Songbook

Nick Hornby has compiled a list of 31 or so songs that have impacted him in different ways, or the songs represent different aspects of music appreciation that Nick wants to share. He also has chapters at the end that cover albums, as well as one on boxed sets, and one on contemporary "pop" (as the book was written in 2003, it would be contemporary for 2003.) Nick's long-term love affair with music is apparent as he is intimate with every nuance of it through the chapters. Those who have similar love affairs with music will delight in his essays. Nick also has a very wry sense of humor that had me laughing out loud several times while reading.I had considered blogging one of Nick's favorites each day for a month here and giving Nick's reasons why he chose it, but then I thought if a list will be made and shared, with the reasons why, it will be my own choices and reasons.This book is also a primer on music education. As he expounds on the intricacies of why he chose, or did not choose, a particular song, it gives me pause to reflect on aspects not considered before -- which is making me a "better" appreciator of music.My biggest takeaway from Songbook is that each music lover out there has one of these lists, even if it's only in their heads and the reasons why not articulated. Nick is a genius for deciding to put his down on paper.I want to thank Hans at Word Press' hanspostcard for making me aware of, "Songbook." I also want to thank him for his most excellent blog that presents albums and songs daily, with commentary, that is helping me fill in the blanks in my music education. It is, for all intents and purposes, Hans' living songbook. THANK YOU HANS.

I thought this book was outstanding. It was very interesting to hear about Mr. Hornby's relationship to music and certain songs in particular. It was fascinating to get inside the head of someone who wanted to be a musician, but decided to become a writer because it was the closest he could get to writing songs. These aren't necessarily Mr. Hornby's favorite songs; they are songs with which he has a special relationship; not necessarily because of certain memories that the songs summon up, but because the song themselves, the music and the lyrics together, give him something to think about.If you enjoy reading about the impact music has had on the lives and thoughts of other people, I would suggest reading this book. It is well-written, and personally, I always find Mr. Hornby can make me laugh, even while he's discussing a serious topic. Definitely worth the price of admission!

I bought this book, sight unseen, simply because of the description, which was: Nick Hornby, one of my favorite writers, had written a book about a bunch of his favorite songs. That's all I needed to know, that sounded great to me, I was sold.I've been a Hornby fan since Fever Pitch. When High Fidelity (the book) came out, I was amazed: it felt like Hornby had been eavesdropping on my mind, because I tend to agree with a lot of his opinions about music and music lovers. Similarly, I'm a big fan of the reviews he wrote for The New Yorker a few years ago.So I ordered the book and it showed up in my box and I immediately turned to the table of contents to see: which songs did he write about??? And I was surprised, and a bit disappointed, to see that I only recognized about a dozen of the titles. And there wasn't one song in the bunch that I considered a personal favorite. And when I listened to the songs I didn't know (included on a handy-dandy CD)... they didn't blow me away. But that's the beauty of a mix tape and, despite the fact that it's printed on paper, this is a mix tape.And this one comes with great liner notes. Hornby's a smart, entertaining, intuitive writer. I may sound like a disappointed fan trying to make the best of a book that didn't satisfy me 100%, but even when Hornby's writing about music I haven't heard, it's still enjoyable, it's still worthwhile, it's still exposing me to things I previously didn't know about.Even when he's confessing to not being a huge Dylan fan and confesses to preferring a Rod Stewart cover of one of my favorite Dylan songs to the original (which is, of course, the true road to enternal damnation), he does so in a way that's completely relatable even to a Dylan fanatic.Even when he's extolling the virtues of a song I find to be "sad bastard" music (like he does in his essay about Mark Mulcahy's "Hey Self Defeater") he manages to include a great, conversational subtext about the virtues of small, privately owned, slowly-becomming-extinct record stores with a personal touch.This is also a beautifully designed McSweeny book, with a beautiful "Maxell XL-II" mix-tape cover and with clever illustrations by Marcel Dzama. The book also benefits Treehouse Trust and 826 Valencia, organizations that are extremely worthy of the extra money.Hornby should do one of these a year, I think. And next time, it'd be nice if he'd touch on his favorite Stones songs, his favorite Stax songs, his favorite Steve Earle songs, his favorite blues, his favorite jazz, his favorite Clash songs, etc, etc. If he'll write it, I'll read it.

I cannot abide Nick Hornby's fiction, but 31 Songs is one of the best books about popular music you are likely to read. It's a personal and engaging account of songs that mean (or at one time meant) a lot to Hornby, and even if our own choices would be very different, we can identify with the passion and connection Hornby brings to his selections. This is a book refreshingly devoid of pretension; Hornby writes as a lover of music rather than as a critic, although he can do that rather well as additional material shows in this updated version of the text.The book was originally limited to just pieces on 31 songs, but Penguin updated it with some pieces Hornby wrote about albums, and these are included in the Kindle version. The e-version contains numerous annoying typos and a few formatting issues, and without page numbers you could also be forgiven for thinking that some sections are actually missing, such is the messiness of the layout here and there. Disappointing, but the actual content and quality of the writing still makes this a five star recommendation; just buy the paper version.

good references

Good book and price

Nice insight and a real talking point.

Love this book - only wish I'd never lent out the tape of the radio series where Hornby read extracts with the chosen tunes in the background - wish it would be repeated!