I don't yet have the stomach for Chuck Palahniuk's fiction. I've tried reading pretty much all of his novels and 'Fight Club' is the only one I've been able to finish, and that's because I'd seen the movie and pretty much knew what was going to happen. His writing is just so over-the-top graphic, filled with human suffering and self-loathing that for me they're too much of a mental, emotional, and physical workout to get through. But at the same time I would like to one day be able to read his stuff, let myself experience all the emotions, memories, and associations his writing churns up for me AND be detached enough to just finish the &$^*!! book.
So I was pretty stoked to see this collection of his non-fiction writing on the library shelf. I think a more accurate title would have been, "Perhaps Stranger, but Definitely More Boring Than, My Fiction." Compared to his fiction writing and his fictional characters, like Tyler Durden from Fight Club, the real-life people and their situations he writes about in this collection come across as a little ho hum. Even folks like Marilyn Manson.
I found myself wishing that he would take the best, most interesting parts of this non-fiction work and combine them into something fictional. Which I guess is what fiction writing is all about.

If i could've given this book no stars I would've. I got about three stories in and realized I was forcing myself to read the next story. I ended up skimming through the rest and decided I wasn't missing anything.

I think the book is an interesting concept; this fiction writer writes a non-fiction book about different people and how they live their lives. It's a book of stories to glimpse into how other people live their lives. The problem is, isn't that what books are in general? It's a glimpse into a life different than yours. The only difference is the stories (or maybe just how they're written) is not that interesting.

For example, the story about the amateur Greco Roman wrestlers. Yea, that could be an interesting glimpse but nothing really hooked me. Yes, they're wrestlers. Yes, they have to make and lose weight at the drop of a hat. So what?

I'm not saying the people were boring but nothing sparked about the way the author was presenting them. What was stranger than fiction about wrestlers?

In the spirit of this years motto, to boldly go where my inclinations have never led me to browse,I applied myself to finishing this collection of essays.I had liked the introduction very much but got bogged down immediately in alien territory and put it aside.Although he is better known as a novelist, I reasoned that if I was going to read only one thing by him, this might be the book to give me some kind of perspective on Palahniuks work.I determinined to finish with it already.I started agin with the introduction.

If I had been anticipating a barrage of chauvanistic observations this prejudice was quickly laid to rest in the opening essay. Palahniuk is a keen and sensitive observer and he can write. His comments about the process and the reasons why he finds writing so gratifying were all pertinent to me, but even when he is writing about things that rather appall me,like extreme sports with farm machinary, he writes with such appreciation that finally even I can.

Actually, many of the stories captured my interest. I especially was fascinated by the one on American castle builders,and the essay on Amy Hempel gives some great leads. He also drops well thought out little nuggets referencing some of the great thinkers. Jefferson I might expect but I was pleasantly surprised to find a good precis of the essence of the philosophy of Kierkgaard. Taken together, the stories offer a cultural spectrum of America, and in fact, most of stories offer some great leads for our own inspiration.

What I like most about Palahniuk is his embracing of life in all its its astounding variety and aspects. Even writing about the sordid underside of the glimmering canopy, he retains his fresh perspective.We are not contaminated by his observations or despair. Curiously, the after effect of this book was hopeful.

This book was strangely good, I didn't like Haunted by him. I'm setting the bars high for Fight Club, and glad I gained a better perception of him. His writing is really good, and interesting. Some of the chapter/story/essays were better than others. In my honest opinion, the first story/essay/chapter was complete utter nonsense, testicle festival? please. The murder of his father, ghost stories, confessions in stone, and introduction were my absolute favourite. It was so intriguing to read about these things, that aren't really thought about.
Personally, the portraits were also just okay.
I still really liked the book, it's something I would re-read and like to have an intricate discussion about. It's... strange.

Raccolta d articoli e racconti dell'autore di Fight Club che oscillano temporalmente sia prima che dopo la sua opera più famosa.
Alterna realtà e fantasia e non sempre si capisce cosa sia cosa. Si passa dai racconti che fanno riflettere a quelli che non ti fanno ''dormire la notte'', grazie anche alla sua scrittura vivida.
La seconda parte sono una raccolta di interviste a personaggi famosi, interviste scritte in modo particolare, quella a Marilyn Manson per esempio è sprovvista delle domande, e le risposte sono intervallate dalla lettura dei tarocchi fatto dallo stesso Manson. Sono dei tipi di interviste che ti permettono di immergerti al pieno nell'atmosfera.
La terza parte del libro sono degli scorci della sua vita personale un po' auto-promozionali essendo quasi sempre citato Fight club.

Leggibile sia tutto di un fiato sia un racconto alla volta.
(Ci sono molti riferimenti a Fight Club in tutto il libro quindi consiglio di leggerlo prima o almeno aver visto il film)

I mean, Classic Chuck. As with any collection of short stories, there were some I didn't love; however there were not any that I would call a dud. Hilarious, witty, satirical, reflective, its all in here and I powered through in two sittings. Absolutely loved the interview with Juliette Lewis.

This is a collection of short non-fiction pieces by Chuck Palahniuk, written during and before the release of the Fight Club movie. I really liked the comic series Fight Club 2 (and the original movie), but my other Palahnuik experiences have been hit or miss. His combination of minimalism and strangeness doesn't always work for me; I've often seen a new Palahnuik at my library and shied away from it.

This volume worked much better, perhaps due to a more straightforward writing style. There are some journalistic pieces that scream Palahnuik: explicit sex acts at the Rock Creek Lodge Testicle Festival, a small community that celebrates harvester combine demolition derbies, and coverage of the men who keep on wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman), regardless of the lack of acclaim the sport receives. (The lists of injuries a wrestler picks up - with explicit descriptions - is a great example of the bluntness I appreciate in Palahnuik's writing.)

There are also a few autobiographical pieces that are shocking in their coverage of Palahnuik's family history (the murder of his grandmother by his grandfather, the murder of his father), but also convey how much of his life and the lives of his friends make their way into his writing. For example, I did not know that the description of the support groups in Fight Club was connected to Palahnuik's volunteer work.

The shining pieces of the book are the ones that discuss writing (including the introduction). There's a wonderful chapter about a writer's convention at an Airport Sheraton Hotel which discusses what it means to turn the tragedy of your life into a pitch speech for a book or movie deal and how we edit and enhance our personal stories. There's also a great piece on minimalistic writing and workshops that will probably prompt me to search out some Amy Hempel books.

All in all, I'm glad I picked this up; it will probably lead to me reading more Palahnuik fiction.

This collection of non-fiction essays starts you off with a one-two punch in the gut (no surprise for anyone that knows Palahniuk) with pieces including descriptions of sexual exhibitionism and of wrestling injuries. (I literally had to pull over to calm my stomach.)

That being said, (and having got through without any 'projectile' incidents) the reader may then enjoy several enjoyable essays touching on Palahniuk's life pre- and post-Fight Club, as well as a few very enlightening interviews with other well-known persons. You may think you have opinions about Juliette Lewis and Marilyn Manson, but their perspectives are well-worth listening to, and I found them particularly thoughtful and rewarding.

My favorite pieces, however, were two about authors and their books. The one on the minimalist writing of Amy Hempel is going to send me out in search of her books right away. And the one conceived as an open address to Ira Levin, author of Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives, is the most important one for us to focus on today, at a time when the necrotizing effect of most news media sources is causing many people to shut off and shut down in despair. The point Palahniuk made over ten years ago, (and that Levin deftly communicated forty and fifty years ago) is that when we become aware of social injustices that need attention, our artistic responses must ride a fine line in order to inspire positive change without overwhelming the audience.

My summary is inelegant compared to to Palahniuk's exposition, so I encourage all that are so inclined, to look up this book and that essay. And may all creatives be duly inspired.

[Note: the audiobook includes "unabridged selections," so I look forward to turning to my print copy to pick up the pieces that were left out.]

This is a collection of non-fiction essays and long-form journalism pieces from the author of "Fight Club". No doubt Palahniuk is a solid writer and definitely an in-depth researcher. However, this series failed to capture my attention. There's so much detail that the reporting becomes repetitive, and failed to engage me on an emotional level. For example, one piece describes three men who build castles, both to live in and for fun. Reading description about stacking stones, pouring concrete, spreading stucco, and other building details is interesting for a little while, but page after page grows tedious. I was more curious about the men who took this task on, and their motivation, but didn't feel that went in depth. The whole treatment was a bit superficial. I'll keep this book on my shelf if I am looking for an essay-length piece to read, but it was hard to get invested in.

Some of the essays were so interesting and others made my eyes glaze over in boredom. There is one rather funny one where Palahniuk flew to Los Angeles to meet with movie executives for Fight Club. For some crazy reason, Palahniuk decided to shave his head the night before but he completely messed it up and had small cuts all over his head and a nasty rash. He essentially looked like he had a terrible skin disease. It was pretty funny, but most of the essays are serious. I listened to this on audio and there were two narrators, the author and a professional narrator. A word of advice. If you ever see an audio book by Palahniuk narrated by the author, pick up a paper or ebook copy instead.

Heartbreaking, thoughtful, funny and true, an excellent and entertaining read throughout.

I used to read all his stuff when I was a kid and glad I got back to some shorter pieces. Honestly can’t tell if fiction or nonfiction