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missjenm's review against another edition
2.0
The celebrity interviews were really entertaining, smart, and funny. Once you get to the middle essays it drags quite a bit and Klosterman's writing style starts to get pretty stale.
matthewwester's review against another edition
5.0
This is the third book I've read of Klosterman's and I've enjoyed all three. He's a great writer and this is a book chock full of entertaining essays/articles/stories, what else could you ask for? My only complaint is that I bought a used copy and page 399-400 is ripped out and now that's all I can think about. What was on that page?
helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
4.0
Re-read/listen. I listened to this entire book, read by the author, in the time it took me to get ready for work in the morning over a couple weeks. Totally worth it.
I want to use this space to recommend reading his work as The Ethicist at New York Times. That column didn't last nearly long enough, and he's since been replaced with the same bullshit nonsense that advice columns always come to, which is "Easily-answered questions asked of people who saddle up the moral high horse and invite you to ride."
I found a book of advice from Ms. Manners from the late 70's and early 80's. Do you know how she answered the question of "How should I treat a gay couple who is coming over for dinner?" "Treat them like you'd treat a couple friends who are coming over for dinner, because that's what they are."
Ms. Manners had her shit together like 40 years ago. I don't think advice columns (with the exception of Dr. Laura) have trouble giving out the "right" answer. It just speaks to the same old story, which is that it's a lot easier to give advice than it is to follow it. I know this to be true because I write columns of writing advice all the time, and if I could stick to everything I've recommended, I'd be fucking Stephen King by now. Without the skill, sure, but also without the getting hit by a van. Win some lose some.
The Ethicist advice post-Klosterman isn't wrong, it's just not as interesting. Because what Klosterman did differently is he took the title very seriously. He did not answer with what was morally correct or legally correct. He didn't give advice so much as he answered with what was ethically correct. Which makes it pretty interesting when you have a question like, "Is it wrong of me to fill a large bottle of water from the Deep Rock at work and bring it home?"
It's my hope that these columns will be collected and published someday. But I guess we'll just have to see.
I want to use this space to recommend reading his work as The Ethicist at New York Times. That column didn't last nearly long enough, and he's since been replaced with the same bullshit nonsense that advice columns always come to, which is "Easily-answered questions asked of people who saddle up the moral high horse and invite you to ride."
I found a book of advice from Ms. Manners from the late 70's and early 80's. Do you know how she answered the question of "How should I treat a gay couple who is coming over for dinner?" "Treat them like you'd treat a couple friends who are coming over for dinner, because that's what they are."
Ms. Manners had her shit together like 40 years ago. I don't think advice columns (with the exception of Dr. Laura) have trouble giving out the "right" answer. It just speaks to the same old story, which is that it's a lot easier to give advice than it is to follow it. I know this to be true because I write columns of writing advice all the time, and if I could stick to everything I've recommended, I'd be fucking Stephen King by now. Without the skill, sure, but also without the getting hit by a van. Win some lose some.
The Ethicist advice post-Klosterman isn't wrong, it's just not as interesting. Because what Klosterman did differently is he took the title very seriously. He did not answer with what was morally correct or legally correct. He didn't give advice so much as he answered with what was ethically correct. Which makes it pretty interesting when you have a question like, "Is it wrong of me to fill a large bottle of water from the Deep Rock at work and bring it home?"
It's my hope that these columns will be collected and published someday. But I guess we'll just have to see.
hollywfranklin's review against another edition
4.0
The extended versions of articles the author has written over the years for various magazines. Any book that can include commentary on Britney Spears, Radiohead, and Chicken McNuggets is my kind of read.
bryce_is_a_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like starting with Eating The Dinosaur Klosterman made a concentrated decision to be less of an asshole. This is a good thing. Because I kind of want to punch the IV iteration even when I agree with him.
ballroompink's review against another edition
3.0
Not as much fun as Klostermann's other essay collections, mostly I think to the inclusion of sport articles which I have no desire to read. The Morrissey essay about Hispanic fans of the Smiths singer is particularly interesting.
sharppointysticks's review against another edition
3.0
I accidentally bought the abridged version of this book from Audible. I cannot describe how angry this makes me. I do not read abridged versions of books EVER. I'm a little OCD about stuff like that. It's the same thing that makes me watch the tv shows on my DVR in alphabetical order and makes me incapable of watching a series of movies, or read a series of books, without starting at the beginning.
Anyway... I am a bit of a pop-culture junkie, so I like Klosterman. I liked the book, but didn't have super strong feelings about it good or bad.
Anyway... I am a bit of a pop-culture junkie, so I like Klosterman. I liked the book, but didn't have super strong feelings about it good or bad.