Christopher commented on…
If you haven't read 'em, pretend you have
Untitled — 5 years ago
Reading David Sedaris is definitely required to be a hipster.
A Heartbreaking Work, though, was one of the biggest wastes of time I’ve ever read. I have never encountered a more self-absorbed and dull author.
Comments
The Heart of Hipness?
Isn’t the epitome of hip being a little bit of a vanguard and not letting anyone dictate your tastes but you? For example, someone truly hip wouldn’t bother reading Sedaris because, by virtue of its being identified as must-read for hipsters, it would move away from hipness into the passe.
And they would definitely never bother reading Robert Lanham. By the time someone comes up with a definition of hipness, puts it into writing, trucks it around to publishers, gets it accepted, and endures the time it takes a publisher to get the thing from manuscript to book, the entire book would already be outdated.
It’s carpe diem, not carpe here!
Oh — and by the way — call me unhip, but “deck”? “DECK”? From what pool of lame hip wannabes did Lanham dredge that one?
The Old-Time Hipsters
According to this list, though, it was entirely possible to be hip from way back. My mom, for example, loved reading J.D. Sallinger. Who wouldn’t — the guy is definitely more entertaining than Sedaris, right?
Needless to say, I am NOT hip. I do, however, have hips, which precludes me being hip. I am actually kinda square but — AAACK! No wait! I can’t be square because, according to Huey Lewis & the News (YES, I listened to Huey Lewis & the News and I DON’T CARE IF IT’S NOTHIP!!!), it is hip to be square and I absolutely REFUSE to be hip and have to go around saying “Deck” instead of “Cool.” Call me square, but I like saying “Cool”. No wait — don’t call me square. Call me — uh — just forget it …..
The whole book is a piss-take of hipsters, the way you’re talking, I can imagine that you’d love it; it really is rather funny.
Christopher