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Nick Hornby was born in 1957, and is the author of Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, About a Boy and How to be Good. He also edited the collection of short stories Speaking With the Angel. He is the pop music critic for the New Yorker. In 1999, he was awarded the E.M.Forster award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives and works in Highbury, North London.
A beautifully gentle yet pointed, and amusing yet thoughtful, feel-good relationship tale. When head teacher and separated mum of two Lucy, meets butcher, babysitter, and aspiring DJ Joseph, their age gap is just one of the obstacles in their path to finding love. This isn’t an overly sensational or dramatic tale, it’s more subtle than that, though it does cover three years during and after the EU referendum. Don’t groan, as Nick Hornby looks back in the most mindful way possible. Thoughts are provoked and rich pickings are to be found, as lots of little lightbulb moments clicked on as I read. The plot settled in the lightest of dances through some pretty weighty subjects. It’s not shouty, or finger-pointy, a relationship is created within a set of circumstances that allows you to form your own thoughts. I feel Nick Hornby has written the perfect story for anyone suffering from Covid 19 blues. Just Like You is an incredibly uplifting, engaging and stimulating read, and I absolutely loved it.
May 2015 Book of the Month. I would like to say ‘classic’ Hornby but the thing I most like about his writing is that the stories are all different, so one can hardly say ‘classic’. But it is all one would expect. Light but entertaining, a story about people. It’s about an inspiring actress-cum-comedian from Blackpool who wins a beauty contest but really doesn’t want to spend a year opening supermarkets! We are in the early 1960s. She gives back her crown and flees to London. We follow her through early struggles and on into falling on her feet in a ‘ground breaking’ series for the BBC. A Lancashire accent, a working-class character and dealing with man/woman becoming husband/wife and eventually baby issues. Years later, at the 50 year celebration, a young producer gets the idea of putting on a play about “what happened next”. We, of course, have followed the main players all the way through in a clever slice of cultural history. Utterly enthralling and highly recommended. ~ Sarah Broadhurst One of our Books of the Year 2014.
New Year's Eve at Toppers’ House, North London’s most popular suicide spot. And four strangers are about to discover that doing away with yourself isn’t quite the private act they’d each expected. Perma-tanned Martin Sharp’s a disgraced breakfast TV presenter who had it all – the family, the pad, the great career – and wasted it away. Killing himself is Martin’s logical response to an unliveable life. Maureen has to do it tonight, because of Matty being in the home. He was never able to do any of the normal things kids do – like walk or talk – and his loving mum can’t cope any more. Half-crazed with heartbreak, loneliness, adolescent angst, seven Bacardi Breezers and two Special Brews, Jess’s ready to jump, to fly off the roof. Finally, there’s JJ – tall, cool, American, looks like a rock-star – who’s weighed down with a heap of problems, and pizza. Four strangers, who moments before were convinced that they were alone and going to end it all that way, share out the pizza and begin to talk ... Only to find that they have even less in common than first suspected.
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 7 February 2010. As you would expect in a book about relationships revolving around a music obsession Nick Hornby manages to get in his musical references and loves in to the pages throughout this book. The story is about a relationship where the characters are facing middle age and wondering if they have wasted years not really achieving anything in their lives. If it sounds a little bit depressing don’t worry, as always, Hornby injects his humour throughout the story and creates interesting and memorable characters.
'There was this time when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.' Sam is sixteen and a skater. Just so there are no terrible misunderstandings: skating = skateboarding. There's no ice. Life is ticking along nicely for Sam: his mum's got rid of her rubbish boyfriend, he's thinking about college and he's met someone. Alicia. Then a little accident happens. One with big consequences for someone just finding his way in life. Sam can't run (let alone skate) away from this one. He's a boy facing a man's problems and the question is - has he got what it takes to confront them?
Klassiker, Bestseller und Kultbuch - jetzt in einer brillanten neuen Ubersetzung erstmals als eBookGleich sein erstes Buch machte Nick Hornby 1992 mit einem Schlag weltweit berhmt: "e;Fever Pitch"e; hat beim Publikum und bei den Journalisten wahre Begeisterungsstrme entfacht. Hornbys Buch war bahnbrechend, weil es als erstes auf den Punkt brachte, was Fuballbesessenheit in all ihren ernsten und komischen Facetten ausmacht."e;Fever Pitch"e; erzhlt die Geschichte eines Fuballfans, dessen Leben von den seltenen Siegen und zahlreichen Niederlagen seines Clubs bestimmt wird. Der Fan heit Nick Hornby, sein Verein Arsenal London. Mit wunderbarer Leichtigkeit und sprhendem Witz schildert Hornby die Spiele und sein Leben.
A beautifully gentle yet pointed, and amusing yet thoughtful, feel-good relationship tale. When head teacher and separated mum of two Lucy, meets butcher, babysitter, and aspiring DJ Joseph, their age gap is just one of the obstacles in their path to finding love. This isn’t an overly sensational or dramatic tale, it’s more subtle than that, though it does cover three years during and after the EU referendum. Don’t groan, as Nick Hornby looks back in the most mindful way possible. Thoughts are provoked and rich pickings are to be found, as lots of little lightbulb moments clicked on as I read. The plot settled in the lightest of dances through some pretty weighty subjects. It’s not shouty, or finger-pointy, a relationship is created within a set of circumstances that allows you to form your own thoughts. I feel Nick Hornby has written the perfect story for anyone suffering from Covid 19 blues. Just Like You is an incredibly uplifting, engaging and stimulating read, and I absolutely loved it.
*THE SIDE-SPLITTING NEW COMIC SHORT FROM ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST-LOVED WRITERS, NOW A MAJOR BBC TV SERIES* ______________________________ 'It is as honest and multi-faceted an examination and appreciation of marriage as you could hope to find' The Guardian on Hornby's script adaptation Each week, Tom and Louise meet for a quick drink in the pub before they go to meet their marriage counsellor. Married for years and with two children, a recent incident has exposed the fault lines in their relationship in a way that Tom, for one, does not wish to think about. In the ten minutes in the pub they talk about the agenda for the session, what they talked about last week, what they will definitely not talk about with the counsellor, and how much better off they are than the couple whose counselling slot immediately precedes their own. Over the ten weeks that follow Tom and Louise begin to wonder: what if marriage is like a computer? When you take it apart to see how it works you might just be left with a million pieces you can't put back together . . .
This reader is accompanied with a CD that contains the full audio of the text in MP3 format. Will Freeman wants an easy life with no responsibilities. But then he meets Marcus - an unusual twelve year old boy with serious problems. About a Boy is a modern classic - a very funny story about a very serious subject: love. It's also a popular movie starring Hugh Grant
Eine Liebeserklarung ans LesenNick Hornby schreibt bers Lesen - was kann seinen Lesern Besseres passieren? Bcher, die er gekauft hat, Bcher, die er gelesen hat, Bcher, die er in der Bahn liegen gelassen hat oder die unters Bett gerutscht sind - mit seinem unnachahmlichen Blick fr die komischen Seiten des Lesens beweist Nick Hornby, dass man auch als Vater kleiner Kinder die Zeit finden kann, sich in ein Buch zu vertiefen. Man muss nur das Getse aus dem Zimmer nebenan ignorieren knnen. Von Patti Smith ber Muriel Spark, Dennis Lehane (halb), Michael Ondaatje, John Updike bis hin zu Charles Dickens u.v.a.m. reicht die Liste der gelesenen Bcher, von der Liste der bisher noch nicht gelesenen Bcher ganz zu schweigen. Hornby empfiehlt und macht dabei unbndige Lust aufs Lesen. Und beweist ganz nebenbei, dass ernst zu nehmende Literaturkritik auch unterhaltsam und lustig sein kann.
The Complete Polysyllabic Spree is Nick Hornby's wickedly funny journey through reading This is not a book of reviews. This is not a book that sneers at other books. This is a book about reading - about enjoying books wherever and however you find them. Nick Hornby, author of the bestsellers About a Boy and Fever Pitch - takes us on a hilarious and perceptive tour through the books he bought, the books he read and his thoughts on literature. He is first and foremost a reader and he approaches books like the rest of us: hoping to pick up one he can't put down. The Complete Polysyllabic Spree is a diary of sorts, charting his reading life over two years. It is a celebration of why we read - its pleasures, its disappointments and its surprises. And above all, it is for you - the ever hopeful reader. For fans of Bill Bryson and Stephen Fry, and for bookworms everywhere, this witty, passionate book will make you cherish the world of letters anew. 'An engaged and engaging ramble around one reader's mind' The Times 'Not only does it make you want to read more but, like all great books, it's also terrific company' Metro 'For anyone whose idea of a good time is arguing with friends about their favourite books...amusing and contagiously enthusiastic' Big Issue
Stuff I've Been Reading by Nick Hornby - the bestselling novelist's rich, witty and inspiring reading diary 'Read what you enjoy, not what bores you,' Nick Hornby tells us. And in this new collection of his columns from the Believer magazine he shows us how it's done. From historical tomes to comic books, literary novels to children's stories, political thrillers to travel writing, Stuff I've Been Reading details Nick's thoughts and experiences on books by George Orwell, J.M. Barrie, Muriel Spark, Claire Tomalin, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Jennifer Egan, Ian McEwan, Cormac McCarthy and many, many more. This wonderfully entertaining journey in reading differs from all other reviews or critical appreciations - it takes into account the role that books actually play in our lives. This book, which is classic Hornby, confirms the novelist's status as one of the world's most exciting curators of culture. It will be loved by fans of About a Boy and High Fidelity, as well as readers of Will Self, Zadie Smith, Stewart Lee and Charlie Brooker.
Funny Girl - the latest novel from Nick Hornby, the million-copy bestselling author of About a Boy Make them laugh, and they're yours forever . . . Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn't want to be a beauty queen. She only wants to make people laugh. So she leaves her hometown behind, takes herself off to London, and lands a life-changing audition for a new BBC comedy series. Overnight she becomes Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the nation's hearts. Funny Girl is the story of a smash-hit TV show and the people behind the scenes: the writers, Tony and Bill, friends since national service and comedy obsessives; producer Dennis, Oxbridge educated, clever, mild and not-so-secretly devoted to his star actress Sophie; and dashing male lead Clive, who firmly believes he's destined for better things. The show's success continues rocketing and the cast and crew are having the time of their lives. But when the script begins to get a bit too close to home, and life starts imitating art, they all face a choice. How long can they keep going before it's time to change the channel? Nick Hornby's novel is about popular culture and the swinging sixties. Sophie Straw is learning about youth and old age, fame and hard work, class and collaboration. Funny Girl offers a captivating portrait of youthful exuberance and freedom at a time when Britain itself was experiencing one of its most enduring creative bursts. Hornby fans will love his latest book, as will readers of David Nicholls, Mark Haddon and William Boyd. 'Fans won't be disappointed by this new story... endearing, humorous and touching, full of spot-on period detail, all brought to vivid life by a cast of very human characters. Hugely enjoyable' Sunday Mirror 'Resolutely, winningly light-hearted' Observer 'Nick Hornby's funny, winningly perceptive novel is a pleasure to read' Telegraph 'If you devoured About a Boy and whizzed through High Fidelity you're going to love Nick Hornby's brilliant new novel. Hilarious and captivating, this is a fabulous read' Take a Break 'There is something about Hornby's writing that is so simple, so easy-to-read and yet so sensitive and profound at the same time, that anything he writes turns out very special. The premise of Funny Girl is like a lot of Nick Hornby's irritatingly genius ideas: something so obvious you can't believe no one thought of it before.' Independent 'Everything he writes is addictively readable and clever, but with this one he just surpasses himself' Red 'Effortlessly engaging... Hornby's writing is so fluid, he has a great knack for capturing atmosphere and skewering a character with a killer phrase' - Evening Standard
Nick Hornbys grandioser neuer Roman: ein Ausflug ins Swinging London der SixtiesDie hbsche Barbara entflieht der Provinz und zieht nach London, um berhmt zu werden. Sie bekommt tatschlich die Hauptrolle in einer neuen Fernseh-Sitcom, die zu einer der erfolgreichsten TV-Shows Englands wird. Das Team wird ihre Familie - doch was passiert, wenn Ruhm und Glanz irgendwann verblassen?Anfang der 60er: Barbara nimmt die Wahl zur "e;Miss Blackpool"e; nicht an, als ihr aufgeht, dass sie dann ein weiteres Jahr in diesem verschlafenen Provinzstdtchen verbringen msste. Stattdessen zieht sie nach London, ins Herz der neu entstehenden Popkultur, um Komikerin zu werden. Was zunchst aussichtslos erscheint, wird Wirklichkeit, und die Truppe rund um die beiden Drehbuchschreiber Tony und Bill, den Produzenten Dennis sowie Schauspielkollegen Clive ersetzt Barbara fortan die Familie. Alle sind von der Idee besessen, aus ihrer Sitcom einen Riesenerfolg zu machen, was ihnen trotz privater groer und kleiner Katastrophen auch gelingt. Doch was passiert, wenn Schnheit und Ruhm mit der Zeit verblassen?Nick Hornby nimmt den Leser mit ins brodelnde London der 60er-Jahre, mitten hinein in die Welt der am Hungertuch nagenden Gagschreiber, der berarbeiteten Regisseure, der egozentrischen Schauspieler und der vom groen Durchbruch trumenden Mdchen. Ein Buch ber ganz groe Auftritte, lebenslange Freundschaft und die groe Liebe.
Stellen Sie sich vor, alle Ihre Vergehen stehen in der ZeitungAls Charlie und Elaine sich scheiden lassen, leben sie schon seit Lngerem getrennt. Die Scheidung ist also einvernehmlich, so lautet jedenfalls Charlies Aui assung. Dass Elaine das ganz anders sieht und Charlie an allem die Schuld gibt, erfhrt er aus der Zeitung, fr die Elaine schreibt: In einer wchentlichen Kolumne zerrt sie jegliches Fehlverhalten ihres Exmannes gensslich in die ffentlichkeit. Wie soll Charlie jemals wieder eine Frau kennenlernen, wer will mit einem solchen Fiesling schon zusammen sein? Doch da meldet sich eine Frau, der mit ihrem Exmann hnliches widerfhrt, und die beiden Geschmhten kommen zusammen Mit seinem unnachahmlichen Humor, dem Blick fr die Absurditten des Alltags und der liebevollen Beschreibung naiver Loser erzhlt Nick Hornby, warum eine Trennung ganz schn gefhrlich sein kann.
THE MILLION-COPY NO.1 BESTSELLER 'Enormously powerful' Guardian 'Hilarious, sophisticated, compulsive' The Times ___________________ 'I am in a car park in Leeds when I tell my husband I don't want to be married to him any more. . . ' London GP Katie Carr always thought she was a good person. With her husband David making a living as 'The Angriest Man in Holloway', she figured she could put up with anything. Until, that is, David meets DJ Goodnews and becomes a good person too. A far-too-good person who starts committing crimes of charity like taking in the homeless and giving their kids' toys away. Suddenly Katie's feeling very bad about herself, and thinking that if charity begins at home, then maybe it's time to move. . . This laugh-out-loud novel, from the bestselling author of About a Boy and High Fidelity, will have you gripped from start to finish and will appeal to fans of David Nicholls and Jonathan Coe, as well as readers in need of a moral compass everywhere. ___________________ 'Pins you in your armchair and won't let go . . . How to be Good? How to be bloody marvellous, more like' Mail on Sunday 'It does exactly what it says on the cover. Hornby's prose is artful and effortless, his spiky wit as razored as a number-two cut' Independent 'The writing is so funny, and the set-pieces so brilliant . . . Hornby's best book since Fever Pitch' Lynn Truss, The Times
FROM THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ABOUT A BOY 31 Songs is best-selling author Nicky Hornby's ultimate desert island disks Through thirty-one songs that he either loves or has loved, Nick Hornby tells us what music means to his life. These personal and passionate pieces - refreshingly free of pretension - are a celebration of the joy that certain songs have given him. Together with additional writings on music from his column in the new Yorker - seen in the UK for the first time - 31 Songs is for Hornby what many of us have always wanted: a soundtrack to accompany life. Winner of The National Book Critics Circle award, this funny and touchingly personal book is a must for music fans everywhere. 'Original, well written and wholly lacking in pretension...as good a book about pop music as I have read in many years and the most accomplished of Hornby's books so far' Spectator 'Funny, provocative, immensely readable. It is not simply about music...it is about Hornby, and us, and about being alive. His enthusiasm is such that he makes me want to be a better listener - and I can offer no better compliment. A triumph' Tim Lott, Evening Standard 'Refreshing, candid, very moving. Reminds you why you loved music before you knew enough to explain your love away' Uncut
Gripping and funny this novel will appeal to all those who have ever picked up a skateboard and even those who haven't. From the author who brought you High Fidelity and Fever Pitch comes a new novel written for the teenage audience.
THE MILLION-COPY INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER & SOURCE OF THE 2020 HULU SERIES 'One of my favourite novels' Zoe Kravitz in Vulture ________________ Do you know your desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable break-ups? Rob does. But Laura isn't on it - even though she's just become his latest ex. Finding he can't get over Laura, record-store owner Rob decides to revisit his relationship top hits to figure out what went wrong. But soon, he's asking himself some big questions: about relationships, about life and about his own self-destructive tendencies. Astutely observed and wickedly funny, Nick Hornby's cult classic explores love, loss and the need for a good playlist. A must for readers of David Nicholls and music geeks everywhere! ________________ 'A triumphant first novel. True to life, very funny and moving' Financial Times 'Extremely cleverly observed' Mail on Sunday 'If this book was a record, we would be calling it an instant classic. Because that's what it is' Guardian 'Leaves you believing not only in the redemptive power of music but above all the redemptive power of love. Funny and wise, sweet and true' Independent
'Extremely funny . . . and wise' Sunday Times NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE __________________________ 'Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?' For disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp the answer's pretty simple: he has, in his own words, 'pissed his life away'. And on New Year's Eve he's going to end it all . . . but not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash Martin's private party. They've stolen his idea - but brought their own reasons. Yet it's hard to jump when you've got an audience queuing impatiently behind you. A few heated words and some slices if cold pizza later and these four strangers are suddenly allies. But is their unlikely friendship a good enough reason to carry on living? Shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize, A Long Way Down is a darkly hilarious and moving novel by bestselling author Nick Hornby. __________________________ 'Hornby's best yet' Literary Review 'Impossible to put down' Ruth Rendell, Guardian 'Some of the finest writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading' Johnny Depp
About a Boy is Nick Hornby's comic and heart-warming million-copy bestseller 'How cool was Will Freeman?' Too cool! At thirty-six, he's as hip as a teenager. He's single, child-free, goes to the right clubs and knows which trainers to wear. He's also found a great way to score with women: attend single parents' groups full of available (and grateful) mothers, all hoping to meet a Nice Guy. Which is how Will meets Marcus, the oldest twelve-year-old on the planet. Marcus is a bit strange: he listens to Joni Mitchell and Mozart, looks after his mum and has never owned a pair of trainers. But Marcus latches on to Will - and won't let go. Can Will teach Marcus how to grow up cool? And can Marcus help Will just to grow up? This astonishing novel, now a modern classic, was adapted for the acclaimed 2002 film About A Boy, starring Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult. Fans of One Day by David Nicholls and Any Human Heart by William Boyd will devour this book, as will lovers of fiction everywhere. 'A stunner of a novel. Utterly read-in-one-day, forget-where-you-are-on-the-tube-gripping' Marie Claire 'About the awful, hilarious, embarrassing places where children and adults meet, and Hornby has captured it with delightful precision' Irish Times 'It takes a writer with real talent to make this work, and Hornby has it - in buckets' Literary Review
Books, Movies, Rhythm, Blues is the companion volume to Fan Mail, Nick Hornby's collection of writings on football. This second collection brings together the best of his other non-fiction pieces, on film and tv, writers and painters and music, and including one exceptional fragment of autobiography. With subject matter ranging from the Sundance Festival to Abbey Road Studios, from P.G. Wodehouse to The West Wing, these are pieces that 'were written for fun, or because I felt I had things to say and time to say them, or because the commissions were unusual and imaginative, or because ... I was being asked to go somewhere I had never been before.'