Rating: 
Summary: So true it's frightening.
Review: I almost want to do a review of the movie and book simultaneously, but the book is just a little better (example - makes more sense having a character say that Reservoir Dogs has a great soundtrack instead of Evil Dead 2) and it gives me chills how much I have thought like this, acted like this and wondered why any woman stayed with me while I was growing up like the main character.Things that I could directly relate to when reading and watching the movie - the near panic at the idea that the ex-girlfriend is sleeping with the new guy, the smug new boyfriend trying to make peace and the narrator really wanting to kill the guy, the search for old girlfriends in hopes of getting SOME clue as to what went wrong, the checklist of how many similar tastes you need to make a relationship work (sports - no, Reservoir Dogs - yes), the final romantic line about making a mix tape for his girlfriend full of music that she would actually like (I can't believe I gave my Victorian literature afficiendo ex-girlfriend books by Henry Miller and William S. Burroughs thinking that she would like them.) Other reviewers object to the fact that the guy is an adolescent in the body of a 35 year old, that he's immature, that he doesn't get it, that he whines. But it's a stage you go through and it's amazing how thin is that line between mature human being and whiny child in the midst of heartbreak. At least you know this guy may never have a midlife crisis (hard to miss your lost youth when you never let it get away in the first place.) Great book. Great movie. I wish I could write with this much insight.
Rating: 
Summary: maybe this is a guy book
Review: This is a book about a guy who is in his 30s who acts like a 14-year old. Maybe if I was a teenage it would be more exciting because it is very true to life of what it can be when life is really dull. He even sits around dreaming of the glory days when he was a dj and played Madonna songs. To no surprise his girlfriend gets fed up and moves out and then it takes a whole book for him to understand that nobody wants to date a loser like him. Recommended for emotionally immature people and those under 20.
Rating:
Summary: I am this book
Review: I read "High Fidelity" a few years ago, but with the renewed interest from the John Cusack movie, I pulled it down from the shelf again. There are few books that I have enjoyed more. I don't know if the life of the main character, Rob, mirrors that of other men my age, but it certainly nails mine. It is everything I ever felt about music, relationships, and top-five lists. A brilliant piece of literature. (The movie and soundtrack are quite good too.)
Rating:
Summary: A dashing good read
Review: High Fidelity is a wonderfully funny book about a feckless thirty-five year old commitophobe who owns a record shop in London and spends his life dodging everything that really matters. Sometimes his almost dull-witted fear makes the reader impatient, but he does move on after a fashion, finally. This really is a terrific book, an easy read, and quite enjoyable. A lot of the characters are readily recognizable be you English, American, German or Uzbeki. Maybe not Uzbeki. But the other stuff, yeah.
Rating: 
Summary: I admit it. I never heard of it until I saw the film.
Review: I read this because I wanted to see if the pop culture/music references were really in the book. I got a lot more. Women, don't be put off thinking it's a "guy's book." I learned a lot about male sexualilty, views on romance vs. commitment, and the effects of hearing Dusty Springfield sing "The Look of Love" at an impressionable age. The lists and references are more fun, because you can stop and think about them and make your own lists. (No one asked, but Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" would be one of my top five favorite records of all time. Too obvious?) Read it to find out who is on the list of "Top Five Bands or Musicians Who Will Have to Be Shot Come the Musical Revolution (hint: Michael Bolton is one); and you will also be set to thinking about whether a hip music lover can find true love with a Simple Minds fan; if you can, in fact, judge people by their C.D./album collections and then be done with them; and what would be included in a dream-come-true record collection. You will also learn much more than you might think about why men can't commit.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and Brilliant
Review: High Fidelity is hilarious and brilliantly written at the same time. It is a thousand times better than the movie of it. It is a male version of Bridget Jone's Diary. You must read this!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book... OK Movie
Review: I absolutely loved this book.. I had a hard time putting it down. If you like music and have had a number of relationships, I am sure that you will like it also. The movie is good.. Cusak does really well, but the book.. it's all about the book.
Rating:
Summary: Must read
Review: I recieved this book as a gift for a birthday. I happen to be a huge music fan and this book spoke to me. Every charector in this book is true to life and the people in the record store are classic. Anyone who shops at record stores and hangs around geeks knows how conversations about which is better Mono or Stereo get. I related to Rob's view on life. What Can I say? Most entertaining book I've read since "Trainspotting"
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Funniest Books I've Read In A Long Time
Review: Anytime I tried to read this book in public, I got the strangest looks from people for laughing out loud. Hornby captures the longing, ennui, humor and bitterness of the single male so perfectly, that every guy is bound to see some of himself in the lead character. The use of "Top 5" lists is a brilliant literary device. It advances the plot in almost every instance, while at the same time painting a complete and well-rounded portrait of the protagonist (and his friends). Plus, it's a fun way to start a debate with your own friends. The writing is sharp, the characters real and the plot engaging. As a footnote, I think the movie did a wonderful job of adapting the book. The book is better, of course, but the film stays remarkably true to the spirit and letter of the original. There are entire passages from the book that are repeated in the script, which is very, very rare among adaptations.
Rating:
Summary: The Art of Interior Monologue
Review: Success of novels written in the first-person depend heavily on whether the main character, generally the narrator, is not likable, but interesting. In this case, Hornby's fictional creation, Rob, is both. What makes him so is Hornby's use of the interior monologue. Typically, interior monologue is a device in which the narrator's telling reveals more about himself than he is aware. Perhaps we, as readers, are attracted to this technique because it allows us to become almost voyeurs. The intimacy of knowing more about someone than he knows about himself is attractive; we feel smart because we see things the narrator cannot. Hornby, however, turns this idea on its head. Rob is so absorbed in self-analysis there's no way we could ever know more about him than he knows about himself. But, perhaps this is what makes Rob seem so human, and so much like us. Don't we all in our heads carry on like he does? His narration of this analysis appears, like the best writing, effortless. And yet this semblance of ease is double-edged: it's easy to take for granted how good it is, and the ideas flow so quickly that we can become so absorbed in the telling that we forget to spend time thinking about the many provocative ideas the novel contains. Like all good literature, this novel deserves to be read repeatedly. Let the easy prose and plot carry you through a first reading. Then go back for the ideas and to appreciate how easy Hornby makes it all seem.
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