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Dec 21, 2009

RandomAnthony rated it:

Ok, I’ve read every book Klosterman has written and I’m going to outline what I think was running through his mind when he wrote the excellent Eating The Dinosaur:

1. You know, if one more person asks me if I still watch The Real World or know that Screech was in a porno, I’m going to scream. No, I probably won’t scream. I’m from North Dakota, a courteous locale, so I will not scream. I will feel embarrassed for the questioner and remove myself from the interaction as quickly as pos More...

6 comments like (22 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2010

ReaderM rated it:

So I've never read a book by Chuck Klosterman and after reading Eating The Dinosaur, I'm honestly started to wonder what I've done with my life. Eating the Dinosaur is a simple collection of essays that will slightly twist your mind but present a pleasant read.

In reading the 'Easting the Dinosaur' you could say this is just a cheap collection of essays by a guy whose editors told him; "hey it's been a while since you released a book" throw something together quick. I honest More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Kevin added it

Klosterman is kind of a hipster's Malcolm Gladwell - funny, smart, obsessively focused on pop culture and rock and roll and sports, but in a personal way. His first chapter here chronicles how he spent years interviewing celebrities (and others), but, since he has become the subject of interviews, he could not understanding why people feel the need to answer honestly. So he interviewed Ira Glass and Errol Morris about... interviewing. It's a weird post-modern conceit, but it works really well More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Connor rated it:

Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman is not your prototypical book. There is no plot or main character Eating The Dinosaur is a book compiled of short essay on various topics. Klosterman brings various topics to the table in his book. Topics include football, sitcom shows, bands and many more. Three of my personal favorite essays are time traveling, football, and laugh tracks. Klosterman writes essay to understand essays that are entertaining as they come. Klosterman is a great write More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 24, 2011

David rated it:

first book of his I've read, though the name sounds familiar -- I think I've read some of his articles on grantland, the Bill ("Sports Guy") Simmons site. Anyway, it's a collection of long-ish essays mostly about sports or music or technology. Hard to summarize a theme or point -- just generally smart, funny, verbally fluent guy earnestly taking on some of his pet topics, including the music of ABBA, the rise and fall of Garth Brooks ("he already seems only half as famous as Bra More...

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Dec 02, 2011

Ed Wagemann added it

I disagree with about 90% of everything Chuck Klosterman utters, yet I enjoy reading him (although I only end up reading about 50% of any book he publishes and skip or skim the other 50%). I've always liked reading/hearing thoughts and opinions that differ from my own, especially if those thoughts/opinions are presented in an interesting and entertaining way--which is the same reason that I listen to Rush Limbaugh at times.

Sometimes I will agree with Klosterman in spirit, but disagr More...

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Sep 22, 2011

Patrick rated it:

Eating The Dinosaur is Chuck Klosterman’s latest book of essays on pop culture. There’s a lot to enjoy in the book, but I don’t think it’s as entertaining as some of his earlier books. It seems that (unlike the majority of his fans) I tend to find his sports essays among the most entertaining and thought provoking. In this book he takes on the disappointing untapped potential of Ralph Samson’s NBA career in “What We Talk About When We Talk About Ralph Sampson: Society's Reactions to Public Failu More...

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Sep 16, 2011

Jeremy rated it:

Chuck Klosterman is a genius. He makes me want to write. Seriously, I restarted my PhD dissertation with full energy after reading this book. Reading Klosterman is like having a half-drunken conversation with a really interesting friend who is fascinated by everything. In this book, Klosterman reflects on the process of interviewing and why people go through it, much less tell the truth; the similarities between Nirvana and David Koresh; how time travel is basically for lazy people who want to e More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Benjamin rated it:

Chuck Klosterman is a changed man. Evolved. But is that a good thing?

In “Eating the Dinosaur”, Chuck is a different writer than he was when most of his current fan base stumbled upon him with “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs”, his second publication. In SDaCPs, Klosterman was a low culture guru, who molded philosophy around constant references to pop culture. “Eating the Dinosaur” isn’t so lighthearted, and I don’t think it was meant to be, so that’s not an indictment. It’s just not what I’ve come More...

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Jul 24, 2011

NJMetal rated it:

Eating The Dinosaur is a return to the form of Sex, Drugs and Chuck Klosterman IV. Full of essays of irreverant views of pop-culture of all varieties: Music, movies and sports most notably. If there can be a unifiing theme to it all perhaps it is best described as essays on preception and time.
This is certainly not Klostermans best work. But it is undeniably Klosterman. ABBA vs. the World, how are Curt Cobain and David Koresh the same person. Did Ted Kazynski have a valid point. Klos More...

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Mar 14, 2011

Matt rated it:

I'll pretty much read anything Klosterman writes, and this book is not going to change that opinion one bit. In fact, this one actually impressed me, even though I'm usually pretty into K's game.

Part of it is just the weirdness of these essays, this book, existing at all. I think the previous books were collections of pieces that he'd written for other jobs-- Spin, Esquire, whatever. But this one, at least as far as I can tell, eshews that to go for new content. And who has time for More...

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Mar 01, 2011

James rated it:

I picked up this book because I've heard Klosterman on Bill Simmons' (aka The Sports Guy on ESPN.com) podcast, and he had a unique way of approaching sports, in that he enjoyed them, but never rooted for a team. He just didn't care who won - which was almost completely unfathomable to me! Even in games where I don't really have any rooting interest, I find myself pulling for one team instead of the other. Anyway, this book is full of similarly unique (some might say bizarre) opinions on a var More...

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Nov 29, 2010

Derek rated it:

Meh. I hoped that Eating the Dinosaur would be a return to form for Klosterman, after the unreadable novel Downtown Owl. In retrospect, it occurs to me that Klosterman's books have gotten steadily less entertaining with each one that is published. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs had me laughing out loud, and I found Killing Yourself to Live pretty insightful and entertaining, but since then the returns have been diminishing. I'll pay Klosterman a sort of compliment here: Eating the Dinosaur reminds m More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2010

James rated it:

I have had a longstanding love/like relationship with Chuck Klosterman. Most of the time I like what he writes, and occasionally I love certain pieces, or even parts of pieces.

But Eating the Dinosaur has, somehow, taken large parts of my brain--and by this I mean not only or simply objects and topics that inhabit my brain, but THE WAYS I THINK ABOUT THEM--and made them plain, in language that not only replicates my own cadences and ramblings, but refines them to the point where I som More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jul 08, 2010

Brynn rated it:

"Most people are not articulate about everything in their life, but they are articulate about the things they're still figuring out." (8)

"So the deeper question is, what's more important, narrative consistency or truth? I think we're always trying to create a consistent narrative for ourselves. I think truth always takes a backseat to narrative. Truth has to sit at the back of the bus." (13)

"People answer questions because it feels stranger to do More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 04, 2010

Shelah rated it:

Eddie and I bought this audiobook to listen to when we were driving around Hawaii. Even though I've read basically all of Klosterman's nonfiction books, they're not the kinds of books I'd normally imagine myself enjoying. For one thing, he writes almost exclusively about rock music, about which I know very little (my most hated question when I was dating was "what kind of music do you listen to?" because I never felt like I knew enough about music to answer that in an intelligent way) More...

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Apr 25, 2010

Book rated it:

Chuck Klosterman Eating The Dinosaur

Chuck Klosterman writes novels and journalism. This book is a collection of essays focused on popular culture. It has a slight edge to it, a kind of independent feeling you might associate with independent rock or independent bookstores. I had heard comparisons between Chuck Klosterman and Hunter S. Thompson, but it really does not feel that way. There is no sense of outlaw violence or danger in reading Chuck Klosterman's writing More...

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Mar 29, 2010

Blog on Books rated it:

As longtime readers of Blog on Books know, we love Chuck Klosterman. After all, who else could completely invert our views of Kiss, Britney Spears, sports heroes and cultural icons the way Klosterman deconstructs then reassembles them in a completely different, yet somehow still (if not more) sensible way?
Yet, in this, his fifth compendium (and sixth book overall) `Eating the Dinosaur' (Scribner), Klosterman has made a fatal mistake and it appears in the very first chapter, no less. Someh More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Nevena rated it:

“But there’s one kind of writing that always easy: Picking out something obviously stupid and reiterating how stupid it obvious is. This is the lowest form of criticism, easily accomplished by anyone. And for most of my life, I have tried to avoid this. In fact, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time searching for the underrated value in ostensibly stupid things. I understand Turtle’s motivation and I would have watched Medellin in the theatre. I read Mary Worth every day for a decade. I’ve see More...

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Nov 18, 2009

Jan rated it:

My expectations for Klosterman have grown since "Downtown Owl," his first novel that proved he was capable of sustaining a longer narrative and also of developing inner worlds of at least equal depth to the pre-fabricated culture on which he comments. This new collection of essays, while an enjoyable read, is nothing earthshaking and will hold few surprises for people who have read the other ones.

A few essays end up in relatively cheap territory; the comparison of Koresh More...

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Nov 09, 2009

Benjamin rated it:

After the unexpected brilliance of "Downtown Owl," it seemed like Klosterman could do no wrong. With "Eating the Dinosaur," everything comes crashing down.

It opens with a borderline pointless discussion of why interviewees answer questions. Next is a discussion of Kurt Cobain and David Koresh that feels like an amateur trying to impersonate Klosterman. Dissections of the basketball of career of Ralph Sampson and Garth Brooks' tenure as Chris Gaines are th More...

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Oct 28, 2009

christa rated it:

Here's a confession: I did not read Chuck Klosterman's entire book "Eating the Dinosaur." This slighting came with his permission, nay, his insistence. Klosterman busts through the fourth wall in his essay about football to suggest that if you aren't into football, you can jump this chapter. " ... I will understand if you skip to the next essay, which is about ABBA." And if a reader hangs around a bit longer, thinking, perhaps, "Meh. Who cares. He'll probably say somethi More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2012

Johnpatrick rated it:

In a scant 245 pages Chuck Klosterman will find a way to annoy you. As far as I can tell he's built an entire literary career around being willfully obtuse. He proudly puts forth his failures of the imagination and practiced ignorance as if they were the highest virtues a cultural critic could aspire to. This is a pretty vague criticism, let me highlight two examples:

In "Oh the Guilt," Klosterman puts forth the idea that Nirvana really doesn't have much to say, because in lyr More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 03, 2011

Krysta rated it:

as always, I love Klosterman. as always, I enjoyed and identified with the majority of the points he made in the book, and I think that's a part of why I gravitate toward his writing- particularly with this book being laid out in a list/outline format, it's like reading a more eloquent version of the way I think. Chuck writes about pop culture, but mostly he writes about himself, and most of his target audience can identify with him easily. The hook, for me at least, is that he finds the most ra More...

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Oct 24, 2009

Jamie rated it:

This release was cause for great excitement, the start of what I like to call Jamie Reads a Whole Lot of Books Published Within 3 Weeks of Each Other Month. It's most exciting because I've heard so many podcasts between Klosterman and Bill Simmons where Klosterman seems like the type of guy who can think on his feet on cultural phenomena like no one I've ever heard before. Plus, I was just excited because I found "Downtown Owl" anathema to me; after the little novella at the end of " More...

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Jan 31, 2010

Brian rated it:

The essays on the Unabomber and football in here are by far the best, in part because they were least concerned with "pop culture" narrowly defined. In the case of these two essays, the slight step away from his past work seems to have coincided with (if not actually opened the way for) his intellectual progress. In both cases these essays eschew the fun, abrupt gotcha juxtapositions cultural studies readings allow, and instead explore and develop their themes in depth. In contrast, More...

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Nov 14, 2010

Sebastian rated it:

The essays collected in this book are like the literary equivalent of Lays chips: "I bet you can't read just one." I cracked the spine three days ago, couldn't help gorging myself, and now the figurative bag is empty.

As usual, Klosterman's essays in this book are David Foster Wallace Lite, complete with discursive footnotes and entertaining, abstract ruminations on contemporary culture. But whereas DFW is hyper-intellectual, impressively erudite, and usually has some sort o More...

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May 14, 2010

Brittany rated it:

How I Came To Read This Book: Chuck Klosterman has been pretty solid at releasing a new book every year or two. When I didn’t hear about one, I looked him up, and lo and behold my library had several copies of the book for me to take out.

The Plot: The book is essentially ten essays on ten very sweeping philosophical / societal issues (or not), that are often punctuated by references, comparisons, and direct links to pop culture. For example, there is one chapter on similarities betwe More...

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Apr 11, 2010

deejah rated it:

This was my first introduction to Chuck Klosterman and his exciting style of writing. A dear friend of mine, Eric, let me know that he was reading and enjoying this book and after struggling through my original book for this week (The Help) - I decided to give this book a try. It is hard to fully describe this book, but basically it is several essays comparing what seem to be disparate subjects.

Mr. Klosterman is essentially writing a philosophy book - there were times that my head w More...

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May 06, 2011

Dawn rated it:

I picked this book up originally because I had read a short piece of Klosterman's on the internet somewhere and thought he was fairly amusing. I found him funny enough in this book to laugh a good bit, but I did have my issues. He's primarily a pop culture/music critic, and we differ greatly on some points. For instance, he doesn't seem to like The Big Bang Theory or How I Met Your Mother very much, calling their "credibility" into question, but immediately after that he calls The S More...

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