I've only read one other book by Michael Chabon ([b:The Yiddish Policemen's Union|16703|The Yiddish Policemen's Union|Michael Chabon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178032098s/16703.jpg|95855]), but I will definitely be reading more. And I'll probably be revisiting this one.

He's won a Pulitzer prize, but he has a unique way of crossing from that supposedly more literary world into the realms of what is usually referred to as 'genre' (mysteries, science fiction, comics, and pulp). This collection of essays, as the title suggests, provides a sort of map between his two worlds. They are eloquent ruminations on not only his own life and background and work, but also the works of others (his insights into Cormac McArthy's [b:The Road|350540|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1233151881s/350540.jpg|3355573] by themselves make this book worth investigating).

This volume is (as others have pointed out), a 'defense of genre fiction'. ( )

I came to this book thinking there would be a little more analysis, there was none. He starts with the reason we read, listen to music, watch movies, and tell stories: for entertainment. Entertainment that is a necessary and inescapable part of the human condition even if it is masked with ironic enjoyment. The fences that separate high brow, low brow, and even pop simply don't exist. It is all entertainment and someone can find joy in it if not any kind of meaning, deep or otherwise.
Most of the essays read as ‘I like this’ and goes on unanalytically about how he first experienced it and what he has since gleaned from the experience since but in a very well-written and entertaining way. He also talked about how sometimes his entertainments (comics, YA books, etc.) and stories told to him tied into his work as a writer on occasion.
I did enjoy the book. It was a smooth read all the way through with the last essay being my favorite, Golems I have Known. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with a passing interest in comics, short and pulp fiction, and golems or for just the sheer entertainment value. ( )

Interesting opinions and baffling appreciations, collected mostly from magazine pieces. The autobiographical pieces are sure to be interesting to those curious about how Chabon got his start, and his takes on Philip Pullman and Cormac McCarthy are well-argued and stimulating. On the other hand, his paean to the cartoonist Howard Chaykin seems entirely unjustified on the basis of the one page of Chaykin material supplied here, and there are times when he comes off as more than a little smug in his intellectual self-assurance. A mixed bag. ( )

admittedly, my chabon blindspot is larger than jupiter, but this was a delightful collection of short stories and essays about chabon's life and writing process, and meditations about both the type of stories he likes to read, and the sort of novels he'd like to write. heeeeeeeeart. michael chabon, i'd convert to judaism for you! ( )

Great book of essays made all the more wonderful by an incredibly artistic triplicate dust jacket. ( )