Waiting on Wednesday (2-20-13)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Each week, you highlight an upcoming release that you are eagerly anticipating. This week, I'm looking forward to Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris (release date: April 23, 2013).

Synopsis (from Amazon): From the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new book of essays taking his readers on a bizarre and stimulating world tour. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in the English countryside or marveling over a disembodied human arm in a taxidermist's shop, Sedaris takes us on side-splitting adventures that are not to be forgotten.

I LOVE Sedaris' work and cannot wait for this book to come out! What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Review: Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Holidays on Ice
Author: David Sedaris
Published: October 1, 1997
Genre: humor
Paperback: 166 pages
Source: personal copy

My Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis (from GoodReads): It's hard to describe David Sedaris to those who've never read him. Mixing autobiographical details with sharp sarcasm and social commentary, Sedaris can probably best be described as a '90s version of brilliant humorist Jean Shepherd (who did his own scathing take on the holiday season with the film A Christmas Story). Sedaris' essays and stories are at once hilarious, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking. His new anthology, Holidays on Ice, collects three previously released stories and essays and offers three brand-new ones; all revolve around Christmas. "SantaLand Diaries," which originally appeared in "Barrel Fever," leads off the collection and may be Sedaris's best-known work. A laugh-out-loud-hysterical look at Sedaris's experiences working as an elf in SantaLand in Macy's, the story is a wickedly funny slicing-and-dicing of the holiday season and the good cheer that supposedly accompanies it. His dark humor is exactly what you need when you're getting sick of all the fuss about Christmas.

My Thoughts: I really like David Sedaris's work and have been wanting to read his holiday book for quite some time now. Luckily, I was able to get to it right before Christmas and it made my holiday that much more enjoyable, being able to laugh at the absudity of it all, as seen through the eyes of Sedaris. This book focuses on the holidays (obviously) and Sedaris' commentary on the season definitely makes you realize how ridiculous some people get at Christmastime.

The book opens with "Santa Land Diaries", which is one of Sedaris's most well-known essays. He chronicles his month working as an elf at Santa Land in Macy's in New York City. If you don't laugh the entire way through this chapter, then you are a true Grinch. His time at Macy's his hilarious and I can only imagine what my own experience would be like working there. There are some other humorous chapters throughout the book, but there are others that are a drag to get through. 

If you had a stressful holiday season and need a little pick-me-up before the year is out, then this book will definitely help you to see the humor in the season. I've already recommended it to quite a few people to read!

Barrel Fever by David Sedaris

Barrel Fever
Author: David Sedaris
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Published: June 19995
Paperback: 196 pages
Source: purchased


My Rating: 2.5 stars


Synopsis (from goodreads.com): In David Sedaris's world no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Liebowitz, and the National Enquirer, Sedaris's collection of stories and essays is a rollicking tour through the national Zeitgeist: a do-it-yourself suburban dad saves money by performing home surgery; a man who is loved too much flees the heavyweight champion of the world; a bitter Santa abuses the elves; a teenage suicide tries to incite a lynch mob at her funeral.


My Thoughts: David Sedaris is a famous essayist and commentator, bringing a hilarious twist to the world around him. I discovered David Sedaris about six months ago and fell in love. His writing is dry and quick, moving quickly and cutting to the heart of the matter. His observations have left me doubled over in laughter. I expected the same from this book but was a bit disappointed. The book is divided into two parts, stories and essays. The stories are pieces of fiction that Sedaris wrote, the essays things that Sedaris actually lived through. While the essays bare the things that I have come to expect from Sedaris' writing, the stories left something to be desired. While humorous, they weren't as good as his essays. I also felt that they went a bit too far at times, that Sedaris was trying a little too hard. If the essays weren't included, I don't think that I would have finished this book. That being said, I still like Sedaris and will continue to read him. If you haven't read David Sedaris, I highly recommend that you check out his work, like Me Talk Pretty One Day (link goes to my review), but would steer clear of this book.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

A few months ago, I saw David Sedaris' book, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, in my local bookstore. It seemed intriguing,  so I bought it. Read it in a few days, and thought it was really enjoyable. I thought hey, why not try

another one of his books? I picked up Me Talk Pretty One Day. Let me just say, this book had me laughing so hard at times!

David Sedaris is an essayist, writing about his life, from his childhood in North Carolina, to his moving abroad to

France. The book is divided into two parts, the first being about his younger days, the second part about his experience living in a country where he doesn't know the language, but willing to learn.

Each chapter is a peak into Sedaris' world, from when his father attempted to have his children create their own jazz group, to trying to understand the gender of nouns in French. He writes in such a carefree manner that it's almost like you are hearing about a friend's trip to Paris. You are instantly pulled into Sedaris' world and feel as if you have known each other for years and are catching up over coffee.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a light read, or anyone who just needs a laugh. It's an

easy read, something very easy to pick up and put down. 

Overall, I would give Me Talk Pretty One Day ....

   

(out of 5)

PS - Sorry that the formatting isn't great, I'm still playing with it!