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Against Everything
Against Everything: Essays | Mark Greif
14 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 43 to read
A brilliant collection of critical essays by a young writer who is already a star in the intellectual firmamenta book of scope and acuity worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as Susan Sontag's Against Interpretation and Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Over the course of eleven years Mark Greif has been publishing superb and in some cases superstar essays in n+1, the high-profile little magazine that he co-founded with some Harvard classmates. These essays address such key topics in the cultural and intellectual life of our time as the tyranny of exercise, the tyranny of nutrition and food snobbery, the sexualization of childhood (and everything else), the philosophical meaning of Radiohead, the rise and fall of the hipster, the impact of the Occupy movement, and the crisis of policing. Each essay is learned, original, highly entertaining, and, from start to finish, dead serious. They are the work of a young intellectual who, with his peers, is reinventing and reinvigorating what intellectuals can be and say and do. An important contribution to the higher mental life of our vexed time. From the Hardcover edition.
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gottabechispa
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Pickpick

Read "The Meaning of Life" parts 1, 2, and 3. Quite dense in some chapters, but so worth it for a perspective and freshness you won't find anywhere else

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AlizaApp
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Pickpick

Some of these essays seem way ahead of their time (the one on income redistribution written in 2004 would be super popular now with Bernie Sanders fans), but others have not aged quite as well - like he clearly does not understand the appeal of vlogging and missed how much of a phenomenon it is for teens. Overall I found the essays (and writer) grumpy but persuasive and thoughtful.

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AlizaApp
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Slick burn 🔥. For context, this is from an essay called “What Was The Hipster?” The “was” might be a bit premature though...

callielafleur Love your nails! 6y
Reviewsbylola Your nails look fantastic!! 6y
AlizaApp Thanks @Reviewsbylola and @callielafleur !! Always my goal to be 💅🏼 6y
30 likes3 comments
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snacksinthestacks
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all my holds came at once! does that happen to you too? now where to start?!?! #librarylove

tpixie Roll some dice!! 8y
snacksinthestacks @tpixie hehe I like that idea! 🎲🎲 but realized I have some stuff checked out thats due soon 😅 8y
tpixie The Library ( Late fees) seem to be my favorite charity! 8y
14 likes4 comments
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MrSnacks
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take my money!

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Lissa00
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This was a good collection of essays but I felt some were outdated. It could be the timing, with current events as they are now, that made them seem that way:(. Overall, though, I really enjoyed the writing.

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Lissa00
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I find it easier to dip into essay collections instead of reading fiction while watching my kids' sports practices. Today I brought this to read.

Suzze I always find non-fiction a lot easier to read in a situation where I might not be able to concentrate well. I'm trying to think back to my son's practices. (30 years ago) and I don't remember taking a book. But what else would I have been doing? I wouldn't have actually been watching a practice, would I? 😜😜 8y
Lissa00 @Suzze I purposely stay to watch so that I can get a little extra reading time😂. 8y
[DELETED] 3323341091 this is a great collection! 8y
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jesslovestype
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Reading this one in bits and pieces whenever I'm home because Mark, a former (and beloved) professor, signed my copy and I want to keep it absolutely pristine. And the contrarian in me is so excited to dive into essays against stuff! #catsoflitsy #essaycollections

[DELETED] 3323341091 neat! i picked this up from the library yesterday. 8y
jesslovestype @fern Hope you enjoy it! 8y
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OutlandishLit
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The first essay in this collection is called "Against Exercise" and it's just as good as you'd think it would be. Already sold on Mark Greif, damn. Has anybody read this whole collection??

8little_paws No, this is the first I've heard of it. I love reading essay collections. Do you have other favorites? 8y
MrBook Not yet, added now though 😊👍🏻. 8y
OutlandishLit @8little_paws Chuck Klosterman is a ton of fun to read! And does When Women Were Birds count?? Or is that more of a memoir? Who even knows 8y
See All 8 Comments
OutlandishLit @MrBook yaaaay 📚📚📚 8y
8little_paws @OutlandishLit I just read When Women Were Birds maybe a month ago? Like *right* before I joined Litsy. Haven't read any Klosterman yet though ... Will look into him! 8y
MrBook Why do you always tempt me with TBR adds?! Why?! 😜 8y
[DELETED] 3323341091 i am about halfway through and it is damn great. 8y
AustenJennings This is a great selection of essays. 8y
56 likes15 stack adds8 comments
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MagdaRosol
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Being bubbly is overrated.

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catieohjoy
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A RAVE from the New York Times. I can't wait to read this! http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/books/review/against-everything-mark-greif....

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catieohjoy
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I can't wait for Mark Greif's essay collection to come out in September. If you haven't read his brilliant n+1 essay "Against Exercise," do! His writing is smart and witty (and he's the same in person—I had the incredible privilege of taking a class with him, and later being his advisee, at Eugene Lang College). The Amazon page for the book features effusive blurbs from John Jeremiah Sullivan, Mary Karr, and Zadie Smith! ?

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