Episode 682: Don't Get Too Comfortable

So I've just finished reading David Rakoff's book of essays, which gives this post its title. I have to say, his merciless skewering of our contemporary (Western?) culture of excess is downright hilarious in parts. It is undeniably snarky, and for that, I love it. In fact, his style of writing reminds me of my own, if one is allowed some vanity in these things. Maybe I should find a way to show Alex a copy, since he's the only person I know who seems confident of identifying my writing based on style alone. Anyway, the contents of Rakoff's essays run the gamut of crazy things that money can buy, including a flight on the Concorde, a liquid diet that fails to bring enlightenment, and cryopreservation. The subtitle probably says it all anyway: The Indignities Of Coach Class, The Torments Of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest For Artisanal Olive Oil, And Other First World Problems. It's all delivered with such a breezily deadpan manner, you can't help laughing at what he's recounting even as you (probably) experience a twinge of guilty recognition. Altogether quite a delightful way to have passed the afternoon, if I may say so. Now moving back to reading Literary Hoaxes: An Eye-opening History Of Famous Frauds by Melissa Katsoulis.