Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs, by Chuck Klosterman
A light book covering a number of interesting thought experiments and rambles, that Dad & I enjoyed enough to read together.
I loved this book. The author has a number of witty anecdotes, many of which twist or spin in unlikely directions, keeping me (the reader) on my toes.
Chuck goes through the book looking at snippets of life and reflecting on how universal these specific instances really are. The writing is engaging (I read the book aloud to my father one sunny afternoon) and we were both hooked. There are chapters that really hit me as important (like the discussion about Lloyd Dobbler and Fake Love), and fun chapters that don’t contribute a ton, but are told amusingly. I suspect which chapter falls in each category will depend on your own life experiences– his chapter about The Sims felt weak to me, but I’ve never seen the appeal of that game. Other chapters that seem strong to me will (say, the parts where he ruminates about being a single 30 something male) probably have less impact to you.
Still, he succeeds in his journey. We get a chance to look at life through simple routines and events… and come away with a moment or two of self analysis. I don’t think a lot of the self reflection will have lasting effect– probably because so many of the issues are humorous and shallow– but provoking even a moment’s thought is impressive to me.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone from mid teens through… well, any age, as long as they won’t get bent out of shape by casual reference to drugs and such. As I mentioned, Dad & I shared a good laugh, just listening to Chuck spin out his stories.
Data:
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs : A Low Culture Manifesto
by Chuck Klosterman
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Scribner (August 26, 2003)
ISBN: 0743236009
(Thanks to Anna, writing on Affectionately Anna)