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meredithw20's review against another edition
4.0
Reliably John Waters-y, but written before he really hit his stride in essaying, I think, so some of the pieces run a bit long and ponderous. The hardest of his books to get through, so far. But good LORD is this guy funny.
ben_whackley's review against another edition
5.0
This is a winner for John Waters fans, but even more for those who feel a kinship with the man beyond the movies. I got a sort of perverse pleasure reading this in between checking out customers at Target. Find a public place and enjoy!
foxwrapped's review
5.0
Oh yeah, I really like John Waters. He reminds me of Steph except with my interests. And this is like, soooo 80s. I learned about the McMartin Preschool fiasco. So this schizo mom said that the teachers was like, sexually abusing children. Satanically. With secret underground tunnels. And hot air balloons. The trial lasted 6 years. One guy sat in jail for 5 years for this crazy horseshit. Oh the 80s and preschool aduse scandals!
voya_k's review against another edition
5.0
I really love the way John Waters' writing celebrates the lifestyle of adults living in their own imaginations -- both the maniac, crackpot or obsessive and those of us with a milder version of mania who simply love to read (about our maniac crackpot obsessions). The life of the mind that he promotes by noting "Of course you have time to read! Just live alone and don't watch TV!" or the loving list of the 118 magazines he subscribed to in 2003 is just as rebellious in its way as his boundary-busting movies.
Like Role Models, this book is particularly full of cultural tidbits. Many of them have even disappeared since the mid-80s, so you can even feel nostalgia for something you could have never experienced. (Is there a German word for that?) A must for fans, esp. for the chapter detailing the Buddy Deane show -- a real life program that was even crazier than the one portrayed in Hairspray.
Like Role Models, this book is particularly full of cultural tidbits. Many of them have even disappeared since the mid-80s, so you can even feel nostalgia for something you could have never experienced. (Is there a German word for that?) A must for fans, esp. for the chapter detailing the Buddy Deane show -- a real life program that was even crazier than the one portrayed in Hairspray.
jess_stetson's review
5.0
John Waters is a living legend. He's an American fucking treasure and by God I'll love anything he creates because every single thing he does, he does with pure, unadulterated love and passion. He understands better than anyone that the greatest sin is to be uninspired and uninteresting! These essays are simply love letters (and a Hatchet Piece) to those things that make Waters tick: the people, things, and situations that he loves and hates. They're a (pretty PG) peek into his mind and I'm grateful that he's on this planet.
emeraldberkowitz's review
4.0
my dad owned a bookstore when I was a kid and when it went out of business all the books he wanted to keep were in our basement, where me and my brother slept. anyway, I remember a couple of books that my dad gave me to read when I was an adolescent and this was one of them and that is why today I am adult obsessed with obsession and john waters' aesthetic of weirdoness. just bought this book for $2 on the street even though obviously my dad has a copy somewhere, and it's really fun to read again. And back to John Waters and obsession, I like how in Pecker the main character thanks his sister Li'l Chrissy for teaching him that life is nothing if you're not obsessed. Words to live by.