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The Polysyllabic Spree
The Polysyllabic Spree | Nick Hornby
Shares selections from the author's column in "The Believer" that comment on literature he has found interesting, and features passages from the material discussed.
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review
Buechersuechtling
Mein Leben als Leser | Nick Hornby
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Pickpick

From my library‘s point of view this is an unpopular opinion since it there has a rating of 2,6 of 5 possible stars. On the one hand, I can see why because me neither knows many of the authors or book titles mentioned therein. And the ones that I know, he doesn‘t read. 😂 On the other hand, I love his humour and witness and Udo Wachtveitl, a quite famous German actor, reads it brilliantly.

🇬🇧 https://bit.ly/398s7ER shows his book lists.

Centique I read a collection of his book articles (it has a different title though) and really enjoyed it. It‘s just nice hearing about someone‘s reading life even if you don‘t know the books! 😊 4y
Buechersuechtling @Centique Yeah, it was interesting and nice to listen to. The book I “read” (🇬🇧 “The Polysyllabic Spree”) was published in 2004 and I learned from Wikipedia that there are obviously 3 follow-up books: “Housekeeping vs. The Dirt” (2006), “Shakespeare Wrote for Money” (2008) and “More Baths Less Talking” (2012). So I think you might have read one of those. (edited) 4y
Buechersuechtling @Centique sadly, my library doesn‘t have it. 😟 4y
15 likes4 comments
blurb
Buechersuechtling
Mein Leben als Leser | Nick Hornby
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#KeepLitsyPositive – Day 4

Well, Littens, I know, it might not be the smartest thing to drink a beer after having had serious nausea issues less than 24 hours ago but throughout the day I was a good girl and ate carefully. Thankfully I had no more problems so I allowed myself a beer. Which at the moment is an exception for me because I need help returning the empty beer crate back to the shop and that‘s difficult in times of social distancing.

LoverOfLearning You're doing amazing 4y
Buechersuechtling @LoverOfLearning Oh. 😊 Thank you. 🙇🏽‍♀️ Might be the current situation is easier to cope for me than it is for Jane Doe because my usual range of movement is quite narrow compared to that of others. So I don‘t feel that limited by the present regulations, actually. 4y
16 likes2 comments
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Reviewsbylola
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Picking up an old favorite to try and fend off this massive slump. Hornby understands perfectly. 👌🏻

Leftcoastzen His books on books make me happy .I have (edited) 4y
BarbaraBB I hope it‘ll help. I have a hard time concentrating too but I feel reading will be what keeps me sane 🤷🏻‍♀️😘 4y
Hooked_on_books He‘s such a Litten (only not)! I love that he often buys more books than he reads. I completely relate. 4y
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emilyhaldi This seems like a good choice for short attention span!! 👍🏻 4y
Reviewsbylola It was perfect. I read the entire book last night and felt much better. @emilyhaldi 4y
Megabooks I‘ve never been able to get into Hornby. 4y
Megabooks Also only the 24in48 has kind of gotten me out of a slump. 4y
Reviewsbylola His fiction is usually just ok for me but I ordered his newest book so we‘ll see what I think! @Megabooks 4y
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blurb
Buechersuechtling
Mein Leben als Leser | Nick Hornby
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🇩🇪 https://bit.ly/3981LCW

As I learned, this is no running text but a collection of selected columns Hornby wrote for the U.S. American magazine “Believer” and the German magazine “Monopol”.

I quite love it. Not everything because many titles and authors are unknown to me. But I love Hornby‘s humour. When he describes his fear of never ever being able to buy books again or his antipathy for investigation-(book)-series – that‘s wonderful. 😂

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Buechersuechtling
Mein Leben als Leser | Nick Hornby
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#KeepLitsyPositive – Day 3

Sorry I‘m late for yesterday but in the evening a severe case of nausea 🤢 occurred to me and I spent over an hour commuting between my living room and the bathroom, followed by another 1,5 hours of lying in my bed feeling miserable before I finally found sleep in the middle of the night.

Those are wonderful blooming flowers in the flowerbeds set in the inner courtyard of my estate. I guess, it could be tulips. 🌷

Palimpsest Feel better soon! @Buechersuechtling 4y
Deifio Oh no! Hope you're feeling better now! 💞 4y
Buechersuechtling @Palimpsest @Deifio Thank you. I think that I meanwhile am out of the woods. No more attacks today but I still am preciously eating and drinking, at least a bit. 4y
BookmarkTavern I hope you‘re feeling better! ❤️❤️ 4y
SW-T Glad you‘re feeling better! 🥰 4y
17 likes5 comments
blurb
Buechersuechtling
Mein Leben als Leser | Nick Hornby
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Nick Hornby tells about his life as a bookworm and about some of the phenomena all bookworms know. (For example: Why do we start some books right after we bought them on the way home and why do others stay for years unread on the shelf? 🤔)

This seems to be a happy, short (scarcely more than 2 hours) pleasure to bridge over those 2 days until Michael Crichton‘s “Micro” is supposed to be available for me.

review
britt_brooke
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was fun! Thanks, Stephanie, for putting this series on my radar. Originally written for the arts and literature magazine The Believer, Hornby wittily chronicles his monthly reading (this collection is from 2004). Each chapter begins with a listing of what he purchased versus what he actually read that month. My TBR has grown a bit! I really appreciate a writer who‘s also a prolific reader, book buyer/hoarder, and thoughtful reviewer.

Reviewsbylola So glad you liked it! I‘ve read the series twice now and I keep praying he‘ll release a new one, but I don‘t think he‘s written for the column (or at least published it) in years and years. One of the best books I‘ve read was because of the column. 5y
Suet624 Oh I loved this book too! I added so many titles to my wish list because of this book. 5y
britt_brooke @Reviewsbylola I‘m planning to read that one! 5y
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britt_brooke @Leftcoastzen I‘m trying to figure out if Ten Years in the Tub is a compilation of the one I just read plus the other 3 in the series. Do you know, by chance? 5y
Leftcoastzen I can‘t figure it out ,Tub runs from September 2003-June 2013 5y
britt_brooke @Leftcoastzen Ok, thanks. I‘m confused, too. I‘m thinking Tub must include all from the 4 book series, plus more. Idk. @Reviewsbylola Do you know? 5y
Leftcoastzen Two I loved he mentioned 5y
britt_brooke @Leftcoastzen Thanks - stacking both! 5y
Leftcoastzen Hope you like them ! I know I read more of his suggestions but those two made it to my brain first .😀 5y
britt_brooke @Leftcoastzen A good sign of worthwhile reads! 5y
Reviewsbylola Yes, it includes all the books, plus a few extras. 5y
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britt_brooke
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“Books are, let‘s face it, better than everything else.”

He‘s referring to cultural entertainment, but I think this applies to most things, tbh.

LauraJ I think he would agree with you. 5y
Reviewsbylola I think I need to reread this ASAP. 5y
Reviewsbylola I bet it would be good on audio! 5y
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britt_brooke
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Someone evidently offloaded their #NickHornby collection at Goodwill, so I snatched them up. Some of the others will be rereads. In all, it‘s a fab #bookhaul for just $9!

@Reviewsbylola - Isn‘t The Polysyllabic Spree one of your favorites?

ElizaMarie Never read any of his. Maybe I should check them out? 5y
britt_brooke @ElizaMarie I‘ve only read one of his books, but it‘s been so long ago, I remember nothing about it. Hoping these are good! 5y
Reviewsbylola Yes!!!! Love Polysyllabic and Housekeeping v. the Dirt is also part of the collection. I‘ve read a few of his fiction too, including How to Be Good. I need to read more! I love that you got Sedaris too! 5y
britt_brooke @Reviewsbylola I love Sedaris! I‘ve read Holidays on Ice a few times but somehow didn‘t own a copy. I‘m listening to Theft by Finding right now. It‘s a reread, but sometimes you just need some Sedaris on audio to reset your brain. 💚 5y
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Reviewsbylola
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Just another excuse to post one of my favorite books/series.

#whatafoolbelieves: is this not us anytime we buy books? There‘s always a justification—we‘ll read it right away, it‘s a favorite author, the cover is so amazing, it just sounds so good. 😂 Nick Hornby lays it all out, and attempts to justify his book buying habit. #marchintothe70s

L_auren This is on my list. Love his books 5y
Reviewsbylola You‘ll love it! @L_auren 5y
BookNAround I loved this book! 5y
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Hooked_on_books Have you read Ten Years in the Tub? I just loved it. 5y
Billypar I would love to read an entire compilation of book lists of authors sharing what they read/bought last month. 5y
Reviewsbylola I have but it‘s just a compilation of this and his other column books. Still good though—I think the ending had a few new columns that weren‘t in any of the previous books. @Hooked_on_books 5y
Leftcoastzen I read the other one ,I love that he is honest to say what he bought and what he read .my lists like that would be embarrassing,too many bought and not enough read 5y
CarolynM I'm going to have to read this book just to find out what Nick Hornby made of the Ern Malley affair😂 5y
Reviewsbylola If he ever read it. 😆😆 @CarolynM 5y
Cinfhen I remember when u tried this approach 🙄your books bought vs your books read!! I‘m not brave enough to lay that all out on paper or maybe I‘m no fool 😂😘 (edited) 5y
Reviewsbylola It got tiresome, that‘s for sure! @Cinfhen 5y
gradcat Ditto @Billypar , @Leftcoastzen & @CarolynM Just that. ‘Nuff said. 5y
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Purrsistently
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Our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are

KathyWheeler I love The Polysyllabic Spree. 6y
Louise So true. One can learn so much about a person by looking at the titles on that person's bookshelf. 6y
Purrsistently @KathyWheeler I need to actually read it yet. 😻 6y
KathyWheeler @Purrsistently If you like it, there are follow ups to it that are also good. 6y
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Mindyrecycles
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RaimeyGallant We should totally play this game, lake zombies versus vampires but with books or characters. 6y
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Mindyrecycles
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Thanks to a hot tip from @Reviewsbylola I ordered these Nick Hornby essays! I tried not to get library discards but that one on the end snuck in. Oh well, it'll read. 😂 #bookmail

Reviewsbylola I hope you love them as much as I do. I am so glad I enabled both you and @LeahBergen 🤣🤣 6y
KathyWheeler I loved every single one of these books. 6y
LeahBergen @Reviewsbylola My copy has shipped. 😂 6y
ReadingEnvy I had to space these out because they made my tbr so heavy! 6y
ApplesandSpindles These are all in my list of favorites. I love them all! 5y
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Reviewsbylola
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When I saw the prompt for #readingresolutions today, I couldn‘t wait to post. One of my favorite series EVER is by famous UK author Nick Hornby. It‘s a compilation of the monthly column he used to write for Believer magazine, “Stuff I‘ve Been Reading.” Every column starts of with two lists—books Hornby bought that month, and books Hornby read that month. The crossover is always interesting. I wish there was a more recent addition. Please Nick!!!

LeahBergen I‘ve always meant to read these! Are they all compiled in 6y
LeahBergen Or does that leave some of them out? 6y
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Jas16 Love these so much! 6y
Reviewsbylola If I remember correctly, it is the columns from all four books combined AND a few new ones. @LeahBergen 6y
Mdargusch Sounds great! 6y
Nute I got these in the compilation book, Ten Years in the Tub, and my enthusiasm is as high as yours for these articles. 6y
Lissa00 I LOVE these books. This makes me want to go back and read them again:) 6y
emilyhaldi Huh! I bought this book based on your recommendation and never read it 😕 but it‘s in a box somewhere!! Will read someday!! 🤪 6y
Zelma @LeahBergen you would love Ten Years in the Tub. It‘s my comfort re-reading/bedtime reading. I am on my 4th(?) re-read. So so good. 6y
LeahBergen Well, that settles it. I must order! 😆 @Reviewsbylola @Zelma @Nute @Jas16 @Lissa00 6y
Reviewsbylola Yes, for sure order it!! #blameitonlitsy 😂 @LeahBergen 6y
LeahBergen Umm... it was ordered last night. 😬 6y
Reviewsbylola Yessssssss gurl!!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 @LeahBergen 6y
ApplesandSpindles I LOVE these! I always hope for another. 5y
Reviewsbylola ME TOO!! I check all the time and am always disappointed. @ApplesandSpindles 5y
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GoneFishing
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Cathythoughts Thankyou for the tag. I will think 🤔 & make my list 👍I will make another list ( I think I did one) this will be list 2. 😉 (edited) 6y
Suet624 By the way, I loved that you picked The Opposite of Loneliness. I thought it was quite good. 6y
Suet624 And I have my computer with me this weekend (as I babysit one grandson while a granddaughter is being born) so I can peruse my list of books read and pick out 17. It was a great year of reading. (edited) 6y
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DGRachel Hamilton is on my list to read this year and I listened to Born a Crime year before last, I think and loved it. Great list! 6y
Cinfhen Oooh, nice mashup of genres💟I'm curious about a bunch of your NF especially the two by Harari 6y
Cinfhen Exciting news @Suet624 hope your daughter/ daughter in law has an easy delivery 💕💕💕💕 6y
Suet624 @Cinfhen thanks so much. The first time was tough. I hope this one is easier. 😓 6y
readordierachel Born a Crime is on my list too! 6y
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GoneFishing
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Gezemice Thanks for the tag! Just saw it because I was offline for a while. Born A Crime was my favorite for 2017, too! Great choices! 6y
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GoneFishing
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Pickpick
Wbabdullah Thanks for the tag @jdtchicago! Love your #17in2017! (edited) 6y
42 likes1 comment
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GoneFishing
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GoneFishing
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ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Good stuff on here! Thanks for the tag! 6y
Cupofjo Thanks for the tag! Some of those are on my tbr list!! 6y
mjdowens Definitely a few here will be joining my TBR. Thanks🤗 6y
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GoneFishing

Needless to say, drink, drugs, food, and sex played no part in the festivities. But who needs any of that when you've got literature?

Cupofjo You rock!! Thanks!! 😂 7y
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GoneFishing

Defeated misery is what all sport is about, eventually, if you follow the story for long enough; all sportsmen know this.

Suet624 I've been saying that for ages! And still I persist. 7y
RaimeyGallant Great quotes:) 7y
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GoneFishing

We fought, Wilkie Collins and I. We fought bitterly and with all our might, to a standstill, over a period of about three weeks, on trains and aeroplanes and by hotel swimming pools. Sometimes – usually late at night, in bed – he could put me out cold with a single paragraph...Only in the last 50-odd pages, after I‘d landed several of these blows, did old Wilkie show any signs buckling under the assault.

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GoneFishing

Zaid's finest moment, however, comes in his second paragraph, when he says that "the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more."

That's me! And you, probably! That's us!

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled I might lose my composure a little, but that's due to glee, so I guess that doesn't count 7y
Suet624 That's fantastic. 7y
Desha 📚❤️❤️📚 6y
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GoneFishing

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 book 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 tenth time.

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GoneFishing

Where would David Copperfield be if Dickens had gone to writing classes? Probably about seventy minor characters short, is where. (Did you know that Dickens is estimated to have invented thirteen thousand characters? Thirteen thousand! The population of a small town!)

Desha I love this section on Dickens lol 💛😜☺️ 6y
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GoneFishing

I don't want anyone writing in to point out that I spend too much money on books, many of which I will never read. I know that already. I certainly intend to read all of them, more or less. My intentions are good. Anyway, it's my money. And I'll bet you do it too.

mjdowens Every day Nick, every day🙄 7y
Suet624 Oh I love this man. 7y
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GoneFishing

Books are, let's face it, better than everything else. If we played cultural Fantasy Boxing League, and made books go 15 rounds in the ring against the best that any other art form had to offer, then books would win pretty much every time. Go on, try it. “The Magic Flute” v. Middlemarch? Middlemarch in six. “The Last Supper” v. Crime and Punishment? Fyodor on points. See? ...I'm still backing literature 29 times out of 30.

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled This may be kinda fun to draft a March Madness of books 7y
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GoneFishing

All the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal. ... But with each passing year, and with each whimsical purchase, our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are, whether we read the books or not.

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Im going to have to put this in needlepoint and hang it above my TBR stacks 😜 7y
Suet624 So good. 7y
Desha @ericas_flyleafunfurled ❤️❤️❤️ 6y
31 likes3 comments
review
everlocalwest
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Pickpick

I'm not as funny nor as good of a writer as Nick Hornby but I've been keeping a journal of the books I read and my immediate thoughts upon completing them since 2006. These are my #notebooks for #riotgrams

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BarbaraJean
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Pickpick

I thought it would be fitting to show this little book ("one man's struggle with the monthly tide of the books he's bought and the books he's been meaning to read") up against the tide of unread Christmas gifts.

I enjoyed this collection of essays about reading & keeping up with a looming TBR. My reading interests don't completely overlap with Hornby's, but I still very much related to his thoughts on the reading life!

Centique I read this too but the title here was Ten Years in the Tub. It was a fun read! Made me think about how much the reader brings to the book too. 7y
Centique Ok it seems that Ten Years is a collected version that includes Polysyllabic Spree. 👍 7y
BarbaraJean @Centique That's so interesting! It looks like Ten Years in the Tub came out ten years after Polysyllabic Spree--so more recent material, too. 7y
CathyC I read Polysyllabic Spree some years ago, and enjoyed it very much. Hornby is a fun writer. Or maybe I should say his books are fun to read. 7y
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BarbaraJean
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"Being a reader is sort of like being president, except reading involves fewer state dinners, usually. You have this agenda you want to get through, but you get distracted by life events, e.g. books arriving in the mail/World War III, and you are temporarily deflected from your chosen path."

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BarbaraJean
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"I read 55% of the books I bought this month--5 1/2 out of 10. Two of the unread books, however, are volumes of poetry, and, to my way of thinking, poetry books work more like books of reference... So, if it's OK with you, I'm taking the poetry out and calling it 5 1/2 out of 8--and the Heller I've read before, years ago, so that's 6 1/2 out of 8. I make that 81 1/4%! I am both erudite and financially prudent!" ?This is my kind of logic!

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BarbaraJean
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I had this plan that I wouldn't start any new books before the end of the year, so I could focus on finishing the three I'm in the middle of. Then my in-laws decided to exchange gifts early today, and I got this, and I am weak. I'm reading it now.

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saresmoore
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The weirdest thing happened: When I was ordering a couple of books for homeschool, a stack of other used titles just leapt into my shopping cart! 😬Thanks, Better World Books! #bookmail

valeriegeary Oops! 😂 7y
UwannaPublishme 😂👍🏻 7y
LauraBeth 👏👏👏 7y
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LeahBergen It's so scary when that happens. 😏 7y
Nonaroo This strange thing happens to me all of the time! 7y
saresmoore @valeriegeary @UwannaPublishme @LauraBeth @LeahBergen @Nonaroo It's probably some sort of mysterious computer virus...I'm almost certain it will happen again! 7y
obviateit 😂❤️ 7y
saresmoore @obviateit Has this happened to you yet? Beware used book sites with a benevolent mission! 7y
obviateit @saresmoore not yet! We've been making it through so far with just my childhood stockpile of books and the library card. I'm dreading [i.e., eagerly anticipating] my future of homeschool book buying! 😄 7y
saresmoore @obviateit Oh, please send me an email so we can exchange info! I have loads that I would love to pass along! saraesmoore @ gmail Also, good for you. That takes some serious planning and perseverance! 7y
ephemeralwaltz AWESOME! I love buying from BetterWorldBooks, nice to see others supporting them! 7y
obviateit @saresmoore Oh my goodness, that would be amazing! Thank you so much!! I will email you tonight! 😊😊😊😊😊 7y
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Reviewsbylola
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This is probably my favorite series ever. Nick Hornby's column "Stuff I've Been Reading", published in Believer magazine. Every few years he published a compilation of his columns and I am always checking to see whether a new one is about to be released. I love talking books so this column is a fun way to add to your TBR list! #24in48

Imagineannie Oh, man, I didn't know this existed. Thank you!!!!!! 8y
Reviewsbylola I hope you enjoy them! @Imagineannie 8y
LLindsey A collected volume of all the years was published as Ten Years in the Tub 8y
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Reviewsbylola I don't own that one but I did read it recently because it had a few unpublished columns at the end. @LLindsey 8y
LeslieO I love this series. I read and re-read them! I always track my books read but after reading these I also track books purchased. Purchased always outpaces read. 8y
Reviewsbylola I would be so nervous to track my books purchased but I always love that he does that! @LeslieO 8y
ValerieAndBooks Love these! They're both funny and observant. 8y
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KendallMorganHall
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Pickpick

This is an interesting book in a series comprised of long essays by well-known authors. In this book, Nick Hornby talks about books he has bought, books he has read, and books he hasn't read. I'm not sure that description sells it but I liked it enough to give it four stars on Goodreads.

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