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About a Boy
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby's second bestselling novel is about sex, manliness and fatherhood. Will is thirty-six, comfortable and child-free. And he's discovered a brilliant new way of meeting women - through single-parent groups. Marcus is twelve and a little bitnerdish: he's got the kind of mother who made him listen to Joni Mitchell rather than Nirvana. Perhaps they can help each other out a little bit, and both can start to act their age.
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Octoberwoman
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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I can so relate to this. I wake up every morning with a song in my head, sometimes one I haven‘t heard for years. One day at 7-11 a woman turned around and gave me a weird look, and then I realized I was singing to myself.

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Octoberwoman
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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I‘m posting one book a day from my massive collection. No description, no reason for why I want to read it (some I‘ve had so long I don‘t even remember why!). Feel free to join in!

#ABookADay2024

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Vansa
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#WondrousWednesday @Eggs
🦋If one includes series,Terry Pratchett,FR Tallis,Agatha Christie,Enid Blyton,Alexander McCall Smith.Romance novelists-Nora Roberts,Sandra Brown,Lisa Kleypas,Eloisa James,Kresley Cole.Nick Hornby,Ma Jian are also novelists whose books I devour
🦋At home on my sofa!With my husband around for me to read out nice bits to😀
🦋No,I read at my own pace!
Lovely prompts!!

Eggs Well done 👍🏼 So many great writers!! 1y
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eeclayton
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#manicmonday #LetterA @CBee

📖 About a Boy
✍️ Jane Austen
🎞️ Almost Famous 📺 Ally McBeal
🎤 Bryan Adams
🎵 Awake by Tycho

Thanks for the tag @stavreskad ☺️
Would you like to play @ozma.of.oz @sherrisilvera @Ast_Arslan ?

CBee Thanks for playing 😊 2y
eeclayton @CBee Thanks for relaunching this fun game ☺️ 2y
CBee @eeclayton absolutely ♥️ it‘s been super fun so far! 2y
BookmarkTavern Oh I‘ve missed this game! This will be fun! 2y
15 likes4 comments
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Andrew65
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#BookMoods #BecameaMovie

About A Boy, one of my favourite films!

@Eggs @AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks

AlaMich I love that movie too! Hard to believe that dweeby little boy grew up to be so hot! 😆 2y
Andrew65 @AlaMich Very true! 2y
Eggs Perfect 🤩 2y
MicheleinPhilly @AlaMich That‘s what think *EVERY* time I see him. 😂 2y
AlaMich @MicheleinPhilly 😂 I‘m sure that movie has given hope to dweeby little boys the world over! 2y
73 likes5 comments
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mobill76
About a Boy | Nick Hornby

"'How can it not be possible to tell someone they've got your name wrong?'
'Because...' Will knew that sometimes it was not possible through personal experience. One of his neighbors opposite... called him Bill - always had done and presumably always would, right up untill the day he died. It actually irritated Will, who was not, he felt, by any stretch of the imagination, a Bill. Bill wouldn't smoke spliffs and listen to Nirvana."

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mobill76
About a Boy | Nick Hornby

"He was nearly shouting now. He was certainly angry. They had been talking for less than three minutes, yet he was beginning to feel as though this telephone conversation was going to be his life's work; that once every few hours he would put the receiver down to eat and sleep and go to the toilet, and the rest of the time Fiona would be telling him one thing and then it's opposite over and over again."

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TheSpineView
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Prompt: Big Daddy

Klou Perfect choice! 3y
46 likes2 comments
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Andrea313
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Typically I would try to get more creative for #Movie2BookRecs, but I really do recommend the source material if you liked #AboutABoy. To me, the book had a very different feel than the movie, and I'd be curious to see if others agree! @Klou

eeclayton I most definitely agree! Plus the film doesn't have the Nirvana references at all, which is a pity (copyright reasons?) 3y
Andrea313 @eeclayton Yes, a total pity! I wonder if, by the time the movie came out, the Nirvana stuff would have made it feel too dated? It's a shame because I love that aspect of the book. 3y
Klou Great post! 3y
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Andrew65
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Pickpick

This is one of my favourite films, but also a great read. Not sure why not read it sooner - bern sitting on my shelf for years. Totally recommended!

Now at 13 hrs 8 mins for #20in4. Seem to have got some of my reading mojo back. 🥵 Helped by this Readathon.

Ruthiella I loved this book too. Glad you‘ve found your reading groove again! 3y
julesG Love book and film. 3y
rosalita I haven't read the book but I did enjoy the film. Glad to hear it lived up to expectations! (edited) 3y
Andrew65 @Ruthiella It‘s great to have got it back 😍 3y
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Andrew65
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Off grid at the moment and needing to save battery power so moved to a physical book. The book of one of my favourite films. #20in4

Currently on 10 hrs 10 mins.

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zurazureen
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
Pickpick

Unlikely friendship between a man & a boy which entangles life drama and what it means to grow up

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Kaddele
About a Boy | Nick Hornby

I need to rant about English teachers in my part of Bavaria for a bit - indulge me. Why is the choice of reading material for Abitur English classes so samey every single year? I‘ve been tutoring kids from those classes for over two decades and while Of Mice and Men and About a Boy are good books they are NOT the only books in the world!!!! Honestly! There are great writers whose names are not Hornby or Steinbeck, trust me. 🙄

BookwormM I get the Steinbeck but have never heard of Hornby being taught that is an interesting choice 3y
Kaddele @BookwormM The Hornby is really popular - at least in the schools here. I‘m teaching three students all from different schools and they are all doing About a Boy. Last everybody did Of Mice and Men and I haven‘t seen any other novels for the last few years, apart from one student who goes to school in “the big city” - they did The Hate U Give. Things are looking up :) 3y
BookwormM That is really interesting what do they teach them about About a Boy? 3y
Kaddele @BookwormM It‘s mostly characterizations / character development and looking at how the different relationships are portrayed. If the students pick a literary text for their exam the questions often include characterizations so it‘s good practice for them and the text is okay to read for most of the students. They‘re not native speakers so teachers try to pick something manageable. It‘s not a bad text for class - I‘m just really bored of it 😉😗 (edited) 3y
BookwormM I can imagine 🤣🤣interesting information thank you for sharing 3y
12 likes5 comments
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eeclayton
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#3books #withanimalsonthecover
Dead Duck Day, apes, and vultures (lawyers, actually)
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚👍🏻 4y
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Neesay
About a Boy | Nick Hornby

You had to live in your own bubble. You couldn't force your way into someone else's, because then it wouldn't be a bubble any more.

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saritaroth
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Pickpick

This book was really entertaining and humorous. Will (played by Hugh Grant in the movie) meets Marcus, a kid who is in desperate need of a father figure. But can Will fill that need? Great story; only complaint is that the characters do not seem to be redeemable in the slightest, and they like it that way. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Victoria_Clyne
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Pickpick

Will, a child-free single man, meets Marcus, a twelve year old beyond his years, when Will is pretending to be a single parent to meet women. A great story with laugh out loud moments. In some ways very similar to the movie and in other ways quite different. Some light relief from heavier books.

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Rambo_Reads
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Bit of a mixed bag but generally enjoyable 👍

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ferskner
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Pickpick

This was my first Nick Hornby novel and I was surprised how much I liked it. I imagined something indulgently in favor of man-children, and while it's definitely about a man-child, it is about growth and maturity and allowing other people to make you a better person. #litsyatoz @BookishMarginalia

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ferskner
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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I only have 20 pages left but I can't do it! I'm already impressed that I stayed awake this long since I had no sleep this week, but I think I have to call it for this #readathon. @DeweysReadathon

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Juliet7000
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Utterly Fun to Walk Through

Chelleo Welcome to Litsy! Hope these #Litsytips by @RaimeyGallant http://bit.ly/litsytips and #LitsyHowTo videos: goo.gl/UrCpoU are helpful. #LitsyWelcomeWagon 5y
RaimeyGallant Welcome! 5y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🎈 5y
6 likes4 comments
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Leniverse
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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It's the first weekend of the summer holidays and #24in48 readathon weekend. And I've started it by staying in bed with an audiobook for an hour before breakfast. Now I'm ready to go sit in the sunshine with a physical book. Happy days. 😄😎📖

@24in48

eeclayton I loooove About a Boy ❤️ 6y
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Andrew65
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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One of my favourite films, from the book by Nick Hornby. #emojinov #🎟 #film

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bookworm.krizia
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Mehso-so

🙂🙂🙂

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AMVP
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#fallintobooks #day8

The degree of #awkward in this book, especially pertaining to the young boy, hit so close to home that it took me the better part of a year to finish. I might have already posted about this, but it remains my go-to reference point.

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blankpagesofmine
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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New read! After how much I loved High Fidelity, this shouldn't disappoint.

#amreading #reading #nickhornby #aboutaboy #books #read #bibliophile #bookworm #booknerd #photography

charissharpe How is it? I've seen the movie but not read the book. 7y
blankpagesofmine @charisinwonderland it's fantastic! The movie is one of my favorites and the book adds so much more depth to the characters 7y
charissharpe I've got High Fidelity somewhere & now I've added this to my list, thanks! 7y
6 likes3 comments
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AMVP
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#junetunz day 1 - #smellsliketeenspirit

Aside from Nirvana serving as a pivotal plot point, this book gets at some real adolescent awkwardness. Was actually hard for me to read, to the point that I took nearly half a year to finish it.

Andrew65 Love this! 7y
11 likes1 comment
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Billypar
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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This one sticks in my mind when I think of #booksaboutmothers Seems like a tough enough job for anyone, let alone if you're a single mom suffering from depression. I remember the movie more than the book, which is usually annoying, but Toni Collette gives such a powerful performance that it doesn't bother me for this one.

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vicgreentoriafield
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Poor Marcus is just such an awkward boy.
#THATSAWKWARD
@Liberty

BeckyRoy This is my all time favorite movie. I watched the movie before I read the book. The book stays very true to movie if I remember correctly. 7y
vicgreentoriafield @BeckyRoy it really was a great adaptation 7y
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wonga
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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loved this one, the book and the movie! 💕#AlexGiveaway

Andrew65 One of my favourite films! 7y
ErikaSB One of the few books where I loved the book but also loved the changes thy made in the movie. 7y
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Sweettartlaura
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Young love ❤️

Hornby does have a way of cutting to the quick on such matters.

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Sweettartlaura
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#nextup
I finished my last book at 2am this morning. Thankfully I remembered to grab a new one before leaving for the day.
#192019challenge
#birthdaychallenge

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Dragon
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#boybooks #feistyfeb. This is one of my all time favourite "boy" books. Loved the movie too. Photo credit to google

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MrsMalaprop
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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#FeistyFeb #boyinthetitle AND #Riotgrams #makeabookface. Two Feb challenges all wrapped into one 👏. My husband and I have most of Nick Hornby's books on our shelves, and we're going to see Nick Earls who wrote Bachelor Kisses at the Perth Writer's Festival on the weekend. ❤📚❤📚

Tillie I am crazy over Nick Hornby's writing. Did you know he wrote the screenplay for Brooklyn?? 7y
MrsMalaprop @Tillie No, I did not know that. I loved Brooklyn, the book and the film ❤👏. 7y
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Cindiee
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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A story of a 36-year-old man, meeting a 12-year-old boy. Who will teach who on how to live a great life?
Interesting... 😊 😊 😊

jessdean I never read the book but I absolutely loved the movie💙 7y
Cindiee @jessdean I haven't seen the movie. Thanks for reminding me.. I should watch it! 😊 😊 😊 7y
Bookladylinda There was a TV show about this book, it was a good show but they took it off. 7y
EricQiao Hornby is one of my top ten favorite writers. I love all his books. 7y
58 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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Lilitherat
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Portuguese mornings ☕️☀️🌴🇵🇹📚

Lindy Wish I was there. 😊 7y
85 likes1 comment
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Lilitherat
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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A funny read to entertain me on my way to Portugal where I'll spend Christmas with family ✈️🇵🇹

Balibee146 Was on TV last night here :-) 7y
Cinfhen Happy & safe travels ✈️ 7y
BiblioNyan Happy reading and happy holidays!! 😊 7y
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Lilitherat @Bibli0.Nyan @Cinfhen thank you, and you too ☺️ 7y
TheLondonBookworm Sounds like a lovely plan ☺☺☺ 7y
OrangeMooseReads Have a safe trip! 7y
Dragon Enjoy your Christmas! 🎄 7y
Susanita Feliz Natal! 7y
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Michellesibs
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
Pickpick

Excellent. Loved the whole awkwardness of Will, being 36 without kids, a job or a girlfriend. Nick Hornby always brings his characters alive in my opinion, Will came across so uncomfortable, Fiona was great and Markus really really funny in his thinking process.

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Michelle7
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
Pickpick

A unique story told with wit and humor.

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rachellayown
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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So many great #favoritefriendships to choose from, but I'm going with Will and Marcus in ABOUT A BOY.

wonga ❤️❤️❤️ 8y
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ScoutDarling
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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I can't wait to spend the next few hours pretending nothing but this book exists 💙

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ContraryMary
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
This post contains spoilers
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Pickpick

Finished this last week, having a hard time putting my thoughts on it into words though. It wasn't what I thought it was (spoiler, I had no idea there would be a suicide attempt and I like to be prepared for that) I really did like it. The characters were very real people just trying to do their best I think. I want to say that it was darker than I was expecting but that isn't really the right word. I do recommend it though.

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ContraryMary
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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I don't like movie covers, I've been looking for this with the original cover but couldn't pass up when I found this one in the discount section the other day. Picked this to start out of the five I brought with me for a two day trip 😂

wanderlustywriter This is one book where I actually saw the movie and haven't read the book. I loved the movie—let me know how the book turns out! 8y
ContraryMary @wanderlustywriter I haven't seen the movie! I have seen the sitcom though and loved it, the book is completely different from that though. I'm 90 pages in, I'll post my thoughts when I finish! 8y
10 likes2 comments
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csdeeter
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Pickpick

Nick Hornby does it again. This guy's clever insight into the human condition is uncanny. Plus I learned that my copy is signed!

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Liz3
About a Boy | Nick Hornby

Love the movie, finally reading the book

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Jellybeanbon
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Pickpick

I randomly stumbled upon this book in a second hand book store and I devoured it on a few days. Will and Marcus are both really hilarious characters. It's an easy laid-back read but really shouldn't be under estimated. Looking forward to read more of Hornby books.

Minervasbutler I enjoyed this one too. High Fidelity remains my favourite of his 8y
Jellybeanbon It's on my TBR pile. I loved the movie but maybe that's because of John Cusack. It seems his books have an underlying musical theme which is something I enjoy. 8y
Elisa Love this story. It is the only one of his books that I have really enjoyed; the others left me kind of blah, but this one I love. 8y
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Jellybeanbon Will let you know what I think of the rest, will most probably read High Fidelity next. 8y
BookAndABrew Loved this one! I've read it fair fair few times over the years :) love the film too 8y
Jellybeanbon Watched the film again shortly after I finished the book. Can't imagine anyone better for Will than Hugh Grant. 8y
BookAndABrew I agree; he's perfect for Will. P.s, don't forget to @ people in your replies otherwise they won't know you have :) 8y
Jellybeanbon @BookAndABrew clearly the @ thingy is the part I've been missing! Couldn't understand why I didn't receive any notifications of replies. Thanks! 8y
BookAndABrew No worries! I did the same too 😁 8y
24 likes8 stack adds9 comments
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Eatingbooksforbreakfast
About a Boy | Nick Hornby
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Ahhhhhh that moment when you rediscover a fab book.... (and who can forget that moment with an unfortunate duck and a loaf of bread!) 🍞

cuiuup @Eatingbooksforbreakfast one of my favorite scenes! 8y
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