Nick Hornby Books in Order

Hornby pairs Charles Dickens with Prince in a short, surprising study of artistic obsession. By tracing their difficult childhoods, relentless work habits and huge bodies of work, he explores what drives geniuses across centuries and what their art cost them.

In London on the eve of the Brexit vote, forty-something schoolteacher Lucy falls for Joseph, a twenty-two-year-old butcher’s assistant and aspiring DJ who babysits her sons. Their relationship tests every difference of age, class and race, and what happiness might look like now.

Each chapter captures ten minutes in a pub as Louise and Tom meet before couples therapy, circling around an affair, resentment and the question of whether their marriage is worth saving. It’s a sharp, dialogue-driven portrait of modern middle-aged love.

In 1960s Britain, beauty queen Barbara Parker runs away to London and reinvents herself as sitcom star Sophie Straw. As her hit show takes off, she and the writers around her wrestle with fame, changing morals and who gets to be funny on television.

A decade’s worth of Hornby’s 'Stuff I’ve Been Reading' columns, this book is part reading diary, part memoir. Month by month he lists the books he buys and actually finishes, reflecting on family life, football and the pleasures of reading.

Drawing from his long-running column, this volume collects Hornby’s book-lover diaries from the 2000s and 2010s. He chats about everything he’s reading—from classics to comics—while admitting the gap between the books he buys and the ones he actually finishes.

A compact collection of Hornby’s football essays, Fan Mail revisits doomed seasons, unlikely cult heroes and the agony of watching club and country fail. It’s wry, affectionate writing for anyone who has ever cared too much about a team.

This companion to Fan Mail gathers two decades of Hornby’s non-football pieces on film, TV, music and books. From festival screenings to famous studios, he writes as a curious fan, connecting pop culture to everyday life with humour and warmth.

Pray offers a season-long diary of European football, written with Hornby’s mix of obsession and self-mockery. He revisits the strangest matches, avoidable defeats and wild celebrations from the 2011–12 campaign, asking why fans keep coming back.

Collecting 'Stuff I’ve Been Reading' columns from 2010–2011, this slim book finds Hornby juggling parenthood, screenwriting work and football seasons with an ever-growing stack of books. His reflections turn a simple reading log into a funny, addictive portrait of a reader’s life.

Annie has spent fifteen years in a small seaside town with Duncan, whose life revolves around reclusive singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe. When Annie posts a skeptical review of a new demo album, she begins an unlikely email friendship with Tucker that upends all three lives.

Hornby’s Oscar-nominated script follows Jenny, a bright sixteen-year-old in 1960s London, whose plans for Oxford are derailed when she falls for an older, sophisticated man. The book presents the full screenplay along with an introduction and stills from the film.

This third volume of 'Stuff I’ve Been Reading' pieces gathers Hornby’s columns from the mid-2000s, charting his crushes on certain authors, his resistance to doorstop biographies and the way football and family keep stealing time from his books.

Sixteen-year-old skateboarder Sam thinks his biggest problems are school and girls, until his girlfriend Alicia gets pregnant. Haunted by jump-cut visions of his future, he stumbles toward fatherhood, trying to work out what kind of man—and dad—he wants to be.

A follow-up to The Polysyllabic Spree, this collection continues Hornby’s monthly chronicles of books bought and read. He moves cheerfully from crime novels to poetry and history, always more interested in honest enthusiasm than in tearing writers down.

Bringing together the first years of Hornby’s Believer columns, this omnibus tracks his reading life from 2003 to 2006. Each month he lists books bought and read, then riffs on why some stories stick, others don’t, and how life keeps intervening.

On New Year’s Eve, four strangers meet on a London rooftop, all planning to jump. Instead they climb down together, forming a ragged support group that stumbles through fame, friendship and the hard work of deciding whether life is worth another try.

A slim, very funny first selection of 'Stuff I’ve Been Reading' pieces, The Polysyllabic Spree records a year of Hornby’s reading. He contrasts the aspirational towers of books he buys with the handful he truly loves and finishes.

In this collection of music essays, Hornby writes about thirty-one songs that matter to him, from Dylan to Nelly Furtado. Rather than technical analysis, he offers personal stories about how certain tracks become soundtracks to love, parenting and growing older.

North London GP Katie Carr thinks she’s the good one in her marriage—until her angry, cynical husband suddenly tries to reinvent himself as a saint. As he drags their family into extreme acts of generosity, Katie has to decide what goodness really means.

Will Freeman lives comfortably off the royalties of a cheesy Christmas song and treats life as one long holiday—until he meets Marcus, a lonely twelve-year-old with a struggling single mum. Their unlikely friendship forces both 'boys' to grow up in different ways.

The screenplay edition of Fever Pitch turns Hornby’s Arsenal memoir into a romantic comedy about fandom, work and love. It includes the full shooting script of the film, charting how an obsessive supporter’s life is measured out in wins and losses.

This volume presents Hornby’s story in screenplay form, following record-store owner Rob as he revisits his top five breakups and tries to win back Laura. Featuring scene directions and dialogue, it offers a behind-the-scenes look at the film adaptation.

Record-store owner Rob reels after his girlfriend leaves and copes the only way he knows how: by turning his failed relationships into top-five lists. As he retraces old breakups, he slowly confronts his own fear of commitment and growing up.

This autobiographical classic follows Hornby’s life as an obsessive Arsenal supporter, told through a series of unforgettable matches. It traces how football shapes his friendships, work, and love life, capturing both the joy and the cost of caring too much.