Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas (Paperback)

Fans of Klosterman's Ritalin-paced pop culture criticism (Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs) will eagerly devour this collection of previously published essays. Whether investigating Latino fans of British pop icon Morrissey, interviewing female tribute bands like Lez Zeppelin and AC/DShe or eating nothing but Chicken McNuggets for a week, Klosterman is always entertaining and often insightful. But other than a sympathetic profile of Billy Joel, Klosterman rarely strays from his favorite topics: heavy metal music, television, sports and sex. Perhaps this career overview is his way of recycling old themes into some kind of new "defining endeavor," as he describes the title inspired by Led Zeppelin IV (as it is unofficially called). This would make perfect sense given his work so far: Fargo Rock City was an original and confident debut (like Led Zeppelin I); his newest book definitely has kick, but overall it's a mixed bag of collected essays—strong and not-so-strong performances—its parts are greater than the whole. (Sept.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.From AudioFileThe author reads various articles he's written for "smart" publications that amusingly record his observations of cultural ephemera. A specialist in inconsequence, he writes glibly about the passing scene in clever phrases. This volume includes profiles of celebrities, opinion pieces, and a smattering of short fiction. His vocal skill is less felicitous than his writing. On the positive side, he adopts a light, chatty tone and a brisk pace that nicely complement his text. He does have some flair as a raconteur. But his scratchy voice grates on this reviewer's nerves, as does his sloppy diction and air of in-crowd smugness. Perhaps a younger trend-conscious listener will have more appreciation for Klosterman's virtues and less impatience with his faults. Y.R.

Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume Two (Paperback)

Before the smash hit movie Serenity came Firefly, the cult TV series which started it all and became a DVD phenomenon, selling almost half a million copies.Set 500 years in the future, Firefly centres around Mal Reynolds, captain of the ship-for-hire Serenity and its eclectic crew of galactic misfits. When he takes on two passengers, a young doctor and his mysterious, telepathic sister, he gets much more than he bargained for…This official companion is just what the show’s fervent fans, the ‘Browncoats’, have been waiting for, with unseen photos, scripts, behind the scenes secrets, and exclusive input from the cast and crew, including of course creator Joss Whedon.Contains the second part of an extended interview with Joss Whedon, as well as exclusive new interviews with the cast, executive producer Tim Minear and many other writers and crewmembers; the full, uncut shooting scripts for ‘Jaynestown’, ‘Out of Gas’, ‘Ariel’, ‘War Stories’ ‘Trash’, ‘The Message’, ‘Heart of Gold’ and ‘Objects in Space’, annotated with memories from the cast and crew; extended behind-the-scenes interviews with the crew behind Firefly, including sections on the production design and visual effects, illustrated with unseen imagery; in addition a section on the Firefly fans and of course Vera...