Two Books

Reading Pride and Prejudice made me thankful of several things:
1. The United States has no aristocracy
2. The British aristocracy are no longer powerful
3. Gender equality has progressed tremendously
4. Contemporary notions of manners and morality are not the same as those of Victorian England
5. My friends and family do not act in the same bat-shit-crazy way as the majority of the book's characters

Perhaps I would have liked it better had I not just read Vonnegut and The Color Purple. That creates a pretty steep hill to climb for anything pompous and asinine. BTW, please read The Color Purple if you haven't yet! It should be essential reading for every American!


Klosterman's Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs was also disappointing by being ideologically incoherent and a bit offensive without being very funny. He attempts to pass off all of his subjective tastes as objectively cool while arguing that anyone else who does the same is a clueless narcissistic hipster. Perhaps I could have handled that better if his favorite TV shows didn't include "Saved By the Bell" and MTV's "The Real World," if he didn't worship at the alter of Pamela Anderson, and if he would stop arguing that all soccer players are sissies. After reading this pop culture critic, I am no closer to understanding pop culture but I do loathe it (and him) a bit more.