The Indie Cred Test: Everything You Need To Know About Knowing Everything You Need To Know from Chunklet is a comprehensive guide to having cred in the indie world and a test of just how much you already possess.  It will become a guide for your life and also fun at parties. The book is divided into 16 chapters which consist of test questions broken up by essays and articles relevant to the chapter.

As I live in a mecca of hipster-dom, Brooklyn, NY, as soon as I started reading this book I was laughing out loud within the first couple of pages.  Although Henry Owings is the primary author, others at Chunklet magazine contributed and the very first moment of brilliance in this book can be found in one of them entitled “A Message To The Hipster In America”.  It’s actually pretty scathing.

Later on in the book under “Wardrobe & Fashion” is a multiple choice question about tattoos that you have and it lists a ton of extremely common tattoos in a manner that you just know someone who has at least one of them.  Another question on the same page is “Describe how Converse Chuck Taylors and One Stars are different?”  ”Health & Fitness” gives us a list of “Acceptable Reasons To Quit Drinking”

There’s also obviously since Chunklet is a music magazine primarily, a lot of wonderful sections related to music, including some pretty obscure references (you can pretend to get them, it’s ok). Sections are dedicated to your music collection and your band.

Also scattered throughout are fake ads for the Bank of Indie Credit (BIC) featuring the likes of Jack White and other indie idols.  These are sheer genius and worth getting the book for alone.

When all is said and done this is a really great book that’s filled with fun.  I’d recommend picking up a copy and checking it out for yourself right now.  Or this would make a super great gift for the hipster in your life.  It’s a wonderful bit of satire that everyone can get in on and have some laughs at.

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