Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

With his essays and autobiographical narratives, Chuck Klosterman has solidified his position as the most adroit pop culture writer working today. His second book, 'Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs,' represented his ascension into the cultural critic elite. Judging by the merits of this book, Klosterman's position in the pantheon is completely deserved: 'Cocoa Puffs' is both insightful and refreshing with its alternately humorous and perceptive dissections of music, movies, sports, television, video games, masturbation and mass murder.

The book consists of 18 essays, augmented with a series of 5-10 paragraph musings at the end of each section. The various chapters discuss a wide range of topics, most of which evolve from an off-kilter observation about some element of pop culture into a commentary on society and human behavior.

The first and last sections of the book display Klosterman's formula beautifully. Chapter one, titled 'This Is Emo,' is a caustic rant on how movies like 'When Harry Met Sally' and bands like Coldplay force reasonably intelligent people to expect more than what they want in a romantic relationship, ultimately leading to unhappiness and unfulfillment. The final essay, 'How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found,' is a brilliant rumination on the 'Left Behind' series of books and films which offers a surprisingly candid account of Klosterman's own faith while discussing religion with equal measures of honesty and incredulity.

Other essays in the book's middle similarly display the author's wit and wisdom on seemingly mundane topics. 'Billy Sim' finds Klosterman attempting to live his actual life in digital form while playing 'The Sims,' paving the way for countless numbers of equally hilarious video game commentary in other media. 'Appetite for Replication' is a profile of a Guns N' Roses tribute band which boasts better storytelling and more compelling personalities than most major coverage of actual rock bands. 'Porn' contends that Internet smut has expedited the process of understanding the Web ? at least for men. And, no essay collection would be complete without a piece analyzing 'Saved by the Bell,' and how its bland cast of twentysomethings pretending to be teenagers inadvertently defined how memory works.

Two of the best essays, though, actually deal with weighty subjects: serial murder and perceived media bias. 'This Is Zodiac Speaking' allows Klosterman to lay out his obsession with serial killers for readers while simultaneously offering accounts of people who have had encounters with murderers such as John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy. As well as providing fascinating anecdotes, Klosterman essentially defines America's death-obsessed culture by writing as both an insider and an outsider. Meanwhile, 'All I Know Is What I Read in the Papers' should be required reading for anyone who wants to seriously criticize the media. Having spent his entire professional life inside newspapers and magazines, Klosterman makes a very convincing case for why the oft-complained-about 'media bias' does not exist; his account of what consumers should target manages to be hilarious and persuasive.

It's the mark of a truly great writer when even his most ill-conceived points still manage to be engrossing. In 'The Awe-Inspiring Beauty of Tom Cruise's Shattered, Troll-like Face,' Klosterman claims the question 'What Is Reality?' is the most important query modern filmmakers can attempt to answer. Though this particular essay is loaded with internal inconsistencies and problematic reasoning, the writing still crackles throughout. This manages to be true throughout 'Cocoa Puffs,' making it impossible to put down. Klosterman classifies himself as a 'nonsense person' in the book (as opposed to a 'no-nonsense person'), and, like the best nonsense, his inessential musings never get trite or tiresome.