Eggers, Dave

Average customer rating:

mind gripping
Fantastic book - we should enundate "DC"with copies.
Fascinating, eye-opening story
An incredible story
Dave Eggers' Evolution

What Is the What
Dave Eggers
Manufacturer: McSweeney's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
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ASIN: 1932416641

Book Description

In a heartrending and astonishing novel, Eggers illuminates the history of the civil war in Sudan through the eyes of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee now living in the United States. We follow his life as he's driven from his home as a boy and walks, with thousands of orphans, to Ethiopia, where he finds safety — for a time. Valentino's travels, truly Biblical in scope, bring him in contact with government soldiers, janjaweed-like militias, liberation rebels, hyenas and lions, disease and starvation — and a string of unexpected romances. Ultimately, Valentino finds safety in Kenya and, just after the millennium, is finally resettled in the United States, from where this novel is narrated. In this book, written with expansive humanity and surprising humor, we come to understand the nature of the conflicts in Sudan, the refugee experience in America, the dreams of the Dinka people, and the challenge one indomitable man faces in a world collapsing around him.

Customer Reviews:

mind gripping.......2007-06-14

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the title. Then I read the first paragraphs and I instantly felt that this is a book worth reading. Eggers gives his character justice and is mind gripping. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who I know would appreciate more than just the story itself.

Fantastic book - we should enundate "DC"with copies........2007-06-13

A truly gripping tale, leading to an awareness of the tragedies in Sudan (and in our own country!) that would benefit all. Especially those decision makers in Washington DC.

Fascinating, eye-opening story.......2007-06-05

What is the What tells the mostly true story, in the first person, of Valentino Achak Deng, an innocent victim of the on-going genocidal war in Sudan. The violence and depravity that Achak endures and witnesses, from the age of only 6 or 7 until the present time when he is in his mid-twenties is a story that the entire world community should hear. It opened my eyes to a problem that is largely ignored by the powerful nations of the world simply because of the victims' low economic status.

I enjoyed the first-person approach to telling the story. The author does an excellent job of conveying the feeling that Achak himself is telling his own story. Throughout the entire time I was reading this book I was completely engrossed in the story. I did not find it to be too long as a few other reviewers have mentioned. However, my personal preference would have been to read this same story as part of a broader account of the Sudanese crisis in a strictly non-fictional method. Because of the impact this book had on me I will certainly research this subject more thoroughly and become more involved in alerting others to disaster in Sudan.

I highly recommend What is the What to everyone who is not yet an expert on the crisis in Sudan. It is very readable and at the same time very educational about a very important subject.

An incredible story.......2007-05-22

Dave Eggers' "novel" is beautifully written and incredibly moving. Not only is it a great story and enjoyable read, it will make you think twice about everything you take for granted in this world. It illuminates the incredible range of the human capacity for both amazing acts of kindness and generosity to the most brutal cruelty. Unforgettable and truly a must-read.

Dave Eggers' Evolution.......2007-05-18

I knew something was afoot when I read "Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly." Where was the self aware ego, the fictional non-fiction (with notes), the inner dialogue masked as a conversation between corporeal persons? Instead of his usual tricks I found a semi-allegorical story concerning western imperialism in third world countries. Didn't this guy try to get on the Real World? Eggers transformation from post-modern slacker to politically minded provocateur is complete and out of his chrysalis has sprung one of the best novels I've read in years.

It's not an easy trick to make one's way from self serving aggrandizer (even if one is admits he's a self serving aggrandizer) to someone with a political message, especially if that political message is about the plight of a group you don't happen to belong to. If handled incorrectly the author risks presenting his work as no more than a cultural furlough so that he may play native for awhile. There are several reasons that explain why Eggers does not fall into this trap.

First, the novel is semi-biographical. It is based on the life story of Egger's friend Valentino Achak Deng. In fact, the entire title reads What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achack Deng and, curiously, underneath reads "a novel." To avoid a long, and inevitably supplemented, introduction detailing the difference between what happens in the book and what actually happened, Eggers decided to term his work a novel despite its origins in real life. Eggers goes so far as to write the novel in first person and overhauls his style to approximate Valentino's speech. If he were a lesser novelist Egger's writing would reek of cultural poaching, but by the second paragraph I forgot it was Eggers writing the novel and not Valentino. Like a great actor he manages to hide himself behind the prose.

Second, Eggers makes it very clear his purpose is to motivate people. The novel begins with Valentino being robbed and subsequently kidnapped. The robbers leave a young child, presumably their kid, to watch over a bound Valentino. We learn of Valentino's life in Sudan as he pretends to address his captor. Throughout the novel this same technique is repeated as Valentino imagines himself telling a hospital worker or a gym attendant his story. The reader is made aware that Sudan's atrocities do not just occur to people thousands of miles away but also to those we pass everyday in the street. It also mirrors the fact that these atrocities have occurred for decades while the rest of the world remains ignorant. Eggers also makes good use of a schoolteacher character who leads a band of lost boys across the country. The schoolteacher attempts to explain to the boys why they are running from their homes and into Ethiopia, and by educating them he is, of course, also educating the reader. I am reminded of when Robert Jordan, in For Whom the Bell Tolls, attempts to explain land reform by likening it to the Land Rush in the United States, but of course his real purpose is to make socialism seem less scary to an American audience.

What Is the What is a novel with a clear purpose and isn't the worst for it. In fact, it's much better for it. What really holds the whole thing together is Egger's superb writing. The "flashback" segments are used to great effect and the time we spend in the present only creates more suspense as we want to uncover what happened to Valentino in his homeland. The details regarding how computer packages dropped from planes land differently than other packages struck me as particularly impressive. This kind of detail does not read like it was written by someone who wasn't even there. Of course, much of the credit goes to Valentino who relayed his story to Eggers. What Is the What is that rare work of art that immediately touches the world beyond the page.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Average customer rating:

Disappointed my very high expectations, but enjoyable
What's all the fuss about? The Emperor has no clothes!
One of the finest works of fiction
Eggers Got Me Hooked
Please enter a title for your review

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Dave Eggers
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375725784
Release Date: 2001-02-13

Amazon.com

Dave Eggers is a terrifically talented writer; don't hold his cleverness against him. What to make of a book called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Based on a True Story? For starters, there's a good bit of staggering genius before you even get to the true story, including a preface, a list of "Rules and Suggestions for Enjoyment of This Book," and a 20-page acknowledgements section complete with special mail-in offer, flow chart of the book's themes, and a lovely pen-and-ink drawing of a stapler (helpfully labeled "Here is a drawing of a stapler:").

But on to the true story. At the age of 22, Eggers became both an orphan and a "single mother" when his parents died within five months of one another of unrelated cancers. In the ensuing sibling division of labor, Dave is appointed unofficial guardian of his 8-year-old brother, Christopher. The two live together in semi-squalor, decaying food and sports equipment scattered about, while Eggers worries obsessively about child-welfare authorities, molesting babysitters, and his own health. His child-rearing strategy swings between making his brother's upbringing manically fun and performing bizarre developmental experiments on him. (Case in point: his idea of suitable bedtime reading is John Hersey's Hiroshima.)

The book is also, perhaps less successfully, about being young and hip and out to conquer the world (in an ironic, media-savvy, Gen-X way, naturally). In the early '90s, Eggers was one of the founders of the very funny Might Magazine, and he spends a fair amount of time here on Might, the hipster culture of San Francisco's South Park, and his own efforts to get on to MTV's Real World. This sort of thing doesn't age very well--but then, Eggers knows that. There's no criticism you can come up with that he hasn't put into A.H.W.O.S.G. already. "The book thereafter is kind of uneven," he tells us regarding the contents after page 109, and while that's true, it's still uneven in a way that is funny and heartfelt and interesting.

All this self-consciousness could have become unbearably arch. It's a testament to Eggers's skill as a writer--and to the heartbreaking particulars of his story--that it doesn't. Currently the editor of the footnote-and-marginalia-intensive journal McSweeney's (the last issue featured an entire story by David Foster Wallace printed tinily on its spine), Eggers comes from the most media-saturated generation in history--so much so that he can't feel an emotion without the sense that it's already been felt for him. What may seem like postmodern noodling is really just Eggers writing about pain in the only honest way available to him. Oddly enough, the effect is one of complete sincerity, and--especially in its concluding pages--this memoir as metafiction is affecting beyond all rational explanation. --Mary Park

Book Description

The literary sensation of the year, a book that redefines both family and narrative for the twenty-first century. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is the moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his eight-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a family together.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is an instant classic that will be read in paperback for decades to come. The Vintage edition includes a new appendix by the author.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed my very high expectations, but enjoyable.......2007-06-18

I decided to order this book because the title intrigued me and the few reviews I skimmed seemed to glow. Thus, when the book arrived, I put it on the top of my summer reading list and hurried to finish up the series I had already started, building the book up in my mind to be, as the title suggested, heartbreaking, staggering, and genius. Unfortunately, the book did not quite meet this vaulted expectations, but it was a good read nonetheless. Egger's is very quirky and portrays himself as an almost complete narcissist. He is needy, paranoid, and tragically flawed, but you can't help loving him, even if you occasionally wish you could reach into the space between the period and the Capital and smack the louse upside the head. Even in the throes of the descriptions of his paranoid ramblings on the imagined death of Toph, Eggers is heartbreakingly funny. I found myself throughout the narrative constantly wondering what he was going to do or say next and musing on prospective paper topics on the recreation of the postmodern memoir through the eyes of Eggers or the pseudo-parent-child relationship of Toph and Dave as a vehicle of and for narcissism. Although the prose sometimes seemed quite listless and I had momentary thoughts of quitting the book altogether, these quickly passed in a blaze of humor or compassion toward the heartbreaking story which is his story. Though by no means genius, Egger's work is both heartbreaking and staggering, but he forgot to mention hilarious.

What's all the fuss about? The Emperor has no clothes!.......2007-05-31

With all the praise this book received, I can't understand why this book didn't win the Pulitzer prize. Oh, wait! I know. There wasn't enough profanity. Maybe if he had added a glossary of profanity to go along with his oh-so-clever drawing of a stapler, that would have tipped the scales in his favor. Sorry folks, where you see "honesty" I see literary laziness. "Lets see, I can't think of a good way to describe how this feels, so @^$#*&#&!!!" It read like a kid's journal. I made it through chapter 5, then realized I could log into MySpace and read blogs by children just as well written as this was. I get it. He is angry because life is confusing and unfair. Life presents us with mutiple opportunites to feel inadequate and afraid. He enjoys shocking people with outrageous prose and images. Got it. But if this is the kind of literature that is worthy of a Pulitzer, than the world is a sadder and scarier place than I thought. In the future, I will avoid all titles written by this author as though they were the very plague!

One of the finest works of fiction.......2007-05-26

As a literature major, avid reader and book club member, I read, and have read, more books. . . well, enough books to fill seven bookshelves in my home. While others in my book club were not as fond of this pathos-filled piece of gripping, witty, sarcastic, reality--I could not put it down. The characters filled my thoughts throughout the day, and I would dream of them once I placed the book on my night stand and went to sleep. For anyone who isn't afraid to delve into the realities of dysfunctional, struggling, richly diverse families. This book is for you!

Eggers Got Me Hooked.......2007-05-24

Someone suggested this book to me with the line, "this is so you. You're going to love it." They were right, at least about the loving part. I don't necessarily know whether I write or think or act like Eggers. If I do, then I consider it a compliment.

This instantaneously became one of my favorite books of all-time. Even through the first few pages I was totally hooked to the way Eggers stayed so colloquial with his reader. I can appreciate that, especially as someone who works in the law where a lot of really simple communication has to be terse and formal. Sometimes the warmest, most welcoming type of conversation is the one that's long and nuanced and complicated even when the ideas behind the words might seemingly be simple.

To me, a good book is one that makes me think rather than just follow a plot line and a story. A great book is one that makes me write in the margins, adding my own thoughts to the passages. I transformed whole pages of this book into a notepad. While narrating a really interesting story in its own right, what made the book spectacular was Eggers's musings on the things that were happening around him. Too many writers merely describe what goes on around them without offering any insights into what they think and how they feel about particular situations. These are the types of books most of us are used to, and while the plot might move us along and keep us entertained and engaged, the end product is superficial. I usually walk away from books feeling thrilled at having finished them, but then quickly having that replaced with a sense of dissatisfaction. I never understood why that was happening, how you can complete a seemingly excellent, exciting book, and feel uneasy about it. But after reading Eggers, he reminded me that there's a lot more that an author can offer besides a fun story. Now I think that authors have a responsibility to offer more.

While I don't like gimmicks, and was originally sceptical when I saw all the little random things Eggers tossed into the book (like a weird copyright page in the beginning and a strange autobiographical blurb at the end), the fact that Eggers was totally aware of his gimmicks, and made fun of himself throughout, helped put me at ease. Few things can bring you closer to a writer than their ability to laugh and shake their head at the things they say and do. This book is filled with parts like that. Particularly, Eggers warns us that the book gets kind of boring closer to the end, and he's actually right about that. When you get to that part, and you remember his introductory statement about it, you're still marvelling at how great it all is. Maybe it's because its a memoir, maybe its because Eggers brings you into his life and makes you feel like you've known him for years, maybe it's because you don't want to fall into the trap of agreeing with a statement that should seemingly discourage you from reading his book. Whatever the case, even at is most boring "Heartbreaking Work" is exactly what is claims to be - genius.

Please enter a title for your review.......2007-05-12

A lot of what he says is fundamental to social humanity.
I appreciate the lack of formality. If you want to communicate something of a personal nature a conversational tone is more effective than a laboured literary one. The moments where he doesn't apply this philosophy, which add up to about half the book, are just dead space to me though. With characters not being established until halfway through the second chapter the first 1½ were a drag to get through and would have been better placed at the end of the book.

Average customer rating:

The Fantastic Awkward Nature of Existence
It is 5 stars to the book, but does the artist deserve such a book?
surprisingly disappointed
It'll be worth something some day
Weird & wonderful

John Currin
Alison M. Gingeras , Dave Eggers , and John Currin
Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0847828654
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Book Description

One of the leading figurative painters of his generation, Currin's influences range from Italian and Northern Renaissance paintings to popular illustrations from the mid-20th century. Whether portraits of older women, buxom girls, nudes with elongated bodies, or group scenes of domestic life, his works are characterized by baroque gestures, loose brushstrokes, unorthodox palettes, and detailed backgrounds that startle the viewer into a reconsideration of the tradition of painting. His "old master" techniques and individual style have earned him accolades from critics and collectors worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

The Fantastic Awkward Nature of Existence.......2007-06-07

The first time I saw some paintings by John Currin they appealed to me right away. I did not need a second look or to hear some long winded explination like from art school about why I should appreciate them. The simple fact is they connected to me and I picked up my first book on him.

He is an excellent painter but that is just incidental to his work. There are a lot of excellent painters in this world but skill alone does nothing for art. An artist has to have something to communicate, something to show beyond his talent as a painter or draftsman. John Currin definitely has something to show. He paints mostly women but that too I feel is mostly incidental. Men as a rule of thumb love to paint women. It's a tremendous lure to paint that which we find so beautiful.

To me, I love his work because with no more than a simple pose, or a well painted women with a heavily modeled pasty face, he is able to communicate the awkward nature of day to day life. Figures with uncomfortable inner thoughts and feelings show overly affected smiles or looks. Stamford After Brunch, Park City Girl, The Activists, and Brown Lady all have this feel to them. Something is lurking in the inner psyches of these people. Women they may be, but people they surly are and something is a bit off below the surface of their lives. The masks that we all put on are communicated with the actual heavily modeled pasty made up faces of some of the women.

There is also a restless longing in many of his paintings. Paintings such as: Lovers 1993, Lovers in the Country 1993, Portrait 1993, and The Never Ending Story. These paintings seem to show that something is missing from the lives of the men. In a few of them a woman is present but she seems to be there for her man, perhaps to help aid him in what ever way she can. The man in each case appears like some kind of bizarre perversion of Abe Lincoln meets Uncle Sam meets Colonel Sanders with some Mr. Rogers thrown in. These paintings, to me, have a very distinct American feel to them. All 4 paintings have clouds and appear to be set in large open spaces where the man is gazing far and wide while he thinks about what it is exactly that is missing from his life or his country. The men and women in the paintings may in fact be metaphors for America itself, looking lost like some odd flustered older man but with all the help and appreciation of a young mistress by his side.

Currin is most definitely pointing out what he likes and does not like about this world often in the same painting. Things are not clear cut black and white, good or bad, it's messier than that and more complicated.

Day to day life as a human is complicated. We all have these powerful brains and they ceaselessly function and generate thoughts and communicate ideas, impulses and urges almost all the time. I personally find life to often be quite awkward for people in general. Adulthood is mostly a veiled childhood where we think way too much about what others are doing, thinking, and how they are acting. many facades go up and come down. People see others and desire what they have, the spouce someone has, or their house, possessions, situation and the like. All the while we are bizarre animals with all sorts of odd functions that also function ceaselessly beyond our control. All the while we have the urge to sleep, eat, fornicate, and all this while we try and do better for ourselves and appear as normal as possible within the confines of what ever community we find ourselves in. For me John Currin's paintings show this day to day struggle we all have with the awkward nature of existence and the strains that having a large brain in a complex world put on a person with urges, and longings that often happen in direct contradiction to what is expected of one in this world, country, town, street, or home. Also there is the deeper thoughts that we mostly as a society tend to uncomfortably ignore. Where did we come from? Where did the universe come from? Why does anything exist at all? These thoughts are ones that as animals we are privileged to have. Still they have boggled man for ever and humans at home who are not great thinkers can contemplate this too. We all carry these unanswered questions around with us all the time. We may not know it but we carry a bit of fear with us as a result of these unanswered questions about existence and the universe every day. They are deep in the back of our minds. I sense this in some of Currin's paintings.

All this just scratches the surface of what I get from his paintings. Some of them are just beautiful portraits in their own rights and need not be viewed as more than that.

He is definitely one of the few great contemporary American painters alive today and he has his brush on the pulse of the odd facade that is exhibited with the awkward doppelgänger that is writhing just below the phony surface of this country.

It is 5 stars to the book, but does the artist deserve such a book?.......2007-04-09

A great art book, undoubtedly. It actually is a catalogue raisonné, with all the information needed on the provenance, the size and the medium. Now isn't it a bit early in Currin's career? At only 40 years old, he has yet to prove that he can stand the test of time. If you try to set aside all the hype that has been surrounding the artist (the "very dear" of the the art world, in every sense of the word "dear"), I am not sure that you will find his works worth the weight and the price of this beautiful monography...

surprisingly disappointed.......2007-02-23

I was so excited when the big package containing this book had arrived at my door, Currin has been one of my favourite artists and during recent years I had the pleasure of starring at many of his masterpieces from up close.
This may explain my disappointment with the selection of works & reproductions (yes, I do understand it is impossible to come close to the originals with 4 color printing, but the images in the book at least could have been larger, i dont need all this white space, and I guess theres a reason amazon didnt have a "look inside the book" for this one).

It'll be worth something some day.......2007-01-29

I love saying that. But seriously, I bought this book for a loved one keeping in mind it'll be a collector's item some day. The loved one is the type that handles books with white cotton gloves, since he doesn't want fingerprints or hand oils to transfer to the pages...yeah, it's like that.

This is a pricey item, but definitely worth the purchase since it was done in a limited run. The prints are gorgeous, and it follows Currin's rise to surprisingly quick fame along with what his current collections look like. He is technically brilliant (although I know a lot of art nerds would totally interject here) and his topics are always fun. How can you not stare at an oddly shaped nude woman wearing huge shades? Besides, he's the only alum that Yale can really brag about.

If you collect books or know and/or appreciate who John Currin is...go on and spend the money. You won't regret it.

Weird & wonderful.......2006-12-31

John Currin's work occupies a very odd space. I love it all.

Average customer rating:

Only Made It Halfway
painful
Good, but not great
Loved it!
An enjoyable read

You Shall Know Our Velocity
Dave Eggers
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005

ASIN: 1400033543
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Book Description

In his first novel, Dave Eggers has written a moving and hilarious tale of two friends who fly around the world trying to give away a lot of money and free themselves from a profound loss. It reminds us once again what an important, necessary talent Dave Eggers is.

Customer Reviews:

Only Made It Halfway.......2007-04-26

I ordered this book because I had read AHWOSG and found that pretty good. I was surely dissapointed in this book. The story just drags on and on and on and never really goes anywhere. I made it about halfway through before I decided to stop wasting my time with a "story" I didn't really care about. It seems like it could be a really good book but falls so short of its potential.

painful.......2007-04-10

very
hard to beleive this endless story is by the same author who wrote his other engaging novels

Good, but not great.......2007-01-23

As others have said, there are parts of this book that are so original, they blow your mind. But, Eggers is so self-conscious in his writing, for every clever plot twist, the reader can almost envision Eggers, the wheels of his brain turning as he writes what he considers to be extremely clever passages. It gets old. As with HWOSG, the book is far better in the first half than in the second. It was a good read, but not the great read I had hoped.

Loved it!.......2007-01-19

This book was just a straight up fun read. Eggers is a very talented, lively, provocative writer. His story follows two friends on their week-long trip around the world giving away $32,000. The resulting story is laugh-out-loud funny and poignant at the same time and it leads the two to learn things about themselves they never would have thought true. I would say this book had more contour and shape than his previous "Heartbreaking Work..." and also had more to say as a literary piece. I don't know if I would recommend this book to older readers though. I think Eggers tends to appeal to young-adult audiences and anyone much older than 30 probably will not connect with this book on the same level. Nevertheless, I think it's a great piece of contemporary literature with a lot of depth and will stay a favorite of mine for a long time.

An enjoyable read .......2007-01-04

Dave Eggers is wonderful in "You Shall Know Our Velocity". The book is very comical and sensitive. I have laughed outloud several times while reading. A great book for those interested in travel and those just looking for a engaging, humorous, and sensitive human story. Also suggest reading " A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Eggers. It's brilliant!

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 (The Best American Series)

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Best American Non-Required Reading on the Middle East?
for those of you who LOVE the New York Times
Expanding consciousness one volume at a time
Be the most interesting person at the party
Fiction and non-fiction about NOW.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 (The Best American Series)

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0618570519

Book Description

A brilliant collection, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 highlights a bold mix of fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, television writing, and more alternative comics than ever. Compiled by Dave Eggers and students from his San Francisco writing center, contributors include Judy Budnitz, The Onion, The Daily Show, This American Life, and George Packer.

Customer Reviews:

Best American Non-Required Reading on the Middle East?.......2007-03-03

I have read two of the other books in this series and loved them. Unfortunately, the 2006 edition does not include the diverse range of subject matter that the other editions have included. For reasons which are not explained in the introduction by Matt Groening, 80 percent of the material in the 2006 edition is from writers trying to make a simplistic point about the Middle East. There are soldier blogs, reviews of luxury hotels in Dubai, stories about terrorists-all with the theme that "we're all the same" in the "we-just-want-to-love-our-family-make-a-living" kind of way. It's a message that any sensitive, well-read person who isn't spending their summers at Jesus Camp would know. And if you aren't a sensitive and well-read person, you aren't going to be picking up this book. The editors are guilty of preaching to the converted.

A lot of the writing here is mediocre. The pieces have been chosen because they fit a theme, not because they are original or well written. I would have preferred one or two pieces regarding Dave Eggers and Matt Groening's point on humanity and then some other pieces which were capable of provoking OTHER types of thought. George Saunders brings us a story about the "New Mecca"- Dubai. He writes about the thousands of workers from India and Vietnam who have been imported to this new paradise. But do I want to read a story about oppressed workers from the point of view of a writer who describes himself and his wife as having a "hobby of maxing out all credit cards in sight"? Or a writer who is interested in Dubai because his editors are willing to pay $1500 a night for him to experience "heaven" at the Durj Al Arab hotel? Ummm, NO!

There are a FEW other subjects in this book, but again-the stories seem to be emphasizing a point to the people that already believe it. I was really disappointed to find I had already read many of the stories and pieces in this edition. Eggers and Groening didn't go far in their attempt to bring me unique reading.

Still, I look forward to the 2007 edition.

for those of you who LOVE the New York Times.......2007-02-17

This book is just another example of the left-wing intellectual clones shoving their political agenda down everyone else's throats. I bought this book for entertainment, not to be indoctrinated. Subjects include many anti-war, anti-Bush items and a snarky piece about a woman realizing the futility of religion. Angry and typical. People who listen to NPR will love this, others might want to steer clear.

Two worthwhile segments: the Onion headlines and Chuck Norris's philosophy. (I think that is his name, I already got rid of this preachy book.)

Expanding consciousness one volume at a time.......2007-01-12

I just love when the holiday season comes around each year. Is it the food? The generosity? The family time? Partially, but the holiday season is when the Best Americans come out! I read several of them, but my favorite has been Non-Required reading ever since its first incarnation. It was an Onion article that earned my devotion, the one about Marilyn Manson going door to door trying to shock people. Have you ever feared dying from laughter? I have.
This edition, like all the others increased my awareness of the world and my own relation to it. Which brings me to the first shout out. David Foster Wallace, who's written a lot of stuff that I just couldn't get into (Infinity and Beyond, anyone?), contributed a commencement speech that he gave at Kenyon in 2005. It blew my mind wide open. The students in my high school English class are always asking me why I am always smiling. I just kind of took it as rhetorical, but now I understand my own development, thanks to DFW. When I was in high school, I did not smile very much. Actually, I was extremely bitter and hostile. The fact was, it made me mad that life wasn't exactly the way I thought it should be. Since high school, I have gotten to the point where I recognize how fortunate I am compared to other people, and I am serene to the point of bafflement. I don't know if I'd have gotten to this place without my college education, but I'm sure it catalyzed the process.
Vonnegut's writing lessons were hilarious, Sweeney's religious meanderings were full of wonderful precision of language (reminding me of Kevin Smith's Dogma), and Saunders's fluctuating feelings about the Xtreme luxury of Dubai were an insight into how the disparity of wealth in the world affects people. I also enjoyed Rakoff's ambivalent conversion to American citizenship.
Murakami's story was a great modern parable about love, Lewis's essay said a lot about the insidious distrust of African-Americans that came to the surface during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and Downey's sympathetic tale of an Al Qaeda soldier's journey illustrates the sentiment that in every conflict, each combatant always believes that he is right.
And I loved the new stuff: the best first lines, the best new words, and especially the best facts about Chuck Norris!
As with any BANR, there were some pieces not to my taste, but on the whole, it has yet to disappoint.

Be the most interesting person at the party.......2007-01-06

What a fantastic idea for a book! I feel like I'm catching up on a year's worth of reading with this one compilation. It covers so many subjects, you will feel pretty darn good about yourself by the time you're done. I especially like that you can skip around. This is a series worth exploring. I also like the cover -- it reminds me of 70s album cover art.

Fiction and non-fiction about NOW........2006-12-25

I would say one fifth of the material is not so good or just bad. The rest is good to great! This stuff is really CONTEMPORARY. It's about our lives and times and it is sure to make you think. These comments do apply to all the other volumes in the series (starting in 2002), which I all read and enjoyed.

McSweeney's Issue 22 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)

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McSweeney's Issue 22 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
Dave Eggers
Manufacturer: McSweeney's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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McSweeney's Issue 21 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
McSweeney's Issue 23 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
McSweeney's Issue 20 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
McSweeney's Issue 19 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
McSweeney's Issue 18 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)

ASIN: 1932416668

Book Description

McSweeney's Issue 22 is a three-part exercise in inspired restriction — of author, of content, and of form. In section one, poets (yes — poets!) including Mary Karr, Denis Johnson, C. D. Wright, and D. C. Berman initiate poet-chains, picking a poem of their own and one by another poet. The next poet will then do the same, and then again, and again, and so on. In section two, Fitzgerald (yes — F. Scott Fitzgerald!) provides a list of unused story premises first cataloged in The Crack-Up; his mission is completed by writers like Diane Williams and Nick Flynn. In section three, finally, the president of France's (yes — France!) legendary Oulipians offers a rare glimpse into his group's current experiments with linguistic constraint. Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005

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Best Non-required reading
A Delightful Series
the best
Best Nonrequired Reading So Far

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

United States | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2004 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Short Stories 2005 (The Best American Series)

ASIN: 0618570489

Book Description

Pulled once again from the hip to the mainstream, this collection of fiction, nonfiction, alternative comics, and "anything else that defies categorization" (USA Today) is as fresh and bold as ever. Compiled by Dave Eggers and students from his San Francisco writing center, it's a "bouillabaisse of nonrequired reading that should be required" (Publishers Weekly). Contributors include Jhumpa Lahiri, George Saunders, William Langewiesche, Stephen Elliott, and others.

Customer Reviews:

Best Non-required reading.......2006-11-03

The book arrived in a timely manner and was just as advertised. I also really enjoyed reading it.

A Delightful Series.......2006-01-05

I love most of the "Best American" series, but I eagerly look forward to the "Nonrequired Reading" title. This volume is one of the best, with wonderful, quirky, hard to find stories that range all over the place. Selected by high schoolers, it gives me hope for the future that this is what our youth find of interest.

the best.......2005-12-25

The fourth edition of David Eggers Best American Nonrequired Reading is an impressive collection of twenty four of the year's finest fiction, essays, and memoirs. Culled from a mountain of publications and assembled by a group of teenagers at Eggers' 826 Valencia; a non-profit writing lab, drop-in tutoring center and the Bay Area's only independent pirate supply shop, this collection is a refreshing approach to modern American literature.
Covering a huge spread of interests and emotions Best American has everything from William T. Vollmann's (The Came Out Like Ants!) search for subterranean Chinese casinos and opium dens hidden under the streets of Mexicali since the nineteenth century to the almost familiar lives of Douglas Trevor (Girls I Know) and Ryan Boudinot (Free Burgers For Life). Completely devoid of clichés and tired literary devices every page of the genre-less Best American will have you awaiting next year's collection.

Best Nonrequired Reading So Far.......2005-12-23

I'm a fan of short stories and essays in general because I tend to finish a good 60 to 70% of the ones I start. Contrast that to novels and non-fiction monographs, where, secondary to undertreated ADHD and a busy schedule, I probably complete less than 10% of books I start. That's okay, I like accumulating books with bookmarks a third of the way in. An unfinished book is like a totem, a sacred symbol of potential wisdom, something to anticipate. But still, there is something satisfying and confidence boosting about reading something completely in one sitting.

I like this series, the adolescents we are told do the selections must have a keen eye for talent. Unlike other reviewers, I was not bothered by some of the overlap, in particular multiple stories about sibling rivalry. It's a pretty big theme in the lives of most people with siblings, and its effects resonate in multiple realms of our relationships and interactions. Perhaps it's closer to the surface for the Bay area teenagers who made these selections. That's fine. Personally, I'm glad they didn't throw out any of these stories in the name of variety and balance. Oh, by the way, have you gotten into Sudoku yet? You really should.

I particularly enjoyed Molly McNett's work, I hope we'll hear more from her, as well as the contributions by Franken, Saunders, Vollmann, Dickinson, and Boudinot. Big fan, big fan. So far, 2005 is the best edition of this series.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series)

Average customer rating:

VERY pleasantly surprised
Good, but much worse than the '03 edition
Memories
Eclectic and Powerful Collection
a great collection, check it out!

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series)

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2004 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 (The Best American Series)
Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's, Humor Category

ASIN: 0618246940

Book Description

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 is a selection for young people of the best literature from mainstream and alternative American periodicals: from the New Yorker, Jane, Rolling Stone, Zyzzyva, Vibe, The Onion, Spin, Epoch, Time, Little Engines, Modern Humorist, Esquire, and more. Dave Eggers has chosen the highlights of 2001 for this genre-busting collection that includes new fiction, essays, satire, journalism -- and much more. From Eric Schlosser on french fries to Elizabeth McKenzie on awful family to Seaton Smith on how to "jive" with your teen, The Best American Nonrequried Reading 2002 is the first and the best.

Customer Reviews:

VERY pleasantly surprised.......2006-03-22

very funny, very interesting. appeals to all ages. I find it more interesting being in college than i would have in highschool. the whole series is perfect to take on the bus/train or to sit on the park or on the beach for a half hour reading a few chapeters.

Good, but much worse than the '03 edition.......2004-05-22

If you're trying to decide between this book and the '03 edition, get the '03. This one's good, but contains far too many magazine articles and not enough fiction. The stories it does feature are mostly very short and pack nowhere near the punch of the '03 selections.

Memories.......2004-04-22

The problem with some of these collections is that many of us who read magazines have already read those articles that appear in these end of year collections. The piece about Marilyn Manson was also in the Jonathan Lethem music collection too. It's good that Eggers has included some stuff for McSweeneys.net, comic books, and other non-mainstream sources. Those are usually the better ones anyway. I like Marc Bolan too.

Eclectic and Powerful Collection.......2004-03-13

Some highlights of this collection are:

Higher Education, the profile of Reese Perry, an African American high school basketball coach who shows up in an all-white midwest small town and, through his altruistic love, transforms them from prejudiced tribalists to open-minded cosmopolitans, a heart-breaking essay.

Bomb Scare, a graphic or comic book style story of a high school where all the kids and their parents lack a moral compass and surrender to nihilism, the inability to transcend their self-centeredness.

Why McDonald's French Fries Taste So Good, an excerpt from Fast Food Nation, which explains how the food industry uses sinister science to secretly make us addicted to the chemicals the food companies put in our food.

Stop That Girl, a short story about a ten-year-old girl whose mother marries a rich man and ends up in a False Eden where playing house leaves her feeling abandoned and unloved.

My Fake Job, an essay in which Rodney Rothman simply walks into a tech office and feigns being an employee, an act of charlatinism that isn't questioned by anyone at the office, casting light on how these fly-by-night business operations are so disjointed and full of isolated employees who suffer so much transience and alienation as the employers don't commit to them in the slightest.

Toil and Temptation, an essay about a Mexican immigrant who slowly gets caught up in consumerism and becomes more of a slave in America than he ever was in Mexico.

a great collection, check it out!.......2003-11-07

This was a fascinating collection. Most of the "Best American" collections are straight forward. You have a good idea of what you're going to get, and if you are widely read in those subjects (sports writing, science writing, short stories, etc), you may have come across most of those essays/stories. In this first collection of Non-required reading, you get the best stories and essays that would never be assigned in school and are from alternative magazines (rather than the large respected newspapers like the New York Times). The pieces collected very from short fiction, to political essays, to a graphic story (as in a story told in comic panels), to humor. It is a varied collection and most of the work is top-notch (I was less impressed with "Hubcap Diamondstar Halo").

Some highlights are "Speed Demons", "Journal of a new COBRA recruit" (yes, COBRA as in from G.I. Joe....this may be my favorite of the collection), "My Fake Job", "Fourth Angry Mouse", "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good", the two short pieces from the Onion, "Higher Education", and "Bomb Scare" (Bomb Scare is the graphic story). Just browsing through the table of contents, I was able to list 9 pieces that I would highlight and recommend. If there was nothing else in the collection, that would be enough to recommend it. But, there are other quality pieces in this collection. If you want to read short pieces (both fiction and nonfiction) that you might not ordinarily run across every day, this is the collection for you.

Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's, Humor Category
Average customer rating:

Hm. My rating stars may be tainted.

Cran-Pepper Hen Loaf, Spiced Saucetail, And Fleen

GET THE DOOR. IT'S ... THE LUNATIC FRINGE!

Same old McSweeney's

Go to the bookstore down the street.

Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's, Humor Category

Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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How We Are Hungry

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005

The Future Dictionary of America

Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeney's Book of Lists

ASIN: 1400042240
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Amazon.com

Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's, Humor Category, a collection from the clever young writers that bring us the McSweeney's literary journal and Web site, and co-edited by their leader, Dave Eggers, is funny from the first page. And by "first page," we mean the table contents. Of course not every essay, list, and swatch of dialogue are created equal, but the collection has many tasty morsels that are well worth a read, a read to friends, and then a re-read, after a decent interval has elapsed.

Most appealing in the book's starting lineup is J.M. Tyree's "On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor." Humorous as well as thought-provoking, this essay makes the perfect amuse bouche for what is arguably the collection's main course of hilarity, "Fire: the Next Sharp Stick?", "Candle Party," and "Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Version), Part One," all to be found in the early middle. Though a familiarity with candle parties, Howard Zinn, sharp sticks, and other topics satirized in this book is helpful, it's not necessarily required for understanding the jokes. The biggest risk here is binge-reading, as you may exchange audible laughter for the feeling that you are being force-fed an ice cream sundae. If you pace yourself--say no more than four to six pieces at a time--you should have the energy for the final third, including the funny list marathon at the end. Or save a few portions for later when you are really starving for a good laugh. --Leah Weathersby

Book Description

Now more than ever, Americans are troubled by questions. As sweaty modernity thrusts itself upon us, the veil of ignorance that cloaked our nation hangs in tatters, tattered tatters. Our “funny bones” are neither fun nor bony. Glum is the new giddy, and the old giddy wasn’t too giddy to begin with.

What can be done to stop this relentless march of drabbery? Not much. Nothing we can think of. It’s pretty much too late. The light of August turns to the overcast skies of autumn, and the taunting sting of winter cannot be far ahead on the highway of the road on the horizon. Who can sing a song without words? Maybe Bobby McFerrin, but is there anyone else? Where do we go when the party is over? Perhaps the afterparty. But what comes after the afterparty?

Questions, there are so many questions, and then some queries, arriving via fax. To these we respond in the only way possible: Talk to the hand, because the face ain’t listening. Nevertheless, we present the pages within as an offering of peace, as a message of hope, and as a perfumed hankie of love—a hankie drizzled with the intoxicating aroma that has only one name: ha-ha-oopsie.

Customer Reviews:

Hm. My rating stars may be tainted........2006-12-23

I was so extremely bored by the stories, that the time I got to the lists I was almost falling off of my couch laughing. I loved the lists. Loved. But I must be honest and wonder if this was a true literary effort, or a study regarding the effects of different types of comedy on vaguely intelligent human beings.

If the latter is the case, myself and my boyfriend were tearing the book out of each others hand to giggle endlessly over the absurdity of the contents.

Cran-Pepper Hen Loaf, Spiced Saucetail, And Fleen.......2005-12-15

Overall this is an excellent book, with only a few disappointments, which are inevitable in a compendium of this nature. My favorite part of the book is at the end, and consists of humorous lists (my title comes from a list by Steven Tomsik, "Eleven Lunch Meats I Have Invented") of all varieties.

McSweeney's is always a mixed bag, and this volume is no exception. Most of the material is very good, yet there are some articles that are weak or overly lengthy ("Journal of a New COBRA Recruit" and "Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One'" come to mind here, respectively). Despite these exceptions, the majority of the pieces are very clever and entertaining. Especially noteworthy are "How Important Moments in my Life Would Have Been Different if I Was Shot Twice in the Stomach", "Fire: The Next Sharp Stick?", and "A Letter From Ezra Pound to Billy Wilder, 1963", to name but a few.

This book isn't for everyone, but people who are inclined to academic humor or clever wordplay will love it. I highly recommend this book. Perhaps you can enjoy it over a brumschlagen sandwich.

GET THE DOOR. IT'S ... THE LUNATIC FRINGE!.......2005-07-31

Now, more than ever, Americans are troubled.

By bladder-contol, erectile dysfunction, evolution and cat litter. By Humvees masquerading as family sedans, and SUVs that brake for cracks in the pavement! (I mean, really! Who are these morons?) By a government that spews out cant about "morality" and "values" and lies like Hitler at a torchlight rally! By Celebrity Bimbos (male, female, and not sure), who have taken it upon themselves to "explain" to us how we should feel about everything from Bush to babies. By childish books about Da Vinci Codes and Sorcerers' Stones that out-sell anything containing an actual original idea! By ...

... Well, you get the idea. Nothing seems quite right any more in the Great Republic; it's all just ... well ... wrong! Despite the fire-and-brimstone blandishments of the `New' Right, despite the timid bleatings of the Other Guys (what's the name of our "Opposition" Party again? I can't seem to remember) ... we're still troubled. Terribly, terribly troubled. It's evident from the state of the "culture" (Low Brow, Middle Brow, Hi!, and Not Sure), that we've reached a sorry state indeed.

What to do?

Well, you could do worse than follow some our brightest minds across the thin line that separates "us" from The Lunatic Fringe. If this collection of offerings is anything to go by, the trip is short and painless, and it's not nearly as Dark and Fearful over there as you'd think. Sean Condon's "Pop Quiz" for instance sheds considerable light on the great imponderables: Who's That Girl? Why Do Fools Fall In Love? Who Are You? Are You Experienced?, etc., etc. And Tom Ruprecht provides convincing, albeit anecdotal, evidence that "It's Not Actually A Small World" after all. Jim Stollard reveals what you've always suspected: The Supreme Court has nothing to do with the Supremes ... and everything to do with Basketball. Jason Roeder brings "Words of Hope and Wisdom" that'll stick in the craw of insomniacs everywhere. And John Moe provides a representative list of some "Cancelled Regional Morning TV Shows" that'll make your stay out there on the Lunatic Fringe so much more enjoyable ("Wake the Hell Up Knoxville!").

If all of this is too ... well ... Low Brow ... for you, then John Hodgman's "Fire: The Next Sharp Stick" should bring you up to speed on the revolutionary new technolgies that are changing our world; J. M. Tyree's disquisition "On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor," will answer those questions we all have about space excrement (it's a bigger problem than you'd think); and Jeff Alexander's and Tom Bissell's brilliantly insightful Zinn/Chomsky commentary on "The Lord of the Rings" DVD Collection will bring to light hidden depths in ... well ... The Lord of the Rings trilogy!

Though not all of the pieces in this collection will grab your attention, the best have a sort of anarchic brilliance that'll have you howling with laughter. Many of those that don't will catch you unawares when you double dip later. Even the quietly "unfunny" ones have their magic. Give them time.

I'm not an American, but this kind of humor strikes me as quintessentially American. It's intelligent, literate and highly irreverent. No holds are barred, and it takes no prisoners. (What a Crock of Cliches!) Like everything else with Eggers stamp on it, it reminds me of some of the more deranged moments in Zappa or "Catch-22." It bubbles up like a deranged guffaw from an improbable stew of what Ezra Pound'd call "Kitch and Kulcher".

Same old McSweeney's.......2005-07-28

When I purchased this book, I expected humor that was new, that was unpublished, that was quirky. I was a third right. It was quirky, and while I hadn't read some of them, most of them I had read(...) That being said, the stories and the lists are funny, and it's a great bathroom book. just don't expect anything new.

Go to the bookstore down the street........2005-06-29

Hunt this book down.
Read "The Bet" (pp. 131-134).
Put this book down.
Leave the store satisified knowing that you have read the only humorous story in this collection.

Sure you could read some other stories in the book, but they're so terribly unfunny that you will invariably come to hate yourself and everyone around you for being in a store that carries this dreadful book.

The only way these stories could possibly be funny is if they were somehow adapted for a series of SNL skits, in which McSweeney's unfunniness were somehow reversed by the lens of SNL's unfunniness. Come to think of it, this book is just as awful as SNL, except that you can't change the channel. You're just stuck there on the subway wishing you'd picked up that AM Metro, desperately trying the read the Wall Street Journal (or even the Daily News) over the shoulder of the person next to you. Anything - just anything - to avoid the tears of boredom that come from reading this garbage.

So, If you like late-model SNL and you can read, you may like this. But I doubt it.

McSweeney's Issues One Through Three (Mcsweeney's)

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McSweeney's Issues One Through Three (Mcsweeney's)

Manufacturer: McSweeney's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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McSweeney's Issue 21 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
McSweeney's Issue 20 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
McSweeney's Issue 11 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
McSweeney's Issue 22 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
McSweeney's Issue 19 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)

ASIN: 0971904766

Product Description

November, 2002. McSweeney's Issues One Through Three, Second Printing. Long out of print, these are the first three issues, exactly as originally published in 1998, now reprinted and collected together in shrinkwrap.

Authors:

Authors

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