i hated this book. it was highly problematic and i don't get what the point was. the best part of this book was the little flyer i found inside for a personal essay show that ran in l.a. called "pinata", which ran every first thursday of the month at a venue called bang, on fairfax.

"non-fiction" is a bit ridiculous as a genre-tag for goodreads.

the three essays i quite enjoyed were: "the devil and william gates", "Da Vinci: The Lost Notebook" and "Adolf Hitler: The Larry King Interview" ... the others were boring, bland and predictable.

Almost like a more gregarious, pop-cultured T.C.Boyle, Stewart's glimpses of celebrity exaggeration are playful and chuckle inducing. Some essays are mildly audacious. Some are "so-so, at least they were short." It's a fun little collection and an easy read.

eeehhh. There were moments of edge and wit among the essays, but the material seems forced, seeming like a group of mental skits pressed out from a shaper like play-doh in the hope to have it keep its playful shape. Instead, it dried out to quick and can't be reconstituted.

Feels like a book by a humorist for humorists.