Chuck klosterman x

I just finished my first Chuck Klosterman book. It was everything I thought it might be, and then some!

Son Isaac bought me 'X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century' as a birthday present. He said Klosterman reminded him of how I write. I was immediately intrigued, not only to find out what my boy meant by that, but also because it's this giant all-black book that looks really cool and must be good to be 464 pages long.

Right away I was hooked. 'X' is a collection of CK's essays and articles from the previous decade on a wide variety of subjects but most notably rock music and sports. I am now surprised I'd never heard of him - unless I had and just didn't realize it - because there don't seem to be a lot of people who specialize in those two areas of knowledge/interest at the same time (music & sports).  Plus the fact Klosterman has written nine previous books and contributed to outlets like GQ, Esquire, Billboard, The A.V. Club, the Guardian, ESPN, as well as serving as the New York Times Magazine ethicist. So, you know, he's no slouch.

Anyway, I guess you can read more about him if you want. I'm mostly just writing here today to say how much I liked this book. Not only do I relate to the writing style, but the content as well. I will also say, it is NOT true that Klosterman writes like me. I may try to write similar to the way he does, but I could only be compared to him in my dreams (or by my son).

I'm not sure how I would even describe his writing (other than how others already have), but it's funny, serious, sarcastic, intellectual, yet often about the most mundane of things. When I dream about being a writer, I suppose this is what I dream of. I might also add that it is strangely... positive. For instance, the most lengthy chapter is his coverage of the entire KISS anthology describing how utterly terrible most of it is, yet it's so infused with his love of the band that it makes you want to listen to them again! I don't know, it's a strange mix; and I like it.

So, while I can't say how this book rates among his others, it certainly has my interest. Not only would I like to someday read another Klosterman book, but this also reminded me of my need to read more fiction. I'm not entirely sure why, since this isn't fiction itself, but maybe it just made me want to read more, period. Or, maybe it inspired me to want to read better writers. Which I consider Klosterman to be (at least to me).

Well done, son. Just my kind of book.