Rating: 
Summary: Changed my life
Review: I am a child of the Harry Potter generation. I found these books tiresome and childish. I wanted to read, but all I found were classics and children's books. I was lodged between the children's section and the adult sections of bookstores. I was lost. By chance, while on vacation in Greece, I found the only copy of High Fidelity in a gift shop. I quickly bought it for five dollars, having liked what I read on the back.
When I first read High Fidelity on the plane ride back, I was laughing out loud. People were staring. What on earth could I be reading: The funniest book ever written.
But on reading High Fidelity the second time (and third and fourth) I found the truth in it. All the events that had once happened to Rob Fleming, the main character, were happening to me. The discovery of girls ...,the first kiss, the first breakup. High Fidelity became my Bible.
I began quoting it in normal life. When I started writing a book of my own, I formatted it off of High Fidelity.
I will not tell you what the plot it, because I didnt when I began reading. All I can say is, if you are a boy you will laugh harder than ever before. If you are a man, you will feel the chill of desavue. If you are a girl or women, this is your one chance to peep into our heads.
Rating:
Summary: The Entrance Into The Male Brain
Review: I absolutely loved this book. It gave me a sense as to how men think, how their minds work, and why they say the things they do. I loved the way Hornby let us into Rob's head, where we could read his thoughts, and read about the things he wished he would've said. I found myself laughing out loud during certain parts of the book, which unfortunately had people staring at me, but it definitely kept me entertained. I will admit that I was a little disappointed in the movie, however. But I read the book first, so it didn't affect my opinion on the book. I had a lot of fun reading it, and for those of you who are into music, this is definitely the book for you, so check it out!
Rating: 
Summary: Catchy title
Review: The catchy title of High Fidelity which plays on both the musical and relationship use snagged me into reading this book. I can't actually explain why I read the entire book one night without sleeping. It is well written and does have its funny elements. I enjoyed the exploration of the male psyche which is also a rather depressing journey- the main character is your basic non-achieving, just barely surviving, self-pitying, bitter and whinging bloke. I did care about what happened to him however and was absorbed in his misery and rather shallow casting about for meaning. I don't know why I liked it, but I did. Obviously the majority of readers agree with this but are more capable of expressing why.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat Over-rated, but still good
Review: Though it failed to live up to it's reputation of being hilarious, it was still good enough of a book to trigger me to buy Hornbys other work (I recomend "How To Be Good"). I frequently found myself angered by the main character, or just depressed for him. Perhaps his self-hatred and over-philosophising (sorry, I'm sure I spelled that wrong) is intended to be funny, but I'm not one to laugh at someone's pain (unless it's someone getting hit in the groin. Love that gag!). So, I'm actually not sure why I liked this book as much as I did, but I'm not afraid of the unexplained.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, realistic story
Review: This novel is a classic, easily one of the best works of fiction of the 1990s. Very much a product of its time and place (north London during the first half of 1994) with all of the realistic, pop-cultural details that implies, but not the least bit dated when read nearly a decade later. Hornby's writing style is so seductively engaging, so witty and incisive and topical that it's incredibly easy to visualize Rob Fleming (the British Rob Fleming, not John Cusack as played in the movie version) and Laura and the rest of the believable and all-to-human thirtysomething characters in this book. If you haven't read it, do so now!
Rating:
Summary: A good story about an annoying whiner
Review: This is the story of a 35-year-old owner of a used record store, told in the first person and in the present tense. The main focus of his musings is his unsuccessful relationships with women, and the feelings of pain, rejection, and inadequacy that those relationships have produced. The first 25% of the book is wonderful. No one I know has described with such painful accuracy the feelings of rejection and inadequacy that a MAN feels when a romantic affair breaks up. There seem to be thousands of such books for women, but maybe men are too macho to publicly admit that it hurts. The book is very well written, and it held my interest throughout. Partly that was because Rob's main interest in life (besides sulking about his unfulfilled life) is rock 'n roll music, which has always been one of my main interests as well. The characters are believable and well drawn, even if none of them are entirely pleasant. But after describing the breakups of his previous relationships, Rob (the narrator and main character) begins to degenerate into an embittered, whining, older version of Holden Caulfield - which in my opinion is a stinging criticism. He's rude, selfish, and inconsiderate, and blames his miserable conduct on how badly his love affairs have turned out. I don't want to give everything away, but I think that at the end Rob is one of the most undeservedly lucky guys I've ever read about. I expect men will like the book better than women will, but I could be wrong. And in fact, women will probably learn more from it than men will. I certainly found it worth my time, despite my annoyance at the self-indulgent main character, and it's an easy read. Note: I haven't seen the movie which was based on this book, so my comments above are based entirely on the book itself.
Rating:
Summary: Whoever thought....
Review: ....that this could be made into a movie was sadly mistaken. As a book, this quirky but very realistic story works brilliantly. The top five lists liberally desposited throughout the book fit with the style, the characters make sense and all of them work well within this book's parameters. However, everything is lost in the translation to film. What is quirky and entertaining in the book is corny and badly done in the movie; what amuses and tweaks the mind of a reader turns off on the moviescreen. Ultimately this book is a character study of its protagonist, Rob, and his search for happiness. Music is paramount to him, and everything revolves around it for him. This strains his relationship with Laura, his girlfriend and ultimately contributes to that relationship's demise. The book takes you into Rob's head, and into the head of the average 20-30something single man, with the noteable exception that most 20-30something single men don't make lists such as Top 5 80s Movies With Molly Ringwald! Overall, this is a very good read, and a very bad movie.
Rating:
Summary: humored patience
Review: This book is in the top half of my "favorite books" list, but I don't think I will read it again because although it was entertaining, I was happy to stop reading about such a neurotic pessimist. He couldn't become unjudgemental or mature fast enough. We all have our gliches, and it is somewhat charming in a main character, but I remember this book more for the character's never-ending immaturity than it making me laugh.
Rating:
Summary: Dealing with Life with Humour
Review: Hornby's book is readable but predictable and corny but does try to explore deeper meanings underneath the camouflage of irreverence. The themes of aging, loneliness, finding love and losing it have been done and re-done but Hornby manages to shape them all into an engaging and humorous novel. I especially liked the passages when Hornby's protaganist realises that the man he wants to be and the life he wants, is with someone he loves, something permanent, rather than transcient and ever-changing like that between the Thai lap-dancer and her bouncer boyfriend. Do we know what we prefer? Perhaps the difficulty in life is that we never really know or comprehend what we want out of it. If nothing else, Hornby's book gives us a glimpse of British culture, humour and the "perils" of middle-age.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the Film
Review: If you like the film, you will like the book even more. It has more humor, it keeps it real with the setting in England, and you don't have the annoying Jack Black in it. :)
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