Book Review: Chuck Klosterman - A Decade Of Curious People And Dangerous Ideas

After receiving quite a few compliments (thanks all!) on my Courtney Love book review from last month, I decided to take a stab at dissecting/analyzing the latest from one of my all-time favorite authors, Chuck Klosterman.

Chuck, as many of you already know, was pretty much an all-star contributor at Spin up until March of this year when he mysteriously either a) got fired or b) quit after the new management took control. My guess is for B. Either way, Decade is the fourth book in his serious of pop culture-directed books, and it's truly, my favorite of them all.

The book is divided into three sections - Things That Are True, Things That Might Be True & Something That Is Not True At All. The first third of the book includes a series of interviews that Chuck has done over the last few years; subjects range from Billy Joel to Britney to Morrissey. For those who've followed Chuck, these interviews may seem redundant but reading them all one after another really showcases Chuck's gift of gab. His witty, clever, humorous and honest take on each interviewee truly makes for a great read.

The second chunk of Decade features 'opinions and theories on everything from monogamy to pirates to robots to super people to guilt and (of course) advancement - all with new hypothetial questions and footnotes'. The hypotheticals this time around are a fucking riot. One of my favorites discusses a 'brain pill' that makes you 10% smarter, but to the world you seem 20% dumber. Other questions posed revolve the arguments of morals vs. money, life vs. rain (you have to read it believe it), and how amnesia shapes a person. Truly intriguing and highly thought-provoking.

Lastly, Chuck tackles 40 or so pages of pure fictional work. Once again, Chuck does a terrific job. This time working with a fascinating character named Ricky Rumble (no relation to Idlewild's Roddy Woomble, unfortunately!).

I highly recommend throwing this book in as a last minute stocking stuffer. Hell, I'll even make it easier for you, just click here to purchase it!