If I like Nick Hornby.......

[Daytripper]

I'm a huge Nick Horby fan. I read and loved "High Fidelity" when it first came out (and was extremely disappointed with the movie adaptation). Also loved "About a Boy" (both the book and movie). And I'm now reading "How to be Good" (which I think is equally good as everything he's done). For anyone who has read Hornby's work, can you recommend other authors that are similar in style? Thanks in advance.

[Daytripper]

Also, before anyone suggests, I have ordered a few other books either by Hornby or where he contributed ("Fever Pitch", "31 Songs" and "Big Night Out").

[PalmerJoss]

I have enjoyed Michael Chabon's novels, and found them similar in style to Hornby's works. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Wonder Boys--I'd try one of these titles out first and if you enjoy it then you could try Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Hope this helps.

[Jaimeson]

Nick Hornby has a colletion of short stories he edited, and also contributed on it's called: Speaking With The Angel. I also just picked up Nick Hornby / Songbook in which he breaks down a bunch of songs that were infulentuial in his life, (he's also a music reviewer for I think the Sunday Times, I think.)

[Daytripper]

Originally posted by Jaimeson
Nick Hornby has a colletion of short stories he edited, and also contributed on it's called: Speaking With The Angel. I also just picked up Nick Hornby / Songbook in which he breaks down a bunch of songs that were infulentuial in his life, (he's also a music reviewer for I think the Sunday Times, I think.)

Thanks Jaimeson. I did see "Speaking With the Angel" on Amazon.co.uk (which is where I ordered his other books), but wasn't sure about that one. I didn't know until now that he contributed anything. Only thought he edited the book. And is "Songbook" the same as "31 Songs"? Because I didn't see that title anywhere on the books available by Hornby. Thanks again.

[jpcamb]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

Martyn Bedford's "Houdini Girl" was a very good book by another British Author. He struck me as somewhat similar to Nick Hornby. He has a few other books which are out of print and a new one that's only in hardcover at the moment.

[Jaimeson]

Here are some Amazon.com links for you on the songbook:

UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...415924-2243063

USA

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...149120-7244065

Mr. Hornby's short in Speaking With The Angel is: NippleJesus. SWTA itself is a good collection of shorts by people like: Zadie Smith, Colin Firth, and Dave Eggers to name a few. I strongly suggest picking it up.

Jaimeson

p.s. The songbook comes with a CD, so it's pretty cool.

[TeeSeeJay]

Try Douglas Coupland

[benedict]

Originally posted by TeeSeeJay
Try Douglas Coupland

I've heard that, also and found a page or two that might be of interest in that regard.

Elsewhere, for "Fever Pitch" fans, I read that Bill Buford's "Among the Thugs" is another worthwhile football book.

In a web-chat Hornby himself wrote concerning his influences and likes:

[Anne Tyler has been mentioned....].... the people who made me want to write were Tyler, Lorrie Moore and Roddy Doyle: simplicity, humour, soul. And there's another American writer called David Gates, who's written two fantastic novels, Jernigan and Preston Falls. I can't believe that anyone who wants to write wouldn't get something out of his stuff. If anyone wanted to know what was meant by 'voice', I'd point them in Gates' direction.

I used to review books for a living, but I think I've only written one or two in the last five years. The last one I did was of Charles Webb's lovely 'New Cardiff'. Webb wrote 'The Graduate', and has been off the scene for a couple of decades; he writes with this lovely, spare style. A lot of the people I really like were in Speaking With The Angel, which is why I wanted them in - Zadie Smith's book is great, as is Dave Eggers'. I'm just finishing a fantastic novel called 'The Feast of Love', by Charles Baxter. Don't know anything about him, but the book is terrific - great one-liners, fantastic characters.

Certainly in the UK, following on from Hornby's "lad's" fiction came Chick Lit; most famously I think "Bridget Jones' Diary". It may not be your thing but here is a mixed list I found somewhere that tellingly includes Hornby's "About a Boy" and John O'Farrell's "The Best a Man Can Get":

Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
Cupid and Diana by Christina Bartolomew
Girls Poker Night by Jill Davis
Bookends by Jane Green
About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Thirtynothing: A Novel by Lisa Jewell
Angels by Marian Keyes
Do Try to Speak as We Do: The Diary of an American Au Pair by Marjorie Leet Ford
April Rising: A Novel by Corene Lemaitre
Never Mind, Nirvana by Mark Lindquist
Spin Cycle by Sue Margolis
Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend by Lynda Markham
It's My F....ing Birthday by Merrill Markoe
The Best a Man Can Get by John O'Farrell
Jackie by Josie by Caroline Preston
Her by Laura Zigman

Perhaps there is something of interest to be found above!

[Sierra Disc]

Lorrie Moore is just great, she hasn't done much lately I liked but her first three short story collections are tops in my book, I'd never thought of comapring her with Hornby but they do kind of come from that same viewpoint at life, with a lot of humor and introspection.

[CKMorpheus]

Definately Douglas Coupland.

Try 'Girlfriend in a Coma,' 'All Families are Psychotic,' and practically any book he's written.

[chitowndvd]

If you like Hornby, try Tony Parsons' Man and Boy and Man and Wife. He writes very very real characters and both are a great read.