Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

Original poster

What do we think of Nick Hornby?

40 replies

Pruners · 13/01/2008 18:25

Message withdrawn

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
smartiejake · 13/01/2008 20:25

Loved How to be good and about a boy. Think he's quite an entertaining writer. Like Mike Gayle too- bit like Nick Hornby but he has an additional insight into the female mind.

ArcticRoll · 13/01/2008 20:19

Enjoyed Fever Pitch, High Fidelity and About a Boy.
Was very disappointed with How to Be Good and gave up on A Long Way Down after couple of chapters.
I used to enjoy his newspaper columns-in The Independent yonks ago.

UnquietDad · 13/01/2008 20:09

DJ Goodnews seemed a waste of time - I couldn't see what the point of him was. I was waiting for him to be exposed as a fraud.

ScottishMummy · 13/01/2008 19:31

love Nick Hornby, also re-reading how to Be good. great humorous reading, socially V Well observed. i read his books and think oh i know someone just Like that....

mrsruffallo · 13/01/2008 19:24

I liked ' that's just the way itis, somethings will never change'

gigglewitch · 13/01/2008 19:21

read them all
and enjoyed.
no intellect required, but well written.

tassisssss · 13/01/2008 19:16

i liked how to be good a lot too

janeite · 13/01/2008 19:13

Oh yes, "About A Boy" is fab - I'd forgotten he wrote that too. The film is also lovely.

HairyIrene · 13/01/2008 19:10

enjoy for what it is imho...
enjoyed hi fidelity and fever pitch when read them years ago..dont know the others

tony parsons has always been such an arse i abide him or his written dribblings...

filthymindedvixen · 13/01/2008 19:09

About a boy is a lovely book. Though I know far too mums like here in RL.

themildmanneredjanitor · 13/01/2008 19:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hassled · 13/01/2008 19:00

I really enjoy his books - yes, not exactly a high-brow challenging read but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's all a bit crap, but well written, clever, entertaining crap.
That Tony Parsons bloke on the other hand - that really is crap.

Quattrocento · 13/01/2008 19:00

Not dissing the bloke, Vacua, sure he is a nice person and kind to his children and has a special understanding of autism and probably helps little old ladies across the road.

It's just his prose, tiddley pom. Too too cringey.

themildmanneredjanitor · 13/01/2008 18:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Vacua · 13/01/2008 18:58

I'd be happy to write abominably and still achieve that degree of commercial success and be such a NICE person - was going to say bloke but forgot am a bird so am going for gender neutral approach

themildmanneredjanitor · 13/01/2008 18:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

UnquietDad · 13/01/2008 18:57

I thought "How To be Good" was fine to begin with - even if I wasn't quite convinced by the female narrator - then about two-thirds of the way through when the "big idea" is mooted I felt it started to go seriously downhill.

Enjoyed "About A Boy", "High Fidelity" and "A Long Way Down", as well as his book of articles, "The Polysyllabic Spree".

WendyWeber · 13/01/2008 18:56

I love About a Boy - bits of it made me ROFL.

The others are OK but that one is the best.

(IMHO obv)

wheelybug · 13/01/2008 18:55

sorry should have ended my first sentence with a or or something to make it seem less sarcastic (which it wasn't meant to be)... digs self in even further ... and panics at causing more offence...

Quattrocento · 13/01/2008 18:54

Truly not saying this to be controversial - he's the Enid Blyton of the Adult Fiction world - successful but abominable

janeite · 13/01/2008 18:54

I loved "High Fidelity" but didn't like any of the others (and gave up on "Fever Pitch" without finishing it). Tony Parsons - vomit emoticon - can't stand him.

I think the whole list thing appealed to me in "High Fidelity" - have had many drink- fuelled "Top 10 Smiths Songs" etc moments!

Quattrocento · 13/01/2008 18:53

I think he needs shooting for writing crap when he should know better and could do better

wheelybug · 13/01/2008 18:50

Really Beetroot ??? How interesting !!! (better?)

I quite like Nick Hornby although have had his latest (at least I think its his latest but its sat there for so long it might not be) on my bookshelf and it hasn't leapt off the shelf at me to read. I think its called 'Long Way Down'. Is it any good ?

Vacua · 13/01/2008 18:50

I know

he was even better than that jonathan coe

Beetroot · 13/01/2008 18:47

really Beetroot, how interesting