Nick Hornby has let me down!

In an effort to read some less depressing books, my book group chose Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down for our latest selection. I've always considered myself a Nick Hornby fan. High Fidelity, great book. About a Boy, great movie, I assume the book is even better. Aren't they always? So A Long Way Down seemed like a sure thing. Not even the plot summary deterred us. It's about four profoundly unlikeable people who meet at the top of a 15-story building on New Year's Eve. Guess why they're on top of a tall building? Why, so they can jump off! But guess what - not only do they not jump, they all go out for breakfast, form a little club, make up a story about seeing an Angel (not David Boreanaz, the only thing that might have redeemed the storyline), get a little press exposure, then take a group vacation on the Canary Islands. Puh-leeze.

The book got a great review from the New York Times Book Review. Maybe the reviewer just didn't want to be blacklisted from the next Hornby movie premiere. Time Magazine describes the novel as "The Breakfast Club rewritten by Beckett," which is actually quite accurate but in no way sounds like a good book. The real question: will I read the last 100 pages?? And will I ever pick up another Nick Hornby book? Here's hoping that we pick a great book next, because we've had our share of duds. My money's on Holly's Inbox!

Note: All book cover images are from Follett Titlewave. Thank you, Follett!