By Mark Robinson
Cougar News Editor

Chuck Klosterman critiques pop culture for a living.

He’s not necessarily a snob because he sees the good in everyone. But he is quick to call anyone and everyone out for being completely, for lack of a better word, ridiculous.

Allegedly, Klosterman has been doing this for 10 years, unless his newest publication is misleading -- “Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.”

Ironically, the gatekeeper of the hip, unhip and everything in between essentially published a greatest hits compilation. What has happened -- intentionally or not -- is that Klosterman has become as much of a celebrity as the people he writes about.

He’s really not famous, but he is part of the machine, infusing himself into it through his profiles and commentary. However, anyone would be hard-pressed to find a fresher, more witty and thought-provoking voice.

Klosterman is one of the best journalists in America. “A Decade ...” is split in three sections, mostly from his portfolio from SPIN, Esquire and New York Times Magazine: the first being a collection of profiles of famous people; the second being a selection of columns; and the third being a partially based-on-actual-happenings novella.

Things That Are True
Klosterman likes many things. The foremost being basketball and KISS.

He’s an eclectic guy with many tastes, and many opinions about mostly inane junk about how Britney Spear’s physical appeal affects the social paradigm of the United States or how cager Steve Nash’s on-court play supports socialism.

The attractive part is how interesting he makes it all seem. As mentioned, this section is a collection profiles -- magazine features about individuals or bands. This is the best part of the book.

The highlights are his U2 profile, looking at buffalo with actor Val Kilmer and riding around the Hamptons with Billy Joel. Klosterman’s strength is in the profile. These are some of the most insightful and interesting characters in the world, but I didn’t know just how weird Kilmer was before. Klosterman showed me. That being a very important distinction. Good writers don’t have to literally tell you anything. They show you.

Things That Might Be True
Part of Klosterman’s appeal is his insight. Nothing is really off limits to the guy as long as it can be reasoned. He’s very good at breaking complex issues down and coming to some sort of viable explanation for all the world’s ills. At least, it looks good on paper.

The second section is a conglomeration of essays and columns, mostly from Esquire, where he discusses clothes, politics, relationships, the importance of a nemesis and the shear stupidity of “guilty pleasures.” And he surprisingly concise.

There are no major tangents because he did have a word count and he’s very clear even when he tries to evoke the spirit of Carl Jung when discussing the future war between robots and humans.

Something That Isn’t True At All
This is a novella, Klosterman confesses in a foreword, written while a staff writer for a newspaper in Ohio. It’s pretty predictable and ridiculous without a hint of irony.

Klosterman deals with truth with a rarified adroitness. Characters like Billy Joel, Radiohead and Robert Plant are living, breathing animals that Klosterman loves to examine, manipulate and evoke some emotion from. Fictional characters, or a least caricatures of real people, do not fall under Klosterman’s spell of ink to paper. They don’t come alive. And they aren’t interesting.

While reading “A Decade ...” I would rest my eyes and think “Why do I care?” about pop culture and its merry band of pranksters. The truth is, I really don’t. But I think Klosterman doesn’t care either and he’s trying to find out why a majority of people do care about Britney Spears and reality TV. And he hasn’t found it yet.

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I began pressing the pages of “The Best American Nonrequired Reading,” part of The Best American Series, in 2002. Then and up to this year, it has been a refreshing glimpse into the best short fiction, journalism and graphic storytelling of the year. It was the brightest, hippest, cleverest and coolest collection of young writers. It was a group of writers who had something to say without really saying anything.

The 2006 edition is trying to say something.

Specifically, it wants to enlighten some folks about the realities of our country’s foreign policy.

Iraq. Terrorism. Abu Gharib. Oil. Money. Katrina. North Korea.

All are represented in this year’s collection, the former two more so than the others. In its most politically-charged collection, Dave Eggers, the editor and super cool novelist who may have defined Gen X/Y (or not), wanted to show his readers where the United States stands in the world. And it’s not very bright.

Tom Downey’s “The Insurgent’s Tale” chronicles the life and times of a former jihadist, looking to settle down.

Michael Lewis’ The New York Times Magazine piece, “Wading Toward Home,” is a phenomenal telling of Lewis’ venture to his hometown New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.

This collection features older writers than in past years including Naguib Mahfouz, Haruki Murakami, Joe Sacco and Kurt Vonnegut. “

...Nonrequired Reading” has seen better, and younger, days. But if you want to read the stories you may have missed, look into this reasonably priced collection.