books: bright lights, big city

i thought i would start chronicling the books i've read by writing short notes on them as they're finished. goodreads accomplishes this function well enough on its own, however i thought it might be a nice exercise and help me process the book better by writing a bit about it afterward. i can also refer back to notes if i am ever curious as to what a book was about or why i rated it a certain way.

so the lucky first book is "bright lights, big city" by jay mcinerny. this is apparently one of those books that perfectly encapsulates an era, in this case the 1980's. i think i found it on one of those "100 books you have to read, etc." posts and found it convincing enough to add to my own must-read list. the second person narrative is easy to slide into, and although much of the story focuses on the particular avarice of the 80's – coke, clubs, and cancerous relationships – there's a lot of heart and thoughtful moments to break up the cynical nihilism; something that sets it apart from other 80's classics like "american psycho" to be sure. overall i found mr. mcinerny to be a very engaging writer, accessible yet witty, he created a simple story with a lot of enjoyable language. gave it a five on goodreads and aim to seek out more of his stories at a later date.