David Sedaris

I've had a copy of David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day around the house for a while, and finally picked it up to read. I also grabbed an audiobook of his Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim at the library, so I got to read an listen to him alternately (he narrates the audiobook).

Sedaris writes humorous essays. Mostly he write about growing up in his family in North Carolina. Or about living in New York and working in jobs like cleaning apartments or moving furniture. My favorite essay, in Talk Pretty, is "The Youth in Asia," about his family's series of dogs and cats. Not only did I laugh out loud, I laughed so hard I cried. Haven't done that in a while.

Also funny was "The Learning Curve," about his getting a position as a writing teacher despite having no experience. The second half of that book is about his moving to France with his boyfriend, and his experiences there. Funniest in this section was "Picka Pocketoni," where he encounters Americans on the subway in Paris who figure him for a Frenchman so talk about him right in front of his face.

Dress Your Family has some funny stories, like "The Ship Shape," about a beach house that his family almost buys, so that they keep track of it over the years. Or "Full House," about him going to a slumber party with friends and playing strip poker. The Girl Next Door is about his interactions with a nine-year-old neighbor girl and her absentee mother. "Six to Eight Black Men" is a hilarious account of the differences between cultures. "Slumus Lordicus" is about his family going into real estate and dealing with tenants.

Both these books get an A. David Sedaris has columns in The New York Times and Esquire, and has read stories on NPR. I look forward to hearing more.