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Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

Average rating: 4/5

Based on 65 ratings

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Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

by Chuck Klosterman

Scribner | June 6, 2006 | Trade Paperback

For 6,557 miles, Chuck Klosterman thought about dying. He drove a rental car from New York to Rhode Island to Georgia to Mississippi to Iowa to Minneapolis to Fargo to Seattle, and he chased death and rock ''n'' roll all the way. Within the span of twenty-one days, Chuck had three relationships end -- one by choice, one by chance, and one by exhaustion. He snorted cocaine in a graveyard. He walked a half-mile through a bean field. A man in Dickinson, North Dakota, explained to him why we have fewer windmills than we used to. He listened to the KISS solo albums and the Rod Stewart box set. At one point, poisonous snakes became involved. The road is hard. From the Chelsea Hotel to the swampland where Lynyrd Skynyrd''s plane went down to the site where Kurt Cobain blew his head off, Chuck explored every brand of rock star demise. He wanted to know why the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing...and what this means for the rest of us.

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    Rating: 3/5

    Killing myself to read.

    jake matthews

    7 months ago

    Chuck takes you on first person perspective tour around America. Taking you to the places where some of the most famous musicians in history lost their lives. Feeling what the people that experienced the tragedies felt at that moment. He also takes an introspective look at the women in his life and tells tales of their relationships. All while listening and commenting on the over 400 CD’S he brings for his journey. The downside of the book is, it drags on in some spots and it’s easy to lose some interest in Chuck’s love life. Definitely worth a read though.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?
    Donna Stuart

    Rating: 5/5

    Amazing

    Donna Stuart

    3 years ago

    Genius writing for the music geek in all of us.
    Klosterman has a way of describing situations that makes you wanna be there in his front seat rocking out to Crazy in Love as we drive off a cliff.
    His imagined conversations with his three ladies of love make you pity him.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    So here it is. There are 2 people that are 'friends' of mine on here, so there are two people with the potential to read this review (and Ms. Reisman I understand you're busy -so you're excused.
    Darren - these social networking sites are like abortion to you (were you more republican than you seem to be) so you're also excused.
    I guess I'm writing this for myself.

    Here goes.

    Chuck Klosterman's "Killing Yourself to Live" is genius writing... Chicken Soup for the Music Geek's soul. Chicken Soup for the young person who likes to have sex's soul. Chicken Soup for the road-tripper/recreational drug doer's soul. Chicken Soup for Collective Soul?

    Read it! Fantastic voyage into something everyone ought to do before their 32nd birthday. Venture off into the great "Americas" in search of famous Rock and Roll deaths!

    Cheers.
    K.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?
    Duste

    Rating: 5/5

    Brilliant

    Duste

    7 years ago

    Once again Klosterman kicks ass and takes names, ravaging a path through Americana and it's far more morbid side.

    Forget JK Rowling, drop that new Clancy, burn your copies of King. Klosterman is here.

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From the Publisher

For 6,557 miles, Chuck Klosterman thought about dying. He drove a rental car from New York to Rhode Island to Georgia to Mississippi to Iowa to Minneapolis to Fargo to Seattle, and he chased death and rock ''n'' roll all the way. Within the span of twenty-one days, Chuck had three relationships end -- one by choice, one by chance, and one by exhaustion. He snorted cocaine in a graveyard. He walked a half-mile through a bean field. A man in Dickinson, North Dakota, explained to him why we have fewer windmills than we used to. He listened to the KISS solo albums and the Rod Stewart box set. At one point, poisonous snakes became involved. The road is hard. From the Chelsea Hotel to the swampland where Lynyrd Skynyrd''s plane went down to the site where Kurt Cobain blew his head off, Chuck explored every brand of rock star demise. He wanted to know why the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing...and what this means for the rest of us.

About the Author

Chuck Klosterman, currently a music, film, & culture critic for Ohio's "Akron Beacon Journal", began his career with "The Forum" in Fargo, North Dakota. He lives in Akron, Ohio, where he once consumed nothing but McDonald's Chicken McNuggets for seven straight days.

Trade Paperback

272 Pages, 5.5 x 8.44 x 0.69 in

June 6, 2006

Scribner

English


0743264460
9780743264464

From the Critics

"Thank God Chuck lives the life he does and writes the way he writes about it. It''s not just autobiography; it''s a vital form of truth, and he''s the real thing."

--Douglas Coupland

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