must be hard work, otherwise they're a waste of time. And so we grind our way through serious, and sometimes seriously dull, novels, or enormous biographies of political figures, and every time we do so, books come to seem a little more like a duty, and Pop Idol starts to look a little more attractive.'

And then:

'If' you're reading a book that's killing you, put it down and read something else, just as you would reach for the remote if you weren't enjoying a TV programme.'

I read on eagerly waiting for lists of brilliant, readable, funny, informative books. Very exciting. I have been looking for these my whole life and finally somebody was going to tell me all their names!

Each chapter lists books that Hornby has bought, and (much shorter) lists that he has read. I know it's a cliché to say it, but I really did laugh at his tales of buying more books than he can ever read, being unable to pass a book shop without purchasing, agonising over what he 'ought' to read.

However his lists aren't as promosing as I had hoped. Of those that I've read, aside from Dickens, none are as entertaining as his own work. He even recommends dreary Ian McEwan. Then he backtracks and raves about Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping, saying 'I have always prized the accessible over the obscure, but after reading Housekeeping I can see that in some ways the easy accessible novel is working at a disadvantage.' So what was all that stuff about giving up if it makes you sweat?

He gets very excited about John Carey's What Good Are the Arts? He says 'while reading it, you become increasingly amazed at the muddle that apparently intelligent people have got themselves into when they attempt to define the importance of - and the superiority of - high culture.' I was going to order it until I found a review by Jeanette Winterson, which completely trashes it. I may order it anyway.

And here's what he has to say about reviewing:

'At the beginning of my writing career I reviewed a lot of fiction, but I had to pretend, as reviewers do, that I had read the books outside of space, time and self - in other words I had to pretend that I hadn't read them when I was tired and grumpy, or drunk, that I wasn't envious of the author, that I had no agenda, no personal aesthetic or personal taste or personal problems, that I hadn't read other reviews of the same book already , that I didn't know who the author's friends and enemies were, that I wasn't trying to place a book with the same publisher, that I hadn't been bought lunch by the book's doe-eyed publicist. Most of all I hadn't to pretend that I hadn't written the review because I was urgently in need of a quick couple of hundred quid. Being paid to read a book and then write about it creates a dynamic which compromises the reviewer in all kinds of ways, very few of them helpful.'
...less

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Jonathan

Jonathan rated it:

02/27/08

Read in February, 2008

This is a compendium of a year's worth of Hornby's columns about books bought and/or read in The Believer magazine. The tone is colloquial like whoa, a bit skittish. Hornby, who's penned About A Boy and A Long Way Down, among other novels, is (unlike much of what he attempts to read) high readable himself. This little jam of a book flies over 140 pages.

Yes, it is fun to commiserate with a for-real writer who laments things like being given book recommendation (or, worse, being gifted books o...more This is a compendium of a year's worth of Hornby's columns about books bought and/or read in The Believer magazine. The tone is colloquial like whoa, a bit skittish. Hornby, who's penned About A Boy and A Long Way Down, among other novels, is (unlike much of what he attempts to read) high readable himself. This little jam of a book flies over 140 pages.

Yes, it is fun to commiserate with a for-real writer who laments things like being given book recommendation (or, worse, being gifted books outright):

“Usually, of course, I treat personal book recommendations with the suspicion they deserve. I’ve got enough to read as it is, so my first reaction when someone tells me to read something is to find a way to doubt their credentials, or to try to dredge up some conflicting view from my memory. (Just as stone always blunts scissors, a lukewarm “Oh, it was OK,” always beats a “You have to read this.” It’s less work that way.)”

The title comes from the moniker he's given an imaginary (or are they?) squad of Believer mag honchos who issue edicts to him as to how he will write his column. (One stipulation: Abandon any book that's not going well, and DO NOT mention it by name.) He imagines them in flowing robes, 12 of them (6 of each gender of course); of course this is meant to drum up the Polyphonic Spree, those be-robed indie choir rockers, as Hornby (also author of Songbook and High Fidelity; need I say more?) is some kind of music snob.

This book (I was -- gasp -- gifted it!) is hardly necessary but sometimes insightful and often amusing. Poignant and yet funny are his thoughts on books about autism; his own son has the condition. He gushes over Dickens and Vonnegut and more, interspersing some poems and excerpts he loves amidst his own columns/chapters.

Here's Hornby on novels, their epic and lengthy qualities:

“But there comes a point in the writing process when a novelist—any novelist, even a great one—has to accept that what he is doing is keeping one end of a book away from the other, filling up pages, in the hope that these pages will move, provoke, and entertain the reader.”

And on how one can Wiki his way to impressing others:

“A good chunk of coming across as educated, after all, is just a matter of knowing who wrote what: someone mentions Patrick Hamilton, and you nod sagely and say, Hangover Square, and that’s usually enough. … ‘the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.’”

I honestly feel better on the other side of thumbing through this read. That's what he intended, and that's what matters....less

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LordBeardsley

LordBeardsley rated it:

(review of isbn 0141028491)

09/07/07

bookshelves: read2007

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: not "people of letters"

I read this book in one sitting. I'm a sucker for reading lists and talk about books in general. Nick Hornby writes in a wonderfully chatty, witty manner that makes this journal of his reading experiences hard to put down. This even made me consider reading David Copperfield and re-think the novel Housekeeping by Marilyn Robinson (you'll be shocked to hear that one Nate!). My only small criticism is the magazine The Believer...I've long been skeptical of magazines like The Believer and McSweeney...more

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Chelsea

Chelsea rated it:

09/14/07

bookshelves: 2007, booksandwords, collections, humor, own

Read in September, 2007

Oh, Nick Hornsby. You are a clever, clever man. Now I'm going to have to suck it up and read some of your novels.

He talks about books, and how he keeps buying books, but not necessarily reading them. And then he decides that a person's collection of books - the ones they bought rather than the ones they've read - is the best way to define them. And then I considered proposing.

I think I would have given it a five if I had read more of the books he talked about. Or heard of, even. Bu...more

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Tracy

Tracy added it

06/21/08

Read in June, 2008

He writes a column about books for The Believer magazine. This is a collection of 14 columns. I was looking for one of his novels, and picked this up from the library by accident. He is so witty that I can barely keep up, and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of one of his novels. This site is about rating books, not columns, so I didn't rate it.

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Jerry

Jerry rated it:

07/03/08

Ah, a book about books! I even enjoyed reading about the books I have no interest in. Hornby really knows his way around a book review. If more reviewers followed his lead, reading might become and olympic sport.

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julieta

julieta rated it:

11/01/08

bookshelves: favoritos

Read in October, 2008

I am always curious to read about what writers I like are maybe reading. I love Nick Hornby, and this book is all about loving books. And as both a NH fan, and as a book lover, I totally enjoyed it. I wish I had something like his articles in my morning paper! I don't know if he plays with empathy and humor to get people to like him, but it totally works for me. The books read have no order at all, it´s all pleasure reading. Being a pleasure reader myself, I can identify with the whimsical way ...more

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Chelsea

Chelsea rated it:

08/14/07

Read in December, 2006

recommends it for: hornby fans and voracious readers

fun, quick read that readers will relate to... also a great place for other book recommendations.

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Raül

Raül rated it:

(review of isbn 0141030690)

10/02/08

bookshelves: 2008

Read in September, 2008

The Complete Polysyllabic Spree es la prueba final de que la cosmogonía de Nick Hornby es plenamente merecedora de (mi) adoración. En este libro se recogen las columnas mensuales que el autor escribe para The Believer, esa revista literaria única en su filosofía de no hablar mal de ningún libro bajo ningún concepto. Las intenciones son genuinamente geniales (ojalá proliferara la creencia de que "para hablar mal de algo en un medio, mejor no hablar de ello")....more

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Serena

Serena rated it:

08/13/08

Read in May, 2008

Nick Hornby's Polysyllabic Spree is an interesting look at what one man buys and reads in a given month. The commentary about his choices and his reads are fantastically amusing. It's good to see that us readers and writers are not alone in our efforts to catalogue our finds and keep a running tally of our progress.

It was intriguing to learn how he chose his books in a given month and how one choice led to the others.

One thing I think I took issue with was Hornby's contention that he has...more

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Itpdx

Itpdx rated it:

07/20/08

Read in July, 2008

This is a collection of columns that Hornby wrote for The Believer, which I have never seen or read. It is about the books he bought (and why) and read. His humor had me laughing out loud. Just like English professional football and cricket, it didn't matter whether I knew the books or authors he was writing about, he still got his points across. I particularly like his theory on the proper length of biographies. He thinks a lot of readers would like to know something about the subject but ...more

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Marion

Marion rated it:

08/06/08

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: bookworms

The Polysyllabic Spree is a collection of Nick Hornby's book column issued in The Believer, a North-American literature magazine.

It is organized in months, every month featuring a list of books bought, books read and a discussion of the books read together with stories from Hornby's quotidian life.

I liked the idea to write a book (or, rather, columns) in order to honor other books. All those references to books, authors and oth...more

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John

John rated it:

05/12/08

Read in May, 2008

This is Horby's account of two years of book buying and book reading. Although it is not meant as literary criticism in a strict sense (I hesitate to use the term lit crit light, but, there, I used it anyway), his insights are valuable in a literary sense nevertheless. Hornby's reading tastes are quite eclectic - at least during the period he describes - and cover contemporary fiction, classic fiction, graphic novels, letters, and a bit of non-fiction. It's interesting listening to a successful ...more

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Evil_Dead_Junkie

Evil_Dead_Junkie rated it:

02/13/08

bookshelves: lit-criticism

I read this and it's twin every year or so to remind me why I like Nick Hornby. Sometimes that's hard as one happens to catch a glimpse of How To Be Good and A Long Way Down on the bookshelf and the next thing one knows they're in an ambulance being treated for having "angryed up the the blood".

Still when reading these it's tough to stay mad at good old Hornby. The guy is endearing and his voice is so personable that this is less a book of criticism as it is a portable conversation...more

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Slygly

Slygly rated it:

09/10/07

Read in September, 2007

Preface: This is a biased review because I adore Nick Hornby and everything he writes on principle. If he wrote an algebra textbook I would surely give it a minimum three out of five stars.

The Polysyllabic Spree is exactly the sort of light reading I craved: (mostly obscure) book reviews and rants about book ownership causing me to smirk until my face hurt, all collected from his column in The Believer Magazine. I cherished Hornsby's music critiques in High Fidelity; his take on books was e...more

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Colin O'Grady

Colin rated it:

04/01/08

bookshelves: non-fiction

If you like this website, you'll like this book. It's just a collection of essays (magazine columns, really), all written by Nick Hornby, in which he shares his thoughts on the books he has read and the books he intends to read. They contain all of the typical wit that I've come to expect from Nick Hornby as he sorts through what he likes and what he doesn't like; what he 'intends' to read and what he ACTUALLY intends to read. His reading runs the gamut, from Dickens to Moneyball (a book abou...more

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avg rating (all editions): 3.70 (1466 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.70 (1404 ratings)
number of reviews: 197

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quote

"Books are, let's face it, better than everything else. If we played cultural Fantasy Boxing League, and made books go 15 rounds in the ring against the best that any other art form had to offer, then books would win pretty much every time. Go on, try it. “The Magic Flute” v. Middlemarch? Middlemarch in six. “The Last Supper” v. Crime and Punishment? Fyodor on points. See? I mean, I don’t know how scientific this is, but it feels like the novels are walking it. You might get the occasional exception -– “Blonde on Blonde” might mash up The Old Curiosity Shop, say, and I wouldn’t give much for Pale Fire’s chance against Citizen Kane. And every now and again you'd get a shock, because that happens in sport, so Back to the Future III might land a lucky punch on Rabbit, Run; but I'm still backing literature 29 times out of 30." more quotes »