Football - Chuck Klosterman ---------------- 4 Stars

I've read and reviewed a couple of Chuck Klosterman's books (reviews here) and have always found them quite entertaining and unique. He has a writing style that is really his own and a fascinating way of taking mundane things or topical issues and putting a philosophical spin on them. That is the same with his recent release, Football. I found it an engaging read with some deep thinking and really novel ways to reflect about the incredibly popular past time that is modern day American football. 

This book only came out a couple months ago and I was lucky enough to borrow a copy from the library and I'm pretty happy I did. Like this other books I've read, I always find myself thinking far more deeply about whatever subject I'm reading about with a Klosterman book. This was no exception as he made me really consider why football is so popular, when/how long might it continue to be popular, and other engaging ideas.

The book was pretty short and a fairly easily read. Of course, with Klosterman, I found myself realizing just how silly certain things are, especially with the ways he explains them, but also having to re-read sentences or paragraphs, either because of the elevated vocabulary used or confusing observations and viewpoints. Oddly, this book seemed a lot longer than it actually was. On the Kindle, I "finished" it while only 70% completed; the rest was Index with, what seemed, a reference and listing of page number to nearly every word in the book. Which reminds me that I also enjoyed just how funny this book was. I enjoy Klosterman's bizarre sense of humor, and it was fully on display in this book (one example, he's telling a story about something that happened to him in high school and wrote something like, "my friend was there, let's call him Tim, since that was his name").

Of course, even with all these positives, the book can drag on occasion or make a reference to something so obscure that I have to believe most people reading have no idea what he's talking about. The book, of course, is quite focused on football, and, again, really is quite philosophical at some points. While interesting, I am not sure if this book would actually be enjoyed by most passionate football fans. It's a bit ironic that I think the audience for this book is much more likely to be readers of Klosterman books than general people who like football. Perhaps you can check it out and see what you think about it?