Rating: 
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: "When I get up in the morning nothing seems to make sense. At night everything has meaning and seems to be connected. That's why I hate to go to sleep." That's how Chuck Klosterman introduces his series of essays about popular culture, "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs." He has a real knack of teasing profound meanings out of the seeming trash of pop culture. And unlike a lot of other critics who start out writing about rock, he's not trying to prove he's in the Red Guards. He's a philosophical and temperamental moderate. In fact, his analysis of the 1980's rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the L.A. Lakers says that it was a ideological competition between right-wing individualism (Celtics) and corporate liberalism (Lakers); and he sheepishly confesses he's a Celtics man.He also writes about John Cusack's irresistable attraction for the women of his generation (and how we love the image of romance, not the real thing.) He proclaims Billy Joel's greatness in spite of Joel's lack of "coolness." He trashes soccer in a very satisfying way for those of us who hate it. He analyzes the strange mythic appeal of "Saved By The Bell"; it's the stupid popular kid's dream of what life should be like. He theorizes that the doom and gloom of "The Empire Strikes Back" could have influenced the famous pessimism of the entire so-called Generation X. On these many subjects Klosterman isn't quite as funny as Kevin Smith or Quentin Tarantino, but he's more articulate. There's much fun to be had in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Keeper Manifesto for the uber curious or cool people.
Review: (or think they are) This may be a non-sequitur but Chuck's book jacket picture looks like Corey Feldman with blond highlights. (sorry, I just had to get that off my chest) An observation that's less off the wall than Chuck's fresh and crisp writing. He is also clever, funny, twisted, and articulate. His witty essays are full of non-sequiturs but skillfully manages to segue them all in a way that only this sharp Author can. Chuck's vocabulary is to die for. He drops tongue-twisters such as "iconoclast" like I would use the word "like". I had my dictionary handy for his use of the words "byzantine" and "zeitgeist". Unless you have been living isolated in a cave for these last 30 years, your feelings and passions will be affected by some if not all of his chapters. Each of these droll chapters are stand alone essay topics that are as various as the different channels on cable TV. I also enjoyed it when he shed light on some secrets of the famous and infamous that were either very juicy or just plain weird. Either way, very interesting. His wickedly keen observations range from The Sims phenomena (the most detailed and passionate essay I've ever read about a computer game) to why "Sports reporters hate sports". He not only takes you behind the scenes but into the minds of various professionals and personas in an uncannily honest and original voice. Before I read this book, I knew nothing about The Sims. I had no idea why my nephew wanted me to buy him this game for his birthday. Now I think I know too much. I finished the chapter with thoughts of God, existence and materialism swimming in my head. (The chapter began with a topic on a game for kids!) You begin each essay thinking Chuck will lead you to one general area, next thing you know this rascal has you questioning the odds on the roll of a dice. The funny thing is, you actually understand his odds predictions. He leaves you doubting everything you learned in that dreaded statistics course you took in College. Within each chapter, Chuck will touch upon something that you can't wait to share with someone you know because you know they will agree with Chuck's discourse on the movie Vanilla Sky or even his slight mention of the band sigur rós. (Co-incidently, he does not mention the movie and the band in any related way or even in the same chapter but my favorite sigur rós song is on the Vanilla Sky soundtrack. That's a killer soundtrack by the way.) But most of all, I just got the sense that he did not want you to blindly accept the printed word whether those words were on a napkin, a newpaper or the Bible. He doesn't care what you believe or don't believe, as long as that belief is informed and can survive under his under-the-microscope-examinations. He delivers all this in an easy to enjoy and digest, non heavy-handed, tongue-in-cheek way with a wink. But most of all, I just know that if he gets laid because of this book, he'll think this a success.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining at times.....
Review: ...but I am not sure there was a whole book's worth of material or thought. I certainly enjoyed pieces of the book and would recommend it to anyone in the age range of 40-20 as way to reflect back but I am not so sure that this was not better suited for a series of magazine essays rather than a whole book with a full sticker price!
Rating: 
Summary: a nice combination
Review: a creatively acerbic, at times tear-producing analysis/take on many pop culture subjects, half of which I wasn't really even interested in until the author's humorous spins really brought them to life! Making fun of the minutiae of one of our guiltiest sins, watching television, can produce even more mindless - but no less hysterical - reactions. Klosterman produces some solid laughs with this surprisingly interesting work.
Rating:
Summary: Sex, "Drums" & Rock N' Roll
Review: As a big fan of Chuck's first book "Fargo Rock City", I was a little let down by his newest essay book. Some of the reviewers seem to be amazed by Chuck's memory of obscure trivia but if you think about it everyone can remember a certain song and who sang it, an obscure sports player and his or her claim to fame, or what type of engine came stock in a 1972 Corvette. All Chuck did was think of something obscure, contemplate it for a few minutes, went on the internet to get the rest of the information and to make sure he was correct and then wrote a short essay. I'm not downing Chuck for this or his book but I'm not going to give him high praise either. There were some interesting essays and then there were a few "soggy" ones. More importantly, was some of the essays that I liked or found interesting were ones I actually disagreed with. But as with music or art, if something makes you think and have a discussion with your friends or family than it should be given its' kudos. Thus, I give 3.5 stars. There were also some topics in this book that were brought up in his first book.
Rating:
Summary: Elvis Lives...a tribute show
Review: Chuck Klosterman has obviously read plenty of Jay McInerney and Bret Easton Ellis. He seems to be trying to write the next BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY. I think he tries too hard, though. He's not writing his voice, he's writing an attempt to emulate the voice of other writers. He does a good job and the stories are interesting, but there is the soul of the writer missing from the book that you get when it's a writer's authentic voice and not an imitation. Even the best Elvis Impersonator is still and impersonator. If you want to read the next BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, buy MY FRACTURED LIFE because it has that authentic voice. I'm not saying don't buy SEX, DRUGS, AND COCO PUFFS, just know you're going to see a tribute show.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: Chuck Klosterman writes with the world weary hum of David Rakoff (Fraud) and the irreverence of David Sedaris (Naked). The result is enjoyable and carries an added tone reminiscent of novelists Rikki Lee Travolta (My Fractured Life) and Nick Hornby (High Fidelity).
Rating:
Summary: One of the year's best...
Review: Chuck Klosterman's "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" is the 27th book I've read this year, and only Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" and Alison Burnett's "Christopher" rank higher in my list of delightful, insightful, brilliant books. I ask two things of books-- that they force me to stop everything I'm doing to finish them, and that they have something new about life to tell me. I am often disappointed on both counts. "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" is full of brilliant insights; the kind that you wish you had thought of first. The essays manage to be both focused and digressive at the same time, a trait that only the best writers can pull off. Klosterman is witty, bitter, and romantic at the same time, kind of like his alter ego, Woody Allen. (Or so he says in the first essay. I think he looks more like a Scandanavian Mike Mills.) My 3 favorite essays in this collection are the first, where Klosterman presents us with an unavoidable truth: Generation X has been ruined by "fake love"; the second, which offers a brilliant analysis of just how fake(and influential) reality TV is; and the last, which confirms that I am not the only Gen Exer who has given serious thought to the worldview of Tim LaHaye. (That's the "Left Behind" author, for those of you who haven't.) A great discovery; well worth the hardcover price.
Rating:
Summary: One of the year's best...
Review: Chuck Klosterman's "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" is the 27th book I've read this year, and only Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" and Alison Burnett's "Christopher" rank higher in my list of delightful, insightful, brilliant books. I ask two things of books-- that they force me to stop everything I'm doing to finish them, and that they have something new about life to tell me. I am often disappointed on both counts. "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" is full of brilliant insights; the kind that you wish you had thought of first. The essays manage to be both focused and digressive at the same time, a trait that only the best writers can pull off. Klosterman is witty, bitter, and romantic at the same time, kind of like his alter ego, Woody Allen. (Or so he says in the first essay. I think he looks more like a Scandanavian Mike Mills.) My 3 favorite essays in this collection are the first, where Klosterman presents us with an unavoidable truth: Generation X has been ruined by "fake love"; the second, which offers a brilliant analysis of just how fake(and influential) reality TV is; and the last, which confirms that I am not the only Gen Exer who has given serious thought to the worldview of Tim LaHaye. (That's the "Left Behind" author, for those of you who haven't.) A great discovery; well worth the hardcover price.
Rating:
Summary: If only you could talk back to a book
Review: Chuck Klosterman's essays strike a chord with me, and most likely with a number of people between the ages of 25-35. He talks about life and the meaning and condition of life as reflected in the various forms of entertainment we have absorbed throughout our lives. There will be something for you to latch onto and other things to disagree with in each essay. Each is similar to topics of conversation at every bar or cocktail party in America. The only frustrating thing is that it's a book, not a dialogue. Because many books of essays are thoroughly new and educational to me, I am content to sit back and read them and let them teach me. But Klosterman's essays are like the conversations I have with people almost on a daily basis. I am not used to having to sit still and listen to someone's theories on the Real World and how it has changed our lives and the way we see ourselves without being able to respond in kind. However, that's also the satisfying thing about these essays. Whether you love Coldplay or hate them, whether you think being a Celtic fan is an expression of your Reagan-era conservatism, or if playing the Sims has ever sparked existential thoughts, or it's just about buying new stuff or torturing your simulated alter ego, in other words, whether you agree with Klosterman's expostulations on his subjects or not, you will at least be sparked to think about these things. By that I mean not just thinking about Saved by the Bell, or Lloyd Dobler or the Real World. I mean thinking about whether in this day and age we can ever be satisfied with a relationship; whether we live our lives in a self-absorbed, self-examining, exhibitionist way as a result of reality shows; and whether people really do drift in and out of our lives without our really noticing, and what that says about our own self-centeredness. It's an interesting book and the only thing I could wish is that it also came with one dinner with the author so that you could reply to him and give commentary on the things he has written.
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