Oh, this book!  Found it on one of NPR’s best of 2009 lists.  The premise and style of writing has a very Tom Robbins-esque quality to it, but the story Ron Currie tells is far more classic than anything Mr. Robbins would write.  I was captivated by the story, but wished the author had used less hyperbole to illustrate his point.  As one reviewer wrote, there is major geography between Nothing Matters and Everything Matters.  And Currie seems only to care for the two ends of the spectrum and not the subtleties in between.  I really adored how Currie carefully and lovingly constructs his characters though.  That alone made this book well worth it.  Currie understands (unlike other authors ahemStephanieMeyersahem) that you can love your characters, but giving them everything they could ever want does not make for an interesting read.