Category Archives: books i luff

My outlandishly raging love for Tim Gunn is no secret in these parts. I've blown through 5 1/2 seasons of Project Runway in the past month (what does this say about my life?) and I can't get enough of Tim's shining morsels of kind sagacity. I've even heard his voice in my head saying "Make it work!" when I get antsy about projects at work. What? Who's crazy? Certainly not me.

Due to my recent predilection for all things T. Gunn, it's no surprise that I recently picked up this gem from the local library:

My verdict? Read this book right this minute if you love Tim Gunn. As an english major, I tend to lean towards book snobbism at times, but for realsies. This book really is a good read.

But don't take my word for it. Here are some of my favorite quotes that just might persuade you to pick it up yourself:

"Call me a schoolmarm, but few things make me angrier than people not taking good care of library materials."

"I will always be there in the wings saying, 'You need to be good to people. You need to take your work seriously. You need to have integrity. You need to work with what you've got."

"I would certainly rather the industry not go broke, but if that's what it takes for everyone to acquire some values and lose that sense of entitlement, maybe a little belt-tightening wouldn't be so tragic."

"I believe that treating other people well is a lost art."

And my personal favorite--on a hialrious story about Anna Wintour...

"Anna, accept responsibility for your behavior. If you don't want people writing or talking about this, then don't let two men carry you down five flights of stairs." Vogue has already come out with a response saying that I have a "vivid imagination." All I can say is, you can't make this stuff up. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction."

He's so sassy and brimming with wit. If you'd like a light spring read, I definitely recommend it. Tim Gunnisms are always good to have on hand.

i realized early on in my collegiate years that nonfiction writing is where it's at. i'm talking essays. pithy, anecdotal essays that both tickle my overly large sarcasm bone while simultaneously making me feel stupid for not being more of an intellectual.

i also realized early on that i would never make any money in nonfiction writing. (unfortunately, you don't make any money in tech writing either once you realize, well, you hate tech writing.)

i've resolved to living my best-selling essay dreams vicariously through geniuses like david sedaris and, most recently, chuck klosterman. i love them, and i'm sure if they knew me, they'd make fun of me--but at least it would be via a hilariously smug essay.

i recently finished chuck klosterman iv: a decade of curious people & dangerous ideas.

source

it was brilliant. it's full of random essays he's written about pop culture. let's just say i never knew britney spears or metallica could be so deep. plus, he ate nothing but chicken mcnuggets for 7 days straight way before the days of supersize me. suck on that, morgan spurlock. and plus, he gave me a solid argument proving that zeppelin's zoso esentially  invented everything that you know as heavy metal. and plus plus, he watched VH1 classic for 24 hours straight and gave me the pleasure of experiencing that with him. if only i had access to vh1 classic. imagine all the 80s butt rock i could watch.

he interviewed radiohead and robert plant, and he convinced me that the alleged naivety of britney spears might actually be deviously feigned and coldly calculated.

bottom line, i loved this book. bottom line #2, i want his job. bottom line #3, i'll never have this job, so it's a good thing he writes a lot of books. next up, sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs.

read it. i highly recommend it.