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threegoodrats's review against another edition
5.0
My review is here.
"If asked to represent this magazine's views, I'd say we favor natural breasts over augmented, but that breasts generally are discounted when we come to consider literary merit. And if I have that wrong, then I can only apologize."
"...it turns out that editing is kind of a metaphor for living. Our marriages, our careers, our domestic arrangements...so much of how we live consists of making meaning out of a bewildering jumble of images, of attempting to move as seamlessly as we can from one stage of life to the next."
"A memoir about raising a child with special needs would not have been improved by scenes of indiscriminate slaughter."
"If asked to represent this magazine's views, I'd say we favor natural breasts over augmented, but that breasts generally are discounted when we come to consider literary merit. And if I have that wrong, then I can only apologize."
"...it turns out that editing is kind of a metaphor for living. Our marriages, our careers, our domestic arrangements...so much of how we live consists of making meaning out of a bewildering jumble of images, of attempting to move as seamlessly as we can from one stage of life to the next."
"A memoir about raising a child with special needs would not have been improved by scenes of indiscriminate slaughter."
kmcquage's review against another edition
5.0
I am so very glad to have a new Hornby review collection! I always find fantastic recommendations as well as vindication of my promiscuous reading habits. It's also a comfort to know that Serious Professionals have a bought/read mismatch resembling mine.
mrgxfincher's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
cdnjimmyjames's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
lisade's review against another edition
4.0
Always enjoy reading the collections articles/essays in this series
lisawhelpley's review against another edition
3.0
I really didn't need to read a book that gave me even more books to my 'to read' list. But, I did. I found this book amusing and I agreed with almost every one of Hornby's analyses on books I'd already read.
sparrowlight's review against another edition
4.0
Nick Hornby, you sly dog.
Every time I read something by Nick Hornby, I'm plunged into a confusing combination of sheer delight and hot, festering rage. His charm and facility with words makes me insanely jealous.
More Baths, Less Talking is no exception. Taking its content from Hornby's book column in The Believer, it's a short, fun selection of essays on books read and books unread. I loved the contrast between the books he bought and the books he actually read -- I can definitely relate. Side benefit: I got a few new ideas for my own to-read this. This is a great book for the Venn diagram of folks who love books and enjoy Nick Hornby's style and candor.
Every time I read something by Nick Hornby, I'm plunged into a confusing combination of sheer delight and hot, festering rage. His charm and facility with words makes me insanely jealous.
More Baths, Less Talking is no exception. Taking its content from Hornby's book column in The Believer, it's a short, fun selection of essays on books read and books unread. I loved the contrast between the books he bought and the books he actually read -- I can definitely relate. Side benefit: I got a few new ideas for my own to-read this. This is a great book for the Venn diagram of folks who love books and enjoy Nick Hornby's style and candor.
balletbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Nick Hornby. Fourth collection of "Stuff I've Been Reading" columns from the Believer. Am very glad he's writing these again bc I need another source of book recommendations like I need another hole in my head.
Love love love.
Love love love.
ribeirofrio's review against another edition
3.0
Adoro questo lato di Nick Hornby: un lettore qualsiasi, che accumula libri, che legge con entusiasmo qualsiasi cosa che gli passi tra le mani, che lotti contro gli impegni quotidiani e il delizioso caos che rappresenta la sua famiglia. L'unico elemento che stona in questo quadretto altrimenti favoloso è una passione smodata per Dickens, che su di me proprio non fa presa.
D'altro canto però mi dispiace un poco che la rubrica per la quale compila questi resoconti di letture non gli permetta di criticare più apertamente i libri che non gli sono piaciuti; a volte diventa complicato capire quante recensioni positive siano in realtà velatamente negative, e soprattutto in caso contrario, sopprimere il fastidio suscitato da questo apparente perbenismo letterario.
D'altro canto però mi dispiace un poco che la rubrica per la quale compila questi resoconti di letture non gli permetta di criticare più apertamente i libri che non gli sono piaciuti; a volte diventa complicato capire quante recensioni positive siano in realtà velatamente negative, e soprattutto in caso contrario, sopprimere il fastidio suscitato da questo apparente perbenismo letterario.
matthewwester's review against another edition
5.0
Upon hitting the back cover of this book I felt a rush of satisfaction (the book is fantastic) and then a deep, deep, sense of sorrow that I'd have to wait for/if another one of these collections is going to be published. I suppose I could order a subscription to The Believer to experience the column on a monthly basis, but meh, I prefer only having a vague sense of the publication he occasionally, lovingly, teases.
These columns are a great reminder of what we all love about reading; they're honest about the challenges, celebratory about the discoveries, and lighthearted/generous/funny enough that you always feel good after reading one. I especially appreciate all this when you consider the average literary column, which tends to either be a snobby, snarky art critic or a pretentious artist philosophizing about "the craft." You never feel like Hornby is looking down on you yet he covers everything from kid's books, to top-ten pop thrillers, to high-art novels. In the midst of reviewing the books, he also writes about his life, football, the process of writing, and any odd thought that hits his fancy. Thanks to his columns I'll be looking up a few authors I might have otherwise missed, yeah-ah.
Probably the best complement I can give, though, is that I enjoy the column even when that month's books are waaaay outside my usual interests. I'm not a big fan of biographies, for example, and he covers more than a couple in this latest installment. Oh well. But even in those months I'm engaged with every paragraph. Hopefully he keeps churning these out because they're great.
A lot of other reviewers have said this but it's worth repeating, the weakest installment was Shakespeare Wrote for Money (the third collection in the series), and my opinion is the strongest one is either the second or this, the fourth.
These columns are a great reminder of what we all love about reading; they're honest about the challenges, celebratory about the discoveries, and lighthearted/generous/funny enough that you always feel good after reading one. I especially appreciate all this when you consider the average literary column, which tends to either be a snobby, snarky art critic or a pretentious artist philosophizing about "the craft." You never feel like Hornby is looking down on you yet he covers everything from kid's books, to top-ten pop thrillers, to high-art novels. In the midst of reviewing the books, he also writes about his life, football, the process of writing, and any odd thought that hits his fancy. Thanks to his columns I'll be looking up a few authors I might have otherwise missed, yeah-ah.
Probably the best complement I can give, though, is that I enjoy the column even when that month's books are waaaay outside my usual interests. I'm not a big fan of biographies, for example, and he covers more than a couple in this latest installment. Oh well. But even in those months I'm engaged with every paragraph. Hopefully he keeps churning these out because they're great.
A lot of other reviewers have said this but it's worth repeating, the weakest installment was Shakespeare Wrote for Money (the third collection in the series), and my opinion is the strongest one is either the second or this, the fourth.