Part of a journalist’s job is to conduct interviews and ask questions. In the recently released Eating the Dinosaur, writer Chuck Klosterman asks the reader why that is. Why do we ask others questions? What do we think gives us the right to know those answers? And, more importantly, what compels one to answer?

Klosterman spends the first chapter of his latest book delving into this topic. He interviews famed documentary director Errol Morris and Ira Glass, the host of the public-radio program “This American Life.” The two men go into depth about their personal lives and the difference between asking others questions and being asked them yourself.

Klosterman continues to ponder other such philosophical questions — was Kurt Cobain a great man because he refused to let his wife buy a Lexus or did that make him a hypocrite? Klosterman is a bit of an old hat at this line of thought.

The 37-year-old first hit the pop-culture scene with 2001’s Fargo Rock City and went onto enormous success with the iconic Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs two years later. His books are nonfiction collections of essays on life and popular culture from the perspective of a rock-music-loving, young, urban American. Though he was born and educated in North Dakota, he looks at cultural phenomena from a universal point of view — from his own obsession with the Sims and what the games’ popularity really says about society to the ridiculous nature of MTV’s “The Real World.”

Eating the Dinosaur, Klosterman’s sixth book, remains heavy on musical references, much like his previous works. During a chapter on basketball player Ralph Sampson, he begins to talk about Britney Spears. In section two of this essay, he posits that too many people make money off of the pop star’s successes and failures.

He says those people are devoid of any real personality or ability to communicate any kind of insightful message. This type of critique is what has made him famous. His singular push toward getting at the truth of society’s norms has endeared him to the public. He uses references that most young readers can respond to.

Eating the Dinosaur will not disappoint Klosterman’s fans. It is well-constructed and clearly written.

Though the concepts he is attempting to get across can sometime be convoluted, he writes in a way that makes him simple enough to understand. Reading this book is akin to watching an “I Love the [deposit chosen decade here]” show on VH1, except he is the only celebrity guest.

Sometimes he throws something in from left field, as with his essay on ABBA’s success despite a general contempt for the group’s music.

On occasion, his opinions can be a bit overbearing and occasionally come off as merely confrontational — an argument for the sake of arguing. However unnecessary the criticism may be, Klosterman manages to make interesting insights, backed up by unexpected references and events.

For all those who can’t get enough pop culture and never wonder why, Eating the Dinosaur is required reading.