Book Review & Giveaway: Street Boners (Closed)

2010

Title:Street Boners: 1,764 Hipster Fashion Jokes

Author: Gavin McInnes

About the Book:

Fifteen years after founding Vice, Gavin McInnes has poured his creative juices into a new endeavor: StreetCarnage.com. Growing in size and influence at an alarming rate, the site’s main feature is the new and improved version of Gavin’s “DOs and DON’Ts,” now tantalizingly called Street Boners.

These Boners have been polished and compounded into a book that takes the best of the site and adds hundreds more gems! With 1,312 photos, hilarious captions, and a harsh new rating system-from one to 10 kitten faces-STREET BONERS makes sure no glorious fashion statement goes unnoticed. Innocent citizens are either damned to hell or relentlessly exalted into heaven. Chloe Sevigny, Debbie Harry, Fred Armisen, and Tim & Eric also contribute their scathing wit to the book, and the end result is a New York fashion bible no bathroom should be without.

My Review:

Street Boners is fun. Thatâ€™s really the best way to characterize this book. Itâ€™s not some great literary tour de force, but it does provide a respite from your daily life.

Gavin McInnes spent a lot — and I stress a lot — of time putting together 1,764 hipster fashion jokes to create Street Boners. This book is nicely put together and doesnâ€™t skimp on production or content. Now, letâ€™s get to the meat of Street Boners. Sorry.

First, let me state that I donâ€™t really get the title (because weâ€˜re not solely looking for hot chicks, but mainly fashion dos and donâ€™ts), but no worries. The only way this book wonâ€™t interest you is â€œif you hate eye candy and laughing your ass offâ€ (McInnesâ€™ words, not mine.) I donâ€™t know about the â€œlaughing your ass offâ€ part, but itâ€™s definitely amusing. The whole â€œthingâ€ behind Street Boners is McInnesâ€™ voice, which is always biting, sarcastic, and usually funny. I wonâ€™t say he always hits his mark, but heâ€™s on his game for the most part.

That being said, sometimes his barbs are justâ€¦I donâ€™t knowâ€¦maybe over my head? Like this one: â€œYou canâ€™t really beat a juxtaposition like New York black chick meets British aristocrat on a fox hunt.â€ Thereâ€™s also â€œWhen women can hold their liquor better than you, itâ€™s like finding a kilo of cocaine because itâ€™s cool and fun but itâ€™s also kind of worrying.â€ Now I get his comment, but I just donâ€™t see how it relates to the picture, which depicts a woman standing on the sidewalk by a pole. I donâ€™t even know how weâ€™re supposed to glean that she holds her liquor better than a man.

But then you get these gems side by side: â€œItâ€™s hard to see Uggs in summer and not picture ten slimy toes wriggling around like sardines in hot Vaselineâ€ and â€œDear Drag Queens, We know you see this and think, â€˜That looks fun. Iâ€™d like to try it,â€™ but hereâ€™s the rub. You are a dude. Only cute young girls can do this. Thatâ€™s the whole point.â€ Thatâ€™s why you can overlook the occasional captions that you just donâ€™t â€œget.â€

Youâ€™re not going to get through this book in one sitting, as thereâ€™s just too much fabulousness to take in. But you sure wonâ€™t mind leaving Street Boners on your coffee table for all to peruse and point and laugh at. Definitely a keeper!

Giveaway

Thanks to Anna at Hachette Books, I have 3 copies of Street Boners to giveaway to 3 of my readers.

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