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16,964 ratings,
3.87
average rating, 4,234 reviews
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published
June 3rd 2008
by Little Brown and Company
binding
Hardcover, 323 pages
isbn
0316143472
(isbn13: 9780316143479)
description
"David Sedaris's ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art," (The Christian Science Monitor) is e...more
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2 stars (772)
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1 star (142)
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avg 3.87
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in July, 2008
Here's my take on Sedaris, or maybe my take on Sedaris before I listened to this book: Naked is easily his best work because it's his most thorough, his most unencumbered by his own fame. If we were to compare his oeuvre to MTV's The Real World, Naked is the original New York season (despite not being Sedaris's first book). In New York, the cast members were people already living in the city (with the Alabama exception) and trying to make a living; the whole "be on TV" part of it was ...more
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Read in July, 2008
Eh.
That’s my review: eh.
With maybe a shoulder shrug.
Someone better read than I recently remarked something to the effect of, “Once you’ve read one David Sedaris book, haven’t you read them all?”
Yes.
And Kurt Vonnegut.
And several others. But that’s neither here nor there.
Sedaris’s recent book makes such a dismissive comment truer than ever. For readers familiar with Holidays on Ice, Dress Your Family ...more
That’s my review: eh.
With maybe a shoulder shrug.
Someone better read than I recently remarked something to the effect of, “Once you’ve read one David Sedaris book, haven’t you read them all?”
Yes.
And Kurt Vonnegut.
And several others. But that’s neither here nor there.
Sedaris’s recent book makes such a dismissive comment truer than ever. For readers familiar with Holidays on Ice, Dress Your Family ...more
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6 comments
You know, Montambo is right, this is Sedaris' best book. While earlier in his career the author seemed go for easy laughs (Look at my brother! What an ass!) or convenient self-loathing something seems to have clicked this time around that transforms the work from magazine article quality to literature. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Sedaris sounds like a real writer in this book; the essays flow unforced and genuine insight accompanies the punch lines. Sedaris doesn't seem to be writing for p...more
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14 comments
Read in June, 2008
When I first saw this in a bookstore I thought to myself, can he do it again? Is there more scrapable hilarity clinging to the walls of his interesting life, fit to amuse and entertain his many fans? Sedaris does in fact do it again and apparently there's an endless well of funny stuffy, a font of hilarity, within this man.
This is another great collection, on par with his other works for all the Sedaris fans out there. There is one story in particular (“That's Amore”) -- or rathe...more
This is another great collection, on par with his other works for all the Sedaris fans out there. There is one story in particular (“That's Amore”) -- or rathe...more
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17 comments
Read in June, 2008
While I certainly won't call this the best David Sedaris collection that you can purchase for yourself, I will say that any David Sedaris is worth reading -- and thus, my star rating. It would probably be more like three and a half if Goodreads did half stars the way LibraryThing does, but ah well.
The observation I have for this collection is that with Mr. Sedaris giving up drinking, drugs, and smoking... his stories seem to be a bit more tame. Much more focus on his boyfriend Hugh or st...more
The observation I have for this collection is that with Mr. Sedaris giving up drinking, drugs, and smoking... his stories seem to be a bit more tame. Much more focus on his boyfriend Hugh or st...more
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Read in August, 2008
When I first started reading this book, I found myself disappointedly thinking that it was just more of the same from David Sedaris - stories that either make you laugh out loud or make you cringe (or more often both). Don't get me wrong - he's still funny - but I was expecting more from this one... some evolution in style or content. I liked his earlier books because they were more raw, the stories a bit more unexpected. The beginning of this one felt a little recycled, and I was ready to be do...more
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11 comments
Read in June, 2008
When I am not reading David Sedaris, I am thinking: David Sedaris, man, there is a popular guy whose books are kind of just always around and not very interesting. But when I *am* reading him, I'm always like, there are five or six absolutely brilliant punchlines in every one of this guy's books, and the other parts are, y'know, enjoyable enough.
I think it's a testament to my always forgetting how much I like him that I guess I've read all his stuff, but I absolutely never think of ...more
I think it's a testament to my always forgetting how much I like him that I guess I've read all his stuff, but I absolutely never think of ...more
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Read in June, 2008
Dang, I was a bit trepedatious going into this, and why? Has he ever let me down? Well, OK, "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim" was a bit of a letdown, and not just the cover, which was really a letdown on Chip Kidd's part. Kidd completely redeemed himself with this cover, though, which is a thing of beauty.
The thing is, I was scared of not loving this because:
a) I didn't love Lynda Barry's latest, and I thought that was impossible.
and
b)I had read s...more
The thing is, I was scared of not loving this because:
a) I didn't love Lynda Barry's latest, and I thought that was impossible.
and
b)I had read s...more
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27 comments
Read in June, 2008
After reading Sedaris' previous collection, I began to suspect that he had mined all of the material he could from his family and the earlier hard times he experienced. It appeared he was now left with the task of finding hilarity and poignancy in the life of a rich, celebrated author. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" confirms that his days of dressing as an elf, picking apples, and hitch-hiking cross country with an incomplete quadriplegic are long gone. In their place we are left...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Sedarians
I didn't care much for Sedaris' last book, Dress your family in corduroy and denim. It felt forced, his embellishments more absurd to the point where I felt it was obvious which events actually happened and which were invented to make the story more interesting.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames was calmer in tone, more believable and felt less deadline inspired. Most of the stories revolve around the author and his partner, as opposed to the Sedaris brood - Gretchen, Lisa, the Chicken...more
When You Are Engulfed in Flames was calmer in tone, more believable and felt less deadline inspired. Most of the stories revolve around the author and his partner, as opposed to the Sedaris brood - Gretchen, Lisa, the Chicken...more
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Read in February, 2009
I don't quite get the people who say this isn't as funny as his other books- I thought it was plenty funny. The comment about having a 400 dollar sweater that looked like it had been thrown to a tiger and thus was already ruined and incapable of being further ruined.. that made me laugh. And saying a cracker tasted like penis. And lots of little one-liners. But what's really awesome about his stuff is that it's MORE than just a bunch of one-liners. He really is a very observant, intelligent, hil...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Laura by:
all with the last name, "Reznick"
This was my first time reading a book of his. Upon finding myself curled up in what can only be described as a painful, repressed laughter spasm on the subway (this, after reading about the downside to recreational catheters), I realized that perhaps Sedaris is more appropriate for at-home reading. You can be sure I'll be reading more, as I'm told this isn't even his best.
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Read in August, 2008
Some people find that after reading one or two of Sedaris's books, he becomes less ha-ha funny. Maybe they get used to his style of humour. Maybe there's a golden order in which to read them (personally, I find chronologically by publishing date works well). Maybe there is a slight advantage to hearing him speak in person. I tend to read him while imagining how he'd say it, and immediately a dry sentence comes to life.
I could go on about the maturation I see happening in his work, ...more
I could go on about the maturation I see happening in his work, ...more
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4 comments
Before picking this book up at an airport newsstand, knew nothing of David Sedaris except that his name is mentioned constantly as being popular and I see his books everywhere. I guessed it was time to check into something current and popular to see what I was missing. Plus this book had Van Gogh's "Skeleton with Cigarette" as its cover, so how could you go wrong? The cover was designed by Chip Kidd, and I suspect his other ones were as well. I think a sharp cover goes a long way towar...more
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Read in June, 2008
I just finished the new David Sedaris book When You are Engulfed in Flames. Isn’t that his snappiest title yet?
This very funny man’s book of personal essays only sporadically reaches the wacky heights of his other book. I laughed quite a few times, but there were very few stories I wanted to read to my friends over the phone (a mark of distinction I’ve held for his earlier books)
There are a few stand-out, hilarious stories here. One about Sedaris’ neighbor in N...more
This very funny man’s book of personal essays only sporadically reaches the wacky heights of his other book. I laughed quite a few times, but there were very few stories I wanted to read to my friends over the phone (a mark of distinction I’ve held for his earlier books)
There are a few stand-out, hilarious stories here. One about Sedaris’ neighbor in N...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
if you thought "Dress Your Family..." was a misstep for Mr. Sedaris (or his publisher)
A solid ★★★★ and damn near close to ★★★★★ that we'll settle for ★★★★½. But then again, I'm a serious Sedaris fiend.
When You Are Engulfed In Flames makes Sedaris' previous collection, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, seem like a disaster, a complete train wreck. Which is unfair because I think that Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is a strong collection with some exemplary essays. And also because I get the feeling that it was a more person...more
When You Are Engulfed In Flames makes Sedaris' previous collection, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, seem like a disaster, a complete train wreck. Which is unfair because I think that Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is a strong collection with some exemplary essays. And also because I get the feeling that it was a more person...more
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Read in July, 2008
Can I give the book 3.5 stars? 3 isn't enough, but 4 is too many. Anyway...
David Sedaris didn't charm me with this one, possibly because most of the material wasn't new to me. I'd read many of the essays in previous collections or in The New Yorker, and had heard him read some of the pieces on his book tour. So...maybe that was the trouble.
Or maybe I'm finally sick of the formula: Start with something quirky, move into another story or observation, and bring it back a...more
David Sedaris didn't charm me with this one, possibly because most of the material wasn't new to me. I'd read many of the essays in previous collections or in The New Yorker, and had heard him read some of the pieces on his book tour. So...maybe that was the trouble.
Or maybe I'm finally sick of the formula: Start with something quirky, move into another story or observation, and bring it back a...more
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Read in October, 2008
This new collection of essays by David Sedaris is unobjectionable, but fails to come anywhere near the hilarity of his best effort, "Me Talk Pretty Some Day". Most of the pieces remind one of "Seinfeld", being about nothing but the author's particular neuroses. Which range from being moderately entertaining ("Memento Mori", buying a human skeleton and its aftermath) to weirdly offputting ("April in Paris", in which the author's fascination with spiders is ...more
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Read in September, 2008
I really like this collection of stories. David Sedaris has quit drinking and smoking, which I thought would be the kiss of death, but the new calmer voice is still entertaining. As I have found with all of his books, some essays have parts that made me laugh out loud or giggle helplessly in public and others left me unmoved. I enjoyed the Helen story and the chance to get to know Hugh better and see how their relationship works. There is something about Sedaris' observations and descriptions th...more
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Read in July, 2008
OK, I like David Sedaris again. I thought his last couple of books were disappointing. I felt that he had gone from laughing at himself to looking down his nose (at his family mostly and I'm sure they can take a joke, but I didn't like it so much) and making fun of everybody else. This is not so "funny" as some of his earlier work (as his father might say -- "this is work?") but they were fun to read.
But what is this suddenly so popular "genre"? Shooting...more
But what is this suddenly so popular "genre"? Shooting...more
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quotes from this book
"It's just a penis, right? Probably no worse for you than smoking."
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