Book #1 of the New Year

Songbook, by Nick Hornby

When Nick Hornby started this book of essays about some of his favorite songs, he thought that many of them would tie to big events in his life. Instead he realized that most of our favorite songs transcend events, and the ones that are connected to something major are often terrible, cheesy songs that you wouldn't mind never hearing again.

Instead, good music becomes a part of our life. We become attached to songs because of what's going on in our life, not because they happened to be on the stereo at the moment of some big event. This is a theme Hornby returns to a few times in the book. Had he heard Springsteen when he was older, it may have been too late. Badly Drawn Boy wrote a song for a movie based on his book, five years after he wrote it, and yet this song seemed to be specifically about what he was going through in the present. Had it been written when the book came out, it would have passed him by.

Nick Hornby is an eminently readable author who manages to get his passion and personality across in little more than a line or two. The book came with a CD that includes most of the songs he writes about, which is a really nice bonus.

Oh, and books of essays are definitely the way to go if you're trying to drive up your numbers! I should have been doing this all along.