Shakespeare Wrote For Money - Nick Hornby

Hornby's last collection of columns for The Believer magazine is every bit as funny and absorbing as his other collections and underscores my belief that he's one of the finest writers working out there today. The rules of the magazine require Hornby to say nothing bad about the books he reads - a rule he jokes about often, referring to the editors as the robe-clothed cult-members of the Polysyllabic Spree - so that all of his reviews are about books he liked. Refreshing. Hornby's a fan of Anne Tyler, too, and gives her last book, Digging to America, high marks and, well, that's good enough for me to give Hornby high marks. I was sad to learn he won't be writing these columns anymore but I'll look forward to reading more of his books - I've read them all but his last, a novel for young adults, a genre that Hornby only recently discovered and has rightly declared it the home of modern classics. If you're looking for compelling, deeply felt novels, look for them on the young adult shelves.

I've put together another reading list from his recommendations; since there's been no change in my unfortunate habit of not reading books, I'm sure it'll turn out like the last one did. Even so, hope springs eternal and I have Hornby to thank for that.