The Rory Gilmore Book Club discussion

The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby

This is to accompany our summer reader, The Count of Monte Cristo, which spans June, July, and August. Discussions for August's book will begin on the first of the month. Happy reading!

Yay! This gives me something to buy on vacation!

This goes camping! Of course I have several others to take as well. I rarely travel "book-light" even when trying to travel light.

LOL, I'm completely the same, Dottie.

Have books, will travel. A friend recently gave me a canvas book travel bag. Of course, once you get that hardback of the Count in there ...

A canvas book travel bag? That is so cool!
Where can you get something like that?

I have never heard of a book travel bag! COOL!

It's a McSweeney book. Awesome!!!

Also, is the title a reference to the Dallas band THE POLYPHONIC SPREE? I saw the selection and couldn't help but see the connection. They are a fun bunch of kids making groovy music--literally the band is like 20 people who wear white robes and play kinda feel-good psychedelic music. The lead guy Tim was in the band TRIPPING DAISY. I have their first album somewhere.

In fact it's in my iTunes. Go figure.

Meredith--it's likely, with his history with music/music criticism and all that. I've never heard of them, though...interesting.

If they are a young band, I doubt it... possibly the other way around - they got their name as a play on the book title. The other Hornby book on Rory's list is Songbook, which is a similar thing but reviewing his favorite (newer) songs. I finally tracked down a copy last month after nearly a year of looking! I already have been collecting the songs online so that I can listen along as I read.

Wiki has their first album in 2002, with home recordings done prior. Which makes sense since I heard them in late 01/early 02 after I first moved to Ohio. I do know they released an album on an indie label in Dallas and when picked up for a major release it was a UK label and were well received there. Perhaps our bloke Hornby was inspired?

I just started season 4 last night, and they mentioned Polyphonic Spree. Whoa.

Too bad we can't ask him (Hornby). I bet if we dug deep, we could find out. Where's Heather?...she's good at this.

the wikipedia entry for the book has this to say:

The title is a reference to the choral symphonic-rock group The Polyphonic Spree. In the book, Hornby describes the people who run The Believer as being "all dressed in white robes and smiling maniacally, sort of like a literary equivalent of the Polyphonic Spree." (pg. 30)

;)

digging deep since 2007. (c)

LOL, Heather! That's hilarious.

There you go then.

(Leave it to Heather... I've read it and I didn't realize the reference!)

Help.. I am just about to order the book and Amazon lists 2 versions:
One is only The Polysyllabic Spree and the other one is The Complete Polysyllabic Spree.
Does anyone know what the difference is and which one I should get?
Thanks :-)

I'd say just get the one called The Polysyllabic Spree. I believe the only difference is the other one is an import - meaning it's the version put out in England three years after the one put out here. There might be more entries, but in my looking so far, it's just the different markets.