Apparently not all of you share my love of David Sedaris. I had no idea. When I moved to NYC, Me Talk Pretty One Day had just come out & everyone, & I mean EVERYONE, was reading it. And they were laughing out loud while reading it. On the subway! In public! This was a book I had to read. I bought it; I read it; I loved it. It was the funniest book I had read up to that point.
In the years since, I've read all of Sedaris' books, most of his short stories, listened to him on NPR & seen him live twice. I've enjoyed all of his books, but so far, Me Talk Pretty One Day is still my favorite.
For graduation, Jessica got me his latest book, Squirrel Meets Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary. It's a collection of short morality stories enacted by animals. I read it the other day & loved it. The illustrations are great. They're done by Ian Falconer, who does the illustrations in the Olivia children's book series. I think my favorite story in the book is The Cow and the Turkey, possibly because I heard him read it on This American Life Holiday Spectacular. It's about a secret Santa gift exchange between barnyard animals. Here's an excerpt:
"The cow was notoriously cheap, so it surprised everyone when she voted yes for the secret Santa scheme. There were, of course, no shops in the barnyard, which was a shame, as all of the animals had money, coins mainly, dropped by the farmer and his plump, moody children as they went about their chores."
So funny! Definitely recommend this book, as well as Me Talk Pretty One Day. For you nonbelievers, maybe download some free podcasts on iTunes & listen to him read his stories. It may help to hear him actually tell the story, as opposed to just reading it yourself. Also, & lastly, this short story that appeared in The New Yorker is effing hilarious. To quote my good friend Michael Eades, if you don't think this is funny, "you're beyond my reach."
4 comments:
Isn't he amazing!? I prefer the audio books or listening to him on This American Life, there's just something about hearing the author read it the way they wrote it and inserting the pauses where they want them that gives it something extra for me. I especially love the SantaLand Diaries and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim too! They have almost all of his work in audio format via our public Library!
He is so friggin funny! I first read the SantaLand Diaries - which has since been made into a play that was staged nearby this year - but bummer, I meant to attend but didn't.
C-Bass: Audio books - yes! I think hearing his voice is really helpful. His voice is so weird & funny, but it makes the stories so much better. Good call!
Stephanie: LOVE Santaland Diaries! My favorite story from that book is Dinah the Christmas Whore. I re-read it every Christmas & die laughing.
I listened to Me Talk Pretty One Day on audio book, and I did really enjoy that one, specifically the namesake essay. I've also read Holidays On Ice and When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I've listened to an interview or two. It's not that I don't like him, I'm just not in love with him. But you're definitely right about listening over reading. Getting his intonations and such really adds to the story.
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