Nick Hornby...
the author of "Fever Pitch", "High Fidelity", "About a Boy" and others has graced us with his presence here in Reykjavik on the literature festival.
He is such a funny and witty guy and looks so normal. There is not a snobbish air about him. Unfourtunately he got just half an hour of answering really long questions, but I think his essence was captured and that is what I want to get out of these things.
Having studied English literature, I expected to see many of my old classmates or teachers at the convention. iceland is very small and one can´t go shopping without bumping into people or faces you know. But not a single face I recognized except Ásgeir, who introduced me to Nick Hornby a long time ago. Thank you for that, my friend. I didn´t get a chance to speak to you, with you being late and all that and afterwards I really had to hurry to get Hornby sign my book...
Yes people, I am here to tell you that I cut in line infront of everybody else and managed to put myself in second position. When it comes to things like these I can be very gutsy. But I realize it was not very German of me and I would like to apologize to all the people harmed during the making of this outrageous move. If somebody would have said something, I would have moved ... really! But nobody did and so I got to speak to him a little and our conversation was something like:
"As a foreigner in Iceland I have to ask you how many people asked you the question: ´So how do you like Iceland?´
"A lo-o-o-t of people, usually right after ´Hello´" and he looked at me with a little smile on his face and I said:
"So how do you like it?" and he laughed and then said "Can´t wait to come back."
My boyfriend got his "Fever Pitch" signed by Hornby and it says: "My mom could win the league with 250 million pounds..."
Well, I guess you had to be there. If you were not and you could have been...your loss!
the author of "Fever Pitch", "High Fidelity", "About a Boy" and others has graced us with his presence here in Reykjavik on the literature festival.
He is such a funny and witty guy and looks so normal. There is not a snobbish air about him. Unfourtunately he got just half an hour of answering really long questions, but I think his essence was captured and that is what I want to get out of these things.
Having studied English literature, I expected to see many of my old classmates or teachers at the convention. iceland is very small and one can´t go shopping without bumping into people or faces you know. But not a single face I recognized except Ásgeir, who introduced me to Nick Hornby a long time ago. Thank you for that, my friend. I didn´t get a chance to speak to you, with you being late and all that and afterwards I really had to hurry to get Hornby sign my book...
Yes people, I am here to tell you that I cut in line infront of everybody else and managed to put myself in second position. When it comes to things like these I can be very gutsy. But I realize it was not very German of me and I would like to apologize to all the people harmed during the making of this outrageous move. If somebody would have said something, I would have moved ... really! But nobody did and so I got to speak to him a little and our conversation was something like:
"As a foreigner in Iceland I have to ask you how many people asked you the question: ´So how do you like Iceland?´
"A lo-o-o-t of people, usually right after ´Hello´" and he looked at me with a little smile on his face and I said:
"So how do you like it?" and he laughed and then said "Can´t wait to come back."
My boyfriend got his "Fever Pitch" signed by Hornby and it says: "My mom could win the league with 250 million pounds..."
Well, I guess you had to be there. If you were not and you could have been...your loss!
11 Comments:
That was a really funny post. As soon as I read about you cutting in line my first thought was your next line. I've never read Hornby and don't get the inscription. Thanks for the recommendation.
Doug, you´d love Hornby. Read "High Fidelity" and you´ll see.
To the inscription: You are American and as such you know very liitle about soccer in Europe, or what we call football here.
The English Football League is what all Europe watches and lives for, except me it seems. Anyways, there is one team in England ccalled Chelsea that was bought by some Russian Billionaire. Now they can buy any player they want, offer the most cash and now the League is not that surprising anymore. Last year Chelsea won, it take slittle imagination to guess who is gonna take it this time home. Hornby loves Arsenal and is probably annoyed by that fact and so made the comment.
I hope that cleared it up and I am embarrased to know so much about this sport, but I happen to live with a football addict whose life centers around the Manchester United Football Club.
And I would like to use this moment and take a little: "Glory, Glory Man United..." which would be their song.
verifier: qwugp - the sound you make when eating backwards!
I enjoy your posts very much.
No, it's not very German of you to cut into line ahead of your turn! One thing I loved about Germany was that the people are so very, very, orderly. I went there right from Italy, so you can understand that I longed for order.
TLP, everybody needs a bit of order after Italy.
There is a little story about staying in line in Germany and how it does not pay.
Here it goes:
I must have been about five or six when an Ice-Cream truck came into our little village, somewhere in the north of East-Germany. News travel fast and we knew that icecream was on its way before we could see the actual truck. By the time it got there all our village had already gathered at the spot that we considered the centre. The truck came and people from neighbouring villages along with it. One variety of icecream caught my eyes. It was lightblue and I had never seen a colour as beautiful as that, let alone in an icecream.
I wa sdetermined to get a taste of it and put myself in line. I was rather far behind, when the truck driver shouted out that maybe all the kids should go infront, so I moved but felt the grip of my mother that demanded this is where we are and this is where were gonna stay until it is our turn. I can´t remeber but I believe there was little movement at all in the line.
By now you can guess how the story ends. After what seemed like an eternity the blue icecream finished, about five people ahead of me. Till this day I wonder how it would have tasted...
The moral of the story: If you really want something and there is a chance to grab it, go for it.
A signed copy of Nick Hornby´s books is just like that icecream!
Haha, das bekannte Deutsch Ordnüng! Thanks. I didn't think of that kind of pounds. I thought his mother was very fat.
Strangely enough, I the Icelander went to the back of the line while Monika the orderly German cut to the front. I actually though it was adorable. I could have saved myself twenty minutes had I done the same.
Tryggvi, I know nothing about Icelandic stereotypes. Are you guys supposed to be pushy? I wouldn't have thought so.
Verifier: "IFSRSP" A political party in Reykjavik, "Icelanders For Self-Restraint but Some Pushing"
Bad German, bad!
Monika, I'm hoping that you or some other German-speaker can help translate the song titles on my September 17 post...
Danke!
AP3, just went to your site and laughed. There was not much damage to be repaired. Your German is very good.
Another strange German singer you migth wanna look up: Roy Black...
Doug, the thing about Icelanders is that they don't practice discipline much. U should see pupils sleeping in classrooms, as well as the whole drinking-till-u-drop culture in downtown Reykjavík. So I was actually surprised that there was an orderly line of people waiting for Nick Hornby's signature. Shit happens, I guess.
Tryvggi, that's interesting and shows how culture and ethnicity can diverge. The people that settled Iceland sure aren't like that now. Have you ever heard of a book called Last Places? It is a rare people whose stereotypes aren't well known.
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