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Here, Nick Hornby writes about 31 songs - most of them loved, some of them once loved, all of them significant to him. He begins with Teenage Fanclub's 'Your Love is the Place that I Come From' and ends with Patti Smith's 'Pissing in a River', encompassing varied singers along the way, such as Van Morrison and Nelly Furtado, and songs as different as 'Thunder Road' and 'Puff the Magic Dragon' (reggae style). He discusses, among other things, guitar solos, singers whose teeth whistle and the sort of music you hear in the Body Shop.

'So this is supposed to be about the how, and when, and why, and what of reading - about the way that, when reading is going well, one books leads to another and to another, a paper trail of theme and meaning; and how, when it's going badly, when books don't stick or take, when your mood and the mood of the book are fighting like cats, you'd rather do anything but attempt the next paragraph, or reread the last one for the 10th time'. In his monthly accounts of what he's read - along with what he may one day read - Nick Hornby ably explores everything from the classic to the graphic novel, as well as poems, plays, and sports-related exposes. And, if he occasionally implores a biographer for brevity, or abandons a literary work in favour of an Arsenal soccer match, then all is not lost. His writing, full of all the joy and surprise and despair that books bring him, reveals why we still read, even when there's soccer on TV, a pram in the hall, and a good band playing at our local bar.

High Fidelity follows the 'mid-life' crisis of Rob, a thirty-something record-shop owner who must face the undeniable fact that he's growing up. In a comic homage to the music scene, Rob and the wacky, off-beat assistants who work in his shop expound on the intricacies of life and song, all the while trying to succeed in their adult relationships. Are they listening to pop music because they’re miserable? Or are they miserable because they listen to pop music? This romantic comedy provides a touching and whimsical glimpse into the male view of affairs of the heart.


Management Teaching use: This novel provides an excellent case study in starting and keeping a small business (in this case a specialist record shop) long after the interest (and the profit) has gone. The private life of the owner (and to some extent his staff) clearly impinge on the business's progress as is often the case in a small business. Students could discuss the options open to the owner. Should he sell or simply close the business down? Or are there ways in which he could widen the customer base?

Narrated in turns by a dowdy, middle-aged woman, a half-crazed adolescent, a disgraced breakfast TV presenter and an American rock star cum pizza delivery boy, A Long Way Down is the story of the Toppers House Four, aka Maureen, Jess, Martin and JJ. A low-rent crowd with absolutely nothing in common - save where they end up that New Year's Eve night. And what they do next, of course. Funny, sad, and wonderfully humane, Nick Hornby's new novel asks some of the big questions: about life and death, strangers and friendship, love and pain, and whether a slice of pizza can really see you through a long, dark night of the soul.

Author of contemporary classic Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby has edited a stunning collection of football writing which includes pieces by Roddy Doyle, Harry Pearson, Harry Ritchie, D.J. Taylor, Huw Richards, Nick Hornby, Chris Pierson, Matt Nation and Don Watson.
'A new kind of football writing developed - passionate, disrespectful, self-mocking, yet steeped in personal bias.' The Sunday Times