Living Loaded: Tales of Sex, Salvation, and the Pursuit of the Never-Ending Happy Hour
The author of Playboy.com’s “Imbiber” column is proud of his vocation, reminding us repeatedly that he drinks for a living. As we noted in our review of Nobody Likes a Quitter (2007), though Dunn also enjoys comparing himself to his late mentor, Hunter S. Thompson, he’s like Thompson without the political awareness, righteous indignation, and satirical genius: in short, he’s a guy who’s good at partying. But, given this book’s title, he’s not really promising anything else. He is a good storyteller, lacing his often tongue-in-cheek advice about the boozing life with outré anecdotes and even somewhat sober introspection. And his advice about drinking is refreshingly unpretentious, which makes the 15 cocktail recipes from prominent mixologists seem somewhat misplaced. Though they may taste delightful, few of them will be accomplished by mere mortals without a scavenger hunt at high-end liquor stores. This sometimes slapdash compendium (much of it taken from his columns) has its moments but will be most avidly consumed by those who share the author’s own awe at his job: Dude, you drink for a living? --Keir Graff