“I loved it more than everybody. And afterwards, I thought for the first time, whatever I do, I've got to get as close to that as I can. Not the noise or the music or being a rock star, but the creativity of it and the energy of it and the way that you affect people, and I knew that my life wouldn't be the same. And it's kind of always been like that.”

Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, Fever Pitch, About a Boy and Juliet, Naked, among others) returns with Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius — a very funny, very "Nick Hornby" look at music, books, fandom and creativity. Nick joins us on the show to talk about how a newly issued deluxe edition of Sign ‘O’ the Times jumpstarted his latest book, why perfectionism is terrible, how an early Springsteen show put Hornby on his path, why Dickens shouldn’t be taught before the age of 18, why test screenings are a good thing and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc, Jamie and Madyson.

Featured Books (Episode):

Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius by Nick Hornby

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Featured Album (Episode):

Sign ‘O’ the Times [Super Deluxe] by Prince

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

Bowie’s Bookshelf by John O’Connell

The Lyrics by Paul McCartney

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.

Nick Hornby on DICKENS AND PRINCE: A PARTICULAR KIND OF GENIUS