Naked
by David Sedaris
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Naked.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 35108)
Read in June, 2008
I'm being told that this is funny... but so far all I want to do is gather David Sedaris into my arms and rock him back and forth and tell him everything is okay.
Okay, finished. Is it really supposed to be funny? I found myself pretty saddened by most of the stories. He's got a great writing style and I definitely felt pulled into each of the stories, but I think I felt more empathetic than anything.
Especially in "C.O.G":
I didn't want to quit my job. Quitting invo...more
Okay, finished. Is it really supposed to be funny? I found myself pretty saddened by most of the stories. He's got a great writing style and I definitely felt pulled into each of the stories, but I think I felt more empathetic than anything.
Especially in "C.O.G":
I didn't want to quit my job. Quitting invo...more
Like this review?
yes
(3 people liked it)
10 comments
Read in August, 2006
If I read The Da Vinci Code for all those people who prefaced their enjoyment of the book with "I don't read much," I finally read my first Sedaris book for all my smartass indie literary-type friends who stared aghast at me every time for the last five years I said I'd never read him.
"You mean you've read Eggers, but not Sedaris? I'll bet you like the Stones better than the Beatles too, dont you?"
"You think your family's bad, wait'll you read about his!"
...more
"You mean you've read Eggers, but not Sedaris? I'll bet you like the Stones better than the Beatles too, dont you?"
"You think your family's bad, wait'll you read about his!"
...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2000
recommends it for:
silly, smart life-observers
This is a funny book told by a delightful yet sort of sad person. It's been a while since I read this, but I remember liking it. I was a little disappointed in the ending, as it seemed to just peter out uneventfully. I wanted more oomph. But aside from that it was a very enjoyable, very personal book. The chapter called "A Plague of Tics," about his childhood battles with Tourette-grade obsessive-compulsive disorder is one of the funniest passages I have ever read. It's tragic, yet so ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
About a third of the way through David Sedaris's book, I wondered how I had not heard of this guy before. This guy was funny. No, not just funny, he was really funny. He didn't just make me laugh while reading his book, he made me cry I was laughing so hard. So why, why had I not heard of someone so side-splittingly funny? A couple chapters later, I understood why. A few more chapters after that and Naked went into a dive bomb. While there were some redeeming moments near the end, he never fully...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comments
Read in July, 2008
Maybe part of my problem with the book is that I first read the back cover, which told me two things that I didn't find to be true:
1. This book is side-splittingly hilarious
2. It turns the "mania for memoir on its proverbial ear."
Sure, maybe it's not fair to judge the book based on my preconceptions, but there's some merit to this I think.
First, my sides are completely unsplit. I laughed a few times, found some things whimsical, and did find a few lines to be very funny....more
1. This book is side-splittingly hilarious
2. It turns the "mania for memoir on its proverbial ear."
Sure, maybe it's not fair to judge the book based on my preconceptions, but there's some merit to this I think.
First, my sides are completely unsplit. I laughed a few times, found some things whimsical, and did find a few lines to be very funny....more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2000
I had the opportunity to personally thank David Sedaris for this book but I don't think I was able to fully articulate what it meant to me at the time. This was in no small part due to the fact that I was standing before a personal hero of mine. Also I was drunk. I will attempt to write what I wish I could have expressed that night.
Naked played a significant role in one the fonder memories of my adult life. It was during Fiesta in Santa Barbara (Old Spanish Days), which if you live in SB and...more
Naked played a significant role in one the fonder memories of my adult life. It was during Fiesta in Santa Barbara (Old Spanish Days), which if you live in SB and...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comments
Read in January, 2006
This is a highly unusual autobiography of David Sedaris, who, according to the New York Magazine, is a "Playwright, author, radio star, and retired elf". I wasn't sure what he is actually. I came across his name when his book (also in my already-bought-please-read-it-quickly list) Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim made it into the various reading lists of newspapers and magazines. I thought he was quite interesting and I started to take note of his name.
The book is a collecti...more
The book is a collecti...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
So a friend of mine let me borrow this book since I was in some serious need of reading material. Let me just say that it definitely fit whatever reading mood I was in. I could get into this book. I could relate to it in so many different ways.
The book is a collection of stories of happenings through out David's life. And they are all way too utterly amusing to be actual reality - granted, who knows they may be a little tweaked to add amusement to the book but if that's the case, it works.. be...more
The book is a collection of stories of happenings through out David's life. And they are all way too utterly amusing to be actual reality - granted, who knows they may be a little tweaked to add amusement to the book but if that's the case, it works.. be...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
I can't get enough of this guy; his books are what I would imagine crack would be like, had I ever tried crack. Which I haven't.
Seriously -- I just sit and read and laugh, read and laugh. He's just so damned candid about things. For example, the story of how he was sent to Greece for Greek-American summer camp as a teenager:
"If my sister was anxious about our trip, she certainly didn't show it. Prying my fingers off her wrist, she crossed the room and introduced herself to a gi...more
Seriously -- I just sit and read and laugh, read and laugh. He's just so damned candid about things. For example, the story of how he was sent to Greece for Greek-American summer camp as a teenager:
"If my sister was anxious about our trip, she certainly didn't show it. Prying my fingers off her wrist, she crossed the room and introduced herself to a gi...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in July, 2005
This wonderfully amusing book took me by surprise. Each chapter is a short memoir of David Sedaris' childhood, filled with some unusual adventures, from hitch hiking with a paraplegic to having servants wax your change. Sedaris writes in a very humorous tone, basically turning some of his misfortunes into the readers entertainment. Come to think of it, it really wasn't the stories that made the book enjoyable. It was how Sedaris wrote them. A very unique, consistent style throughout the book, lo...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
It's hard to tell autobiographical stories in such an entertaining way. If it weren't, you wouldn't see David Sedaris showing up on every favorite book list from Myspace to, uh, Facebook. A laugh out loud book is a very rare thing. I like books by stand up comedians, but their art is so involved in the presence of an audience, real or imagined, that the jokes themselves aren't enough to crack me up. Sedaris relies on person to person confidentiality, or better said the breach of it, to get h...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommended to Austin by:
Michael Boutette.
recommends it for: "Office Wacky" NPR Fans
recommends it for: "Office Wacky" NPR Fans
The first time I read this book, I asked myself, "Who is this asshole?" That question never really changed much with subsequent readings, but based on vague memories I have of the stories within, I have since been able to bluff my way through parties and bar encounters as I have raved about his other work I have not yet managed to enjoy.
I like to name-check him from time to time, just to see if people are paying attention to what I'm saying. They generally aren't, but at least ...more
I like to name-check him from time to time, just to see if people are paying attention to what I'm saying. They generally aren't, but at least ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2004
Like all of Sedaris' books, this one has some MAJOR, masterful escapades, made all the better because they are true...
Two favorite scenes:
Sedaris' mom and sister watch crime shows all summer and then... a mystery arises in their own household- who is wiping their butt on the towels? The BROWN towels, so the offense isn't recognized until one gets a face full. Who is it? "I don't know, but I know he had corn yesterday," is one quote that sticks in my mind.
I think Naked is al...more
Two favorite scenes:
Sedaris' mom and sister watch crime shows all summer and then... a mystery arises in their own household- who is wiping their butt on the towels? The BROWN towels, so the offense isn't recognized until one gets a face full. Who is it? "I don't know, but I know he had corn yesterday," is one quote that sticks in my mind.
I think Naked is al...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
Naked is my first exposure to the humor of David Sedaris, and not only did I enjoy it, I will definitely read more by him. The comedic memoir is a collection of short stories from his childhood through his adulthood, including his experiences with OCD, the death of his mother, and coming out. I can't say that I can relate to his tales, but I experienced many laugh out loud moments. One of the more hilarious chapters chronicles the time he spent in a nudist colony. Underneath all of the silli...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
recommended to Michelle by:
Melody Goughrecommends it for: adult readers
Sedaris describes people and events with great power and skill. Events and people, whether they be funny, sad or maddening, come to life. Some of my favorite person/event descriptions are from a Greyhound bus trip he took by himself. One great passage is a tyrade of cursing from an angry woman, pregnant with a no-good dude's baby. She spilled out a string of phrases, containing common words, but put together in ways that I've never heard before. It was shocking and new, even to my husband w...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2007
Crasser and more obscene than Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked is still the kind of funny that makes you cover your mouth and look around at all the people who don't know what you've just been exposed to (as opposed to the kind of funny that makes you laugh than shrink into your chair out of the shame of finding something so disgusting, so amusing).
All the funnier was reading the book while travelling on buses through the south of Thailand. Suggesting to my liberated mind that hitch-hiking migh...more
All the funnier was reading the book while travelling on buses through the south of Thailand. Suggesting to my liberated mind that hitch-hiking migh...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
um, idk THE WHOLE 12th GRADE?
um wow, definatley didnt expect what was going to happen. out of my four years at baruch, we've had summer reading homework and although this was the easiest read, i think, i also feel it was pointless beyond wordsssssss and like the text wasnt as memorable as i would have liked. as well as Sedaris' failed humor and perverse terms, they didnt mix in well for a good summer. we also didnt spend much time talking about it, so i felt like i wasted a lot of my time ( before time, i subconsciously wro...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
someone in need of a quick read
David Sedaris is always funny! This is the second book I have read of his and they are hilarious! I really like he style of writing. Cynical, humorous, intelligent, and reflective. It really makes the book a great and fast read! I didn't like this one as much as his other book I read <i> Me Talk Pretty One Day <i>. This was one of his earlier books and I think that shows, but overall it is a very good book! Like most of his books each chapter is a story of its own, the chapters are i...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
it helps that before i ever read sedaris, it's been a long time coming i know, i'd heard his voice, this sort of high pitched tenor, with a somewhat matter-of-fact tone only a learned grandmother would possess that guides kooky narratives about dinah the christmas whore. since naked contains david's memoirs of life and experiences with his whole family, i hear his voice and time the words with the manner in which i suppose he would tell me over Thanksgiving dinner. sedaris captures the idiosyncr...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
I read this for the first time years ago. I don't re-read books often, so I was curious how this would hold up. I mean, when I read this the first time, I'd never heard of David Sedaris, didn't know his other works, and wasn't familiar with the self-deprecating/funny tragic autobiographical fiction short story market (probably because, to me, at least, Sedaris was the pioneer). It holds up quite well, I'd have to say, though I did have to adjust my five star rating down to four. I'd give it ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.04 (29961 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.04 (29412 ratings) number of reviews: 1453popular shelves
other editions
quote
"Every gathering has its moment. As an adult, I distract myself by trying to identify it, dreading the inevitable downswing that is sure to follow. The guests will repeat themselves one too many times, or you'll run out of dope or liquor and realize that it was all you ever had in common."
more quotes »