Sublime - c'est nous!

One of the items I'm including on my Christmas wish list is a pricey little paperback: Cigarettes are Sublime by Richard Klein. According to Booklist, "Klein's survey of the history of cigarettes and their gestalt of ritual, seduction, contemplation, and danger is fruitful and often surprising. [...] As Klein discusses the representation of cigarettes in literature and film, he also tracks various attitudes toward smoking. He believes the current zealous condemnation goes far beyond matters of health and drifts into issues of personal freedom. But he never denies the fact that smoking cigarettes is bad for you. Of course they're hazardous, that's why they're sublime: they combine pleasure with an "intimation of mortality."

Sigh. At last, someone who understands. It's well, sublime.