Stranger Than Fiction

"If you haven't noticed, all my books are about a lonely person looking for some way to connect with other people," so begins Chuck Palahniuk's Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories a.k.a. book #24 of my 2005 50 book challenge. Palaniuk's new collection of short non-fiction essays uses this theme again, this time weaving it through 23 different stories spanning a wide array of topics. Here's a quick look at the main subject of each of the stories:

• "Testy Festy" - The Rock Creek Lodge Testicle Festival
• "Where Meat Comes From" - Amateur wrestling at the USA Wrestling Olympic Trials
• "You Are Here" - Selling your screenplay at the Midwest Writers' Conference
• "Demolition" - The Lind Combine Demolition Derby
• "My Life as a Dog" - Dressing up as a dalmation and walking the streets of Seattle
• "Confessions in Stone" - Modern castle builders
• "Frontiers" - Chuck's brief experiment with steroids
• "The People Can" - Life aboard the USS Louisiana
• "The Lady" - Close encounters with psychic mediums
• "In Her Own Words" - An interview with Juliette Lewis
• "Why Isn't He Budging" - Quotes from Andrew Sullivan
• "Not Chasing Amy" - Chuck's favorite author Amy Hempel
• "Reading Yourself" - Meeting Marilyn Manson
• "Bodhisattvas" - Yogi the rescue dog goes to Honduras
• "Human Error" - Rocket Guy and his attempt to build a rocket and shoot himself into outer space
• "Dear Mr. Levin" - Author Ira Levin and the genius of 'The Stepford Wives', 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'Sliver'
• "Escort" - Chuck's experiences as a Hospice volunteer
• "Almost California" - The Elephant Man (aka Chuck) goes to Hollywood
• "The Lip Enhancer" - Brad Pitt and the Lip Enhancer
• "Monkey Think, Monkey Do" - Why we must do what we're forbidden to do
• "Brinkmanship" - Life on the brink
• "Now I Remember" - Memento and our obsession with notes
• "Consolation Prizes" - Fight Club and the murder of Chuck's father

As with most essay collections, Stranger Than Fiction is hit and miss at times, but on the whole I found it to be an enjoyable read. There are reviews aplenty posted online if you'd like to learn more about the book, or you can even listen to Chuck being interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered.