Alas, all good things must come to an end including vacations. It was back to work for me today. Getting up early to an alarm clock and going outside to wait for the bus in 10 degree F (-12C) darkness was not fun. The cats were not pleased to see me bundled up and walking out the door either. They looked so bereft (or maybe it was me who looked bereft?). I was going the wrong way. I was supposed to be heading to my reading chaise so they could curl up on me until lunch time. It was nice to see my coworkers though and hear about their holidays. And I can’t complain that work was super busy since the law school is on term break so there was time to catch up and get oriented and back into the swing of things. The big plus is that it is a short work week which makes things a little easier.
All that has nothing to do with More Baths Less Talking by Nick Hornby. It was a book I snuck in during my holiday vacation. I picked it up from the library the day after Christmas and practically devoured it. I could have read it in one day but made myself take two days.
The book is made up of Hornby’s “Stuff I’ve Been Reading” Believer columns from May 2010 through November/December 2011. I definitely added a few books to my TBR list, some I wouldn’t have expected to be interested in like Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste by Carl Wilson. I mean, I’ve got nothing against Celine Dion, I think she has a beautiful voice, but reading a biography about her? Turns out that while it is a biography it is also about art and taste and so much more than just Celine Dion.
Plus Nick Hornby writes so well about books. I love the way he writes about books. I don’t know really what it is. I mean, he rarely provides more than a cursory one or two sentence summary on what the book is about. He doesn’t delve into structure or plot or theme or style, though sometimes he might say something about them in passing. He talks a lot about football and makes lots of self-deprecating jokes. In fact, he spends a lot of time not really talking about books at all. But yet he still manages to leave me with a sense of what a book is about and whether or not I might like it. How does he do it?
I’ve tried to figure it out, not so I can be a Hornby clone, though that might not be such a bad thing, but so I can use his techniques to jazz up my own writing. But I remain flummoxed. He is obviously delighted and enthusiastic about reading and books but that doesn’t cover a whole column. He says some really interesting things sometimes, like when he was reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark and didn’t enjoy it as much as he expected. He thinks it was because of movies and copycat stories and notes parenthetically:
Influential books are often a disappointment, if they’re properly influential, because influence cannot guarantee the quality of the imitators, and your appetite for the original has been partially sated by its poor copies.
What a fantastic observation!
But not every essay is filled with such observations. So how does he do it? How does he make me zip through his essays and feel so darn happy and glad to be a reader? How does he make me interested in reading a biography about Celine Dion? Maybe I just need to chalk it up under the Great Unsolved Mysteries of the World column and leave it at that. Perhaps I can gradually forget about it and move on in a few weeks and then continue in forgetfulness until Hornby publishes a new book of columns and my wonderment and curiosity starts up all over again.
Today was back to work for me, too – the first day I’ve used an alarm clock since December 20th! And I left the house at 6:10 only to find when I got into work that my 7 am meeting was actually cancelled, meaning I could have slept later. But it was actually kind of nice to be in the office early when it was super-quiet and empty, and it was definitely nice to leave at 3 and have some quiet afternoon alone-time at home.
I’ve not read anything by Nick Hornby, but books about books are always pretty tempting …
Minus 12C – that does sound grim. Glad you have a fairly gentle start to the working year. I have never read Nick Hornby’s writing about books but you bring out his enthusiasm so well that I will have to read it. That mystery of tone and voice is his secret and what it seems to do so well is making you “so darn happy to be a reader”- what a gift!
Ian, but if it were sunny and warm going to work would have been even harder so I suppose the cold dark winter weather has its upside
This is Hornby’s fourth book of book essays and all of them are lots of fun. Yes, I suppose tone and voice do have a lot to do with why I like him so much and those are so personal they can’t be copied. If only!
Heather, what a bummer about your early meeting begin canceled! But yeah, leaving early is sometimes better than sleeping in just a bit longer. This is Hornby’s fourth book of his Stuff I’ve Been Reading columns and all of them are good fun reads. And short too. I’ve not read any of Hornby’s fiction though and honestly have no interest. But I will gobble up any book about books he publishes.
I just finished reading More Baths, Less Talking, too. And I read it mostly in the bath. The title is what got me because I love reading in the bath, where it’s quiet and there are few interruptions, unless I forget to leave the door cracked and one of the cats decides it needs to be slammed the whole way open!
I hadn’t read anything by Hornby before, although I’d heard of him and knew of some of his books. He’s enthusiastic and he writes as if he’s a buddy sharing his life and his books. His writing is casual and he wanders off onto various subjects. I think that’s part of his charm: he’s not strictly a critic or totally focused on a book. This book feels like lunch with a bookish friend. I liked it.
Joan, can’t think of a more perfect place to read the book! What fun! Yes, lunch with a bookish friend is exactly how the book feels. If you liked it, his previous three are just as fun and in the same style.
What a wonderful post! I don’t think you need lessons from Hornby (and I know you didn’t mean to say that you do), because I feel your posts read like mini-glimpses of books & life & read very nicely too.
I think I ought to try Hornby’s columns again. I remember reading them back when I did not get the concept of book reviews/reader responses AT ALL, and quickly dropped the book. I think that now it might be right up my alley.
Iris, you make me blush, thanks for your kind words! Do give Hornby’s book a try sometime or any of his previous three Believer essay books. He really is a hoot and rather inspiring too.
Hornby is fascinating. He’s one of just a few authors of whose books I always jump on right away because he has never let me down. You’re right: he makes it look so easy that I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he does.
Sam, you know, I’ve not tried any of his fiction because I love his essays so much I worry about being disappointed by his other work. Maybe I will take the plunge one of these days! You are right though, he makes it look so easy which means, of course, that it is anything but.
Nick Hornby is one author that I have not yet given a try. His essays sound engaging and I love an author that has you nodding your head and smiling as you read along. I’m back to work this week as well, after 11 days off. It was quite a shock to the system but I definitely have enjoyed easing back into things with a short week. Next week will be a different story…
boarding, I have not read Hornby’s fiction but his essays on books are great fun. So hard to get back to work after being off for so long. But thank goodness for short weeks, eh?
I’ve read some really terrific books because of Nick Hornby’s cloumns (and found some good music). The two that come instantly to mind are Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc and The Accidental by Ali Smith. I was also so excited to learn he is writing the screenplay for the adaptation Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. And I also enjoy his novels. All I can think is that I get a sense of his real joy and interest in everything he shares.
Priscilla, yes, Hornby does impart a sense of joy doesn’t he? I’ve not read any of his novels. I might have to give one a try sometime.
I read one of Hornby’s collections of book essays a number of years ago, too, and have another on my bookshelves–should pull it out and add it to my already growing ‘want to read now’ pile (I knew it wouldn’t last that I could keep the books under control–they’re worse than dandelions in the heat of July–and you know how those crop up!). I’m with Iris, though, I like your writing style and don’t think you need to change a thing!
Danielle, books as dandelions, I love it! So true
And thanks, you are very sweet!
Ah you remind me! I must add Nick Hornby’s essays about reading to my TBR this year. Although I will undoubtedly feel the same and just wish I could write about books with such easy authority!
Litlove, you are welcome for the reminder
I hope you like them. Maybe you will be able to winkle out what his secret is!
O Stefanie, how I admire you reading a book in a day, or two. I’m such a slow reader that it will take me so much longer. It’s just amazing that you can post so frequently, each a substantial account of a book you’ve read. And this one sounds most interesting. I have several of NH’s books in my TBR boxes, from previous years’ book sale. But still haven’t the chance to read them. Thanks for posting this… I just might start with this one. Sounds more interesting than fiction.
Arti, you are so sweet! I am not a fast reader either, I just spend a lot of time reading
This book is such a slim one and fun to read that zipping through it in a day or two is easy. I think you would enjoy it quite a bit. He’s kind of like a puppy in his bookish exuberance only Hornby is house trained 
LOL! I must try to get hold of it. Just curious, how many hrs. do you read in a day?
Arti, it depends on the day. Monday through Friday I’d say I generally read about two hours a day total. Saturdays, four hours at least. Sundays vary but generally an hour or two.
I’ve only read Hornby’s fiction which I’ve enjoyed but I love this post. I know what you mean about wanting to look at “his techniques to jazz up my own writing” not because I think your writing needs jazzing up but because I’ve been thinking lately I’d like to jazz up mine. I sometimes get bored with myself … I like to write my blog but how to keep it fresh? BTW I used to like those first days back at work when it was quiet for the very reasons you gave – nice to see the colleagues again and nice to be able to get all those little (and big) tasks done with minimal interruptions.
whisperinggums, I don’t think your writing needs jazzing up either, but I do know what you mean. We do get bored and want to keep things fresh, feel as though we have mastered one way of writing and would like to try something different. In some ways it’s like playing dress-up, isn’t it? You try one different costumes and personas and discover you look good in chartreuse, who would have thunk it? So you find a way to add it to your style and make it your own.
Those first days back at work are nice when everyone has been away. It’s relaxed and there is a sort of ebb and flow of hiding away and doing work and coming out and chatting with each other.
Dressing up – I like that analogy.