Complete Polysyllabic Spree

'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; a nd how, when it's going badly, when books don't stick or take, when yo ur 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.'In his monthly accounts of what he's read - along wit h 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 bre vity, or abandons a literary work in favor of an Arsenal soccer match, then all is not lost. His writing, full of all the joy and surprise a nd 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 o ur local bar