Oh, come on, Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was entertaining, and you genuinely liked it before it got all hyped up. I know you did.
Sorry Sam, I read it before all the hype, and was non-plussed. Felt like he was wallowing in his childhood in this narcissicistic Philip Roth kind of way without good pacing or tremendous wit. For the record, I also read "She's come undone" before it was an Oprah selection, and hated it too. I can recommend Sophie's World by Gaardener, A Brief history of nearly everything by Bryson, and anything by Dashiel Hammett.
No, yes and yes. Sophie's World fell apart once the twist happened. Previous to that it was a fairly elementary primer on philosophy, but YMMV.
Oh stop arguing. And Eggers is not without humor and talent. This post is turning into a talkback on another website. Plus, everyone's taste is deeply inferior to mine.