Analogies and Perspectives

I finished Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, by Chuck Klosterman, and I must say that I am a fan. Klosterman basically draws analogies between unlikely subjects and creates an explanation (seemingly out of thin air) as to why they are inherently the same thing, or often, why one has either affected or completely explains the other. Throughout the book he humorously details his personal understanding of society, politics, and other intellectual topics by likening them to subjects in pop culture such as the NBA, Star Wars, the TV show Saved by the Bell, and the computer game The Sims.

While, some of his theories about the meaning of life, viewed through the filter of pop culture make a bit of sense, mostly the essays in the book are less realistic and more entertaining, because he talks about things that we, as active members of today's society are familiar with. On several occasions I found myself laughing out loud (especially when Klosterman complains about how his character in the Sims can't get any play from fellow Sim character Bella because all she wants to talk about is sailboats).

I also found myself feeling slightly depressed after Klosterman pessimistically describes his love life (and presumably love in general) via the career of Billy Joel (I love you Just the Way You Are was from the heart yet Joel ended up divorcing his first wife) and unattainable perceptions of love perpetuated by John Cusak as Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything, and Coldplay.

Overall, I would say Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is a very entertaining read, and I would recommend it to all of you.


NEXT UP:

I am currently reading Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. This book came highly recommended to me by a friend who's taste in literature I highly regard, so I am excited to get into it. As usual, I'll let you know if it's worth your time!

From the inside cover: "What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and- if the right questions are asked- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking shows how to see through all the clutter."

From what I gather so far, the authors of Freakonomics, are doing something similar to what Chuck Klosterman did in Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, in that they are attempting to describe intellectual topics in terms that the every day man or woman can understand by analogizing to unlikely, yet familiar topics. Levitt, however, is an economist and Harvard graduate who uses research, data, and statistics to prove, rather than merely pontificate about, such topics as why school teachers are like sumo wrestlers and why drug dealers still live with their mothers even though they supposedly have such high incomes!