Stuff White People Like

August 4, 2008
From the blog sensation of the same name comes a collection of brief, funny, occasionally biting profiles of things supposedly beloved by upper-middle class white people. Lifted from the Web and dressed up with a few quizzes and flowcharts, Lander's material should provoke minor controversy, mostly as to whether the concept is reflexively funny or covertly racist; there's an exclusive aura to entries on modern art, documentary films and indie rock, intimating that most of what's considered high culture is based in white people's idiosyncrasies. Much of the humor, though, is pure silliness, poking fun at white people's preferred eating habits (Whole Foods, premium juice, expensive sandwiches and "cleanses"), family lives ("Having Two Last Names," "Hating Their Parents," divorce) and causes (vegetarianism, recycling, "Knowing What's Best for Poor People," "Making You Feel Bad for Not Going Outside"). The book flirts briefly with political satire, such as the hilariously succinct entry on Barack Obama, but the stuff Lander likes most are easy targets; as funny as some of the entries may be in a covertly forwarded email, most fall curiously flat on the page.

August 11, 2008
From the blog sensation of the same name comes a collection of brief, funny, occasionally biting profiles of things supposedly beloved by upper-middle class white people. Lifted from the Web and dressed up with a few quizzes and flowcharts, Lander's material should provoke minor controversy, mostly as to whether the concept is reflexively funny or covertly racist; there's an exclusive aura to entries on modern art, documentary films and indie rock, intimating that most of what's considered high culture is based in white people's idiosyncrasies. Much of the humor, though, is pure silliness, poking fun at white people's preferred eating habits (Whole Foods, premium juice, expensive sandwiches and "cleanses"), family lives ("Having Two Last Names," "Hating Their Parents," divorce) and causes (vegetarianism, recycling, "Knowing What's Best for Poor People," "Making You Feel Bad for Not Going Outside"). The book flirts briefly with political satire, such as the hilariously succinct entry on Barack Obama, but the stuff Lander likes most are easy targets; as funny as some of the entries may be in a covertly forwarded email, most fall curiously flat on the page.

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