enjoyadrian Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 So I've read "killing yourself to live" by Klosterman, and thought it was good at parts, but for the most part kinda meh. Is "sex, drugs and cocoa puffs" or "IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas" any better? Conceptually they sound better, and i'm sure some of you guys have read them. Let me know if theyre good. Kinda want some reading material other than comic tradebacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricsnow Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I really enjoyed "Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs". I would recommend it for sure. However, I haven't read "Killing yourself to live" so i can't really say which one is better. "IV" was a good read though since it gathered a bunch of his works together in one book. All in all i would recommend "Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs" over "IV" though. Hope this was helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vito Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I'm currently about halfway through "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs", and i find it interesting for the most part. However, I cannot compare to it anything else he's written as I haven't read any of it yet. Basically I feel like you, good in some parts, not so good in others. Sometimes I find him to be too opinionated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flood Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 SD+CP was a good read... a couple of the chapters are a little weak, but others are really great.. so it balances it out quite nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 i loved 'killing yourself to live' and own 'sex drugs & cocoa puffs' but havent read it yet because my boyfriend comandeered it when i got it and i havent stolen it back yet lol he liked it a lot though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknroll76 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs was overall entetaining. It's all over the road though, one chapter is about Saved by the Bell, one chapter is about football(meh), one chapter is about Billy Joel. It's just his random thoughts on various pop culture bullshit. It DID make me laugh out loud at some parts. I just finished "Fargo Rock City" as well. Only Klosterman can call Shout at the Devil his "Sgt. Pepper", and find a way to compare the acoustic side of G N' R Lies to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hickey Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs and IV are pretty much the same...collections of essays and musings on pop culture and such. If you like that kind of stuff, they're both really good. I just finished Downtown Owl, his first novel, and it was terrible. I prefer Klosterman's column in Esquire, which is often more thought out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 SD+CP>IV>Fargo Rock City>Killing Yourself to Live>>>>>>>>>Downtown Owl. He needs to stick with non-fiction; his novel was the most anti-climactic thing I've ever read. I liked KYTL, but the memoir/love story parts made it a lot less cohesive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I liked KYTL, but the memoir/love story parts made it a lot less cohesive. agreed. i could have done without those probably 30 collective pages lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirbypuckett Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I don't understand why people like this guy. I've been reading SD&CP and it's awful. His writing is quite annoying -- he basically says the same thing 30 different ways. He comes off as a pompous twat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hickey Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 He comes off as a pompous twat. That's part of his charm for me. I think his choice of essay topics is pretty humorous. I like his writing style. That said, he should stick to essays and get away from fiction...though I thought the short story at the end of IV was pretty good. Stay away from Downtown Owl though. I finished that book and was so pissed off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknroll76 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 He comes off as a pompous twat. Stay away from Downtown Owl though. I finished that book and was so pissed off. Done and done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 i'm surprised you dont like him kirby, for some reason i thought you would have. part of his writing style makes you hate him before you can really appreciate how good of a writer he is. i started with killing yourself to live and loved it. i hated him and what he wrote about until the point where he is snorting coke in the parking lot of the bar that burnt down during great white. that made me realize that even though he is the hipster "it" person he was real and didnt give a shit what american apparel employees think of him. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs and IV are both basically the same thing, a huge collection of essays, lots of good ones, some boring shitty ones. My favorite book by far though is Fargo Rock City. I grew up in a small town in northern alberta and was almost completely isolated from any sort of musical knowledge short of muchmusic (shittier mtv) so the book really hit home with me. And like rocknroll said a couple posts ago, its hilarious how he can make these insane comparisons and then convince you that he's right. I guess if you are going to get into more of his stuff id suggest you read one of his essay books first (IV or Sex Drugs...) to get a better idea of his style and then read Fargo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediocore Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I dig Klosterman (especially his Esquire column), but I'm staying the fuck away from that novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lokithelion Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Fargo Rock City was my favorite of his books. Sex Drugs would be second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicker Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I don't understand why people like this guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexH. Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Well, fuck. I'm halfway through Downtown Owl and I like it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentgods Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 fargo rock city is the one i haven't read yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swank Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I like Klosterman`s essay book, despite the general feeling I get that he'd be no fun to hang around with. Which isn't a prerequisite for liking someones books, but when you're basically just listening to someones opinion, it helps if they don't come off as a "pompous twat". I liked SDCP and IV quite a bit, but I think downtown owl was a failed experiment on his part. He should stay out of fiction. The ending was so infuriatingly abrupt and didn't seem well thought out or at all poignant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 SD+CP is my favorite of his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Well, fuck. I'm halfway through Downtown Owl and I like it so far. Get ready to waste about 7 hours of your life to wind up doing a giant facepalm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funsize Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I've read all of his books, I like pretty much everything, but it is really hit and miss. SD+CP is my favorite followed by Fargo Rock City. Also, in regard to Downtown Owl, I wasn't really a fan of the way his style carried over into fiction, but after being pretty indifferent/ a little disappointed the whole book, I actually was pretty pleased with the ending. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headtowall Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 his stuff is okay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hickey Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Also, in regard to Downtown Owl, I wasn't really a fan of the way his style carried over into fiction, but after being pretty indifferent/ a little disappointed the whole book, I actually was pretty pleased with the ending. Go figure. I enjoyed it until the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawaiieric Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I liked Downtown Owl.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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