More Baths Less Talking

"Read what you enjoy, not what bores you," Nick Hornby tells us. That simple, liberating, and indispensable directive animates each installment of the celebrated critic and author’s monthly column in The Believer. In this delightful and never-musty tour of his reading life, Hornby tells us not just what to read but how to read. Whether tackling a dismayingly bulky biography of Dickens while his children destroy something in the next room, getting sucked into a serious assessment of Celine Dion during an intense soccer match featuring his beloved Arsenal, or devouring an entire series of children’s books while on vacation, Hornby writes reviews that are rich, witty, and occasionally madcap. These essays capture the joy and ire, the despair and exhilaration of the book-lover’s life. They appeal equally to monocle-wearing salonnières and people who, like him, spend a lot of time thinking about Miley Cyrus´ next role.