Housekeeping vs. The Dirt

The book is great BUT... This is merely the second half of "The Polysyllabic Spree." Both the description and numerous reviews here call it a sequel, implying that it's a collection of his columns beginning AFTER the ones collected in Spree. Not so. The columns reprinted in Housekeeping are completely contained in Spree so if you have that book, you already have the columns in Housekeeping. Apparently other reviewers... Read Full Review

i have never seen the believer magazine. i don't know if mr hornby is still doing this column. i hope he is. the first volume of these collected essays "the polysyllabic spree," was addictive, so i was thrilled to see this second volume on my local barnes & noble shelves. i took it home with me, put all other reading material aside, and devoured it in an evening. just as addictive as the first book. long may mr hornby run... Read Full Review

This is a book I read in 1 sitting. I love Nick Hornby's writing and, much like "The Polysyllabic Spree," (and yes, I know titles of books should be underlined or italicized, but I don't seem to be able to do that, so quotations marks it is!) this book makes me want to run to my local library and check out all the books he's talking about. Some sections of "Housekeeping..." are hilariously funny and many parts had me nodding... Read Full Review

Time spent with Nick Hornby is always time well spent. In essay mode, he is a companionable conversationalist making sparkling observations, and since he hits so often on my cultural zeitgeist list, I feel like we're having a dialogue, not that he's doing a garrulous solo riff. HOUSEKEEPING VS. THE DIRT is the second collection of his mostly monthly reading column for "The Believer" magazine, covering much of 2005, right... Read Full Review