Ethreadzny2 Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743236009.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg'> I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. There's a lot more cold cereal than sex or drugs in Klosterman's nostalgic, patchy collection of pop cultural essays, which, despite sparks of brilliance, fails to cohere. Having graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1994, Klosterman (Fargo Rock City) seems never to have left that time or place behind. He is an ironically self-aware, trivia-theorizing, unreconstructed slacker: "I'm a `Gen Xer,' okay? And I buy shit marketed to `Gen Xers.' And I use air quotes when I talk.... Get over it." The essay topics speak for themselves: the Sims, The Real World, Say Anything, Pamela Anderson, Billy Joel, the Lakers/Celtics rivalry, etc. The closest Klosterman gets to the 21st century is Internet porn and the Dixie Chicks. This is a shame, because he's is a skilled prose stylist with a witty, twisted brain, a photo-perfect memory for entertainment trivia and has real chops as a memoirist. The book's best moments arrive when he eschews argumentation for personal history. In "George Will vs. Nick Hornby," a tired screed against soccer suddenly comes to life when Klosterman tells the story of how he was fired from his high school summer job as a Little League baseball coach. The mothers wanted their sons to have equal playing time; Klosterman wanted "a run-manufacturing offensive philosophy modeled after Whitey Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals." In a chapter on relationships, Klosterman semi-jokes that he only has "three and a half dates worth of material." Remove all the dated pop culture analyses, and Klosterman's book has enough material for about half a really great memoir. Book Description From the kid who brought you Fargo Rock City -- the first book in history to garner the praise of Stephen King, David Byrne, Donna Gaines, Sebastian Bach, Jonathan Lethem, and Rivers Cuomo -- comes Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs -- the first book in history to examine breakfast cereal, reality television, tribute bands, Internet porn, serial killers, and the Dixie Chicks. Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman -- with an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and a seemingly effortless ability to spin brilliant prose out of unlikely subject matter. Whether deconstructing Saved by the Bell episodes or the artistic legacy of Billy Joel, the symbolic importance of The Empire Strikes Back or the Celtics/Lakers rivalry of the 1980s, Chuck will make you think, he'll make you laugh, and he'll drive you insane -- usually all at once. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is ostensibly about movies, sports, television, music, books, video games, and kittens...but, really, it's about us. All of us. As Klosterman realizes late at night, in the moment before he falls asleep, "In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever 'in and of itself.'" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 455 Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiseguy Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 its all a blur of grey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethreadzny2 Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 yeah, its to much to read. however I strongly recommend the book, its a very intresting book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Thamaire Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 sounds cool,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niggeristic! Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 Originally posted by Ethreadzny2 I strongly recommend the book That's all you had to say. Thanks for wasting our time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fr8lover Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 this book is funny as FUCK i wish he would write an entire book analyzing the real world, because im a big fan of that type of thing too... ethreadz, i know you got good taste in books, but have you read "Fargo Rock City" by klosterman too? its more or less a history of the rise and fall of hair metal in the 80s, with a lot of bits and pieces about his life and metals effect on him growing up in fargo, nd. its just as entertaining as this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethreadzny2 Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 Fargo is next on the list, I got about 50 more pages of Sex, Drugs.. and then I making a trip to the book store. I have to agree, I really think I have enjoyed the section of the Real World the most also. That and the Gun n' Roses cover band. Fargo sounds worth the read, anything about hair bands has to be entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_dowmagik Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 saw this book in high times this month, it looks gooooood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kr430n5_666 Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 that book is fucking amazing. http://www.kak.ru/images/archive/11-12/logos/LJ1373.jpg'> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Screw Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 got any quotees from the book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethreadzny2 Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 when I am done with the book, I will be sure to add some quotes to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfreshsushi Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 reading books is good for your sinuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethreadzny2 Posted December 2, 2003 Author Share Posted December 2, 2003 "Reality is a paradigm that always seems different and personal and unique, yet never really is. Its reality is autonomous" & "The strength of your memory dictates the sixe of your reality." Klosterman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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