“All I have to say about these songs is that I love them, and want to sing along to them, and force other people to listen to them, and get cross when these other people don’t like them as much as I do.” —Nick Hornby, from Songbook

A wise and hilarious collection from the bestselling author of Dickens and Prince, Just Like You, Funny Girl and About a Boy.

Songs, songwriters, and why and how they get under our skin…

Songbook is Nick Hornby’s labor of love. A shrewd, funny, and completely unique collection of musings on pop music, why it’s good, what makes us listen and love it, and the ways in which it attaches itself to our lives—all with the beat of a perfectly mastered mix tape. 

  • WINNER
    LA Times Best Book of the Year
"That whole subculture, all those mournful guys to whom the sound of record-store bin dividers clicking by is almost music enough, should love Songbook, yet so should anyone interested in great essays, or in the delicate art of being funny, or in how to write about one's feelings in such a way that other people will actually care."—The San Francisco Chronicle

"Delivered in a hugely enjoyable, invisible prose that does in words what Hornby’s tunesmiths do with sound. He writes good."—Time Out London

"Quintessentially Hornby: an idiosyncratic and charming exploration of the meaning of music and how it changes as we grow up and grow old."—SeattleWeekly.com

"A book about the joy of listening to great pop songs, about the elusive genius of a catchy chorus...what shines most is Hornby himself—his wry self-awareness, his disarming honesty. Effortlessly readable, every chapter reminds us how special an observer of human behavior Hornby is"—Heat

“A small, singular, delightful collection [about] the power of songs to bind people culturally and to reach deeply into the human spirit, bending the heart into new shapes with new potential.”—The New York Times Book Review

"When Hornby writes about his enthusiasms and how they intertwine with his life, he's amusing and inspiring."—Rolling Stone

© Parisa Taghizadeh
Nick Hornby is the author of seven other bestselling novels, including High Fidelity, About a Boy, and A Long Way Down, as well as several works of nonfiction. Many of his books have been turned into successful films and TV series. He has been Oscar-nominated twice, for his screenplays of An Education and Brooklyn. His ten-part, short-form TV series, State of the Union, directed by Stephen Frears, has recently been broadcast by the Sundance Channel and the BBC, and has won three Emmys. He lives in London. View titles by Nick Hornby
Songbook31 Songs...

1. Introduction


"Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From"—Teenage Fanclub

2. "Thunder Road"—Bruce Springsteen

3. "I'm Like a Bird"—Nelly Furtado

4. "Heartbreaker"—Led Zeppelin

5. "One Man Guy"—Rufus Wainwright

6. "Samba Pa Ti"—Santana

7. "Mama You Been on My Mind"—Rod Stewart

8. "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"—Bob Dylan

9. "Rain"—The Beatles

10. "You Had Time"—Ani DiFranco

11. "I've Had It"—Aimee Mann

12. "Born for Me"—Paul Westerberg

13. "Frankie Teardrop"—Suicide

14. "Ain't That Enough"—Teenage Fanclub

15. "First I Look at the Purse"—the J. Geils Band

16. "Smoke"—Ben Folds Five

17. "A Minor Incident"—Badly Drawn Boy

18. "Glorybound"—The Bible

19. "Caravan"—Van Morrison

20. "So I'll Run"—Butch Hancock and Marce LaCouture

21. "Puff the Magic Dragon"—Gregory Isaacs

22. "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3"—Ian Dury & the Blackheads

23. "The Calvary Cross"—Richard and Linda Thompson

24. "Late for the Sky"—Jackson Browne

25. "Hey Self Defeater"—Mark Mulcahy

26. "Needle in a Haystack"—The Velvelettes

27. "Let's Straighten It Out"—O. V. Wright

28. "Röyksopp's Night Out"—Röyksopp

29. "Frontier Psychiatrist"—the Avalanches

30. "No Fun/Push It"—Soulwax

31. "Pissing in a River"—the Patti Smith Group

...And 15 Albums

It's a Mann's World
Alternative Earle
Sweet Misery
The Entertainers
Pop Quiz

Discography

About

“All I have to say about these songs is that I love them, and want to sing along to them, and force other people to listen to them, and get cross when these other people don’t like them as much as I do.” —Nick Hornby, from Songbook

A wise and hilarious collection from the bestselling author of Dickens and Prince, Just Like You, Funny Girl and About a Boy.

Songs, songwriters, and why and how they get under our skin…

Songbook is Nick Hornby’s labor of love. A shrewd, funny, and completely unique collection of musings on pop music, why it’s good, what makes us listen and love it, and the ways in which it attaches itself to our lives—all with the beat of a perfectly mastered mix tape. 

Awards

  • WINNER
    LA Times Best Book of the Year

Reviews

"That whole subculture, all those mournful guys to whom the sound of record-store bin dividers clicking by is almost music enough, should love Songbook, yet so should anyone interested in great essays, or in the delicate art of being funny, or in how to write about one's feelings in such a way that other people will actually care."—The San Francisco Chronicle

"Delivered in a hugely enjoyable, invisible prose that does in words what Hornby’s tunesmiths do with sound. He writes good."—Time Out London

"Quintessentially Hornby: an idiosyncratic and charming exploration of the meaning of music and how it changes as we grow up and grow old."—SeattleWeekly.com

"A book about the joy of listening to great pop songs, about the elusive genius of a catchy chorus...what shines most is Hornby himself—his wry self-awareness, his disarming honesty. Effortlessly readable, every chapter reminds us how special an observer of human behavior Hornby is"—Heat

“A small, singular, delightful collection [about] the power of songs to bind people culturally and to reach deeply into the human spirit, bending the heart into new shapes with new potential.”—The New York Times Book Review

"When Hornby writes about his enthusiasms and how they intertwine with his life, he's amusing and inspiring."—Rolling Stone

Author

© Parisa Taghizadeh
Nick Hornby is the author of seven other bestselling novels, including High Fidelity, About a Boy, and A Long Way Down, as well as several works of nonfiction. Many of his books have been turned into successful films and TV series. He has been Oscar-nominated twice, for his screenplays of An Education and Brooklyn. His ten-part, short-form TV series, State of the Union, directed by Stephen Frears, has recently been broadcast by the Sundance Channel and the BBC, and has won three Emmys. He lives in London. View titles by Nick Hornby

Table of Contents

Songbook31 Songs...

1. Introduction


"Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From"—Teenage Fanclub

2. "Thunder Road"—Bruce Springsteen

3. "I'm Like a Bird"—Nelly Furtado

4. "Heartbreaker"—Led Zeppelin

5. "One Man Guy"—Rufus Wainwright

6. "Samba Pa Ti"—Santana

7. "Mama You Been on My Mind"—Rod Stewart

8. "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"—Bob Dylan

9. "Rain"—The Beatles

10. "You Had Time"—Ani DiFranco

11. "I've Had It"—Aimee Mann

12. "Born for Me"—Paul Westerberg

13. "Frankie Teardrop"—Suicide

14. "Ain't That Enough"—Teenage Fanclub

15. "First I Look at the Purse"—the J. Geils Band

16. "Smoke"—Ben Folds Five

17. "A Minor Incident"—Badly Drawn Boy

18. "Glorybound"—The Bible

19. "Caravan"—Van Morrison

20. "So I'll Run"—Butch Hancock and Marce LaCouture

21. "Puff the Magic Dragon"—Gregory Isaacs

22. "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3"—Ian Dury & the Blackheads

23. "The Calvary Cross"—Richard and Linda Thompson

24. "Late for the Sky"—Jackson Browne

25. "Hey Self Defeater"—Mark Mulcahy

26. "Needle in a Haystack"—The Velvelettes

27. "Let's Straighten It Out"—O. V. Wright

28. "Röyksopp's Night Out"—Röyksopp

29. "Frontier Psychiatrist"—the Avalanches

30. "No Fun/Push It"—Soulwax

31. "Pissing in a River"—the Patti Smith Group

...And 15 Albums

It's a Mann's World
Alternative Earle
Sweet Misery
The Entertainers
Pop Quiz

Discography