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David Rakoff’s collection of autobiographical essays, Fraud, established him as one of our funniest, most insightful writers. In Don’t Get Too Comfortable, Rakoff journeys into the land of plenty that is contemporary North America. Rarely have greed, vanity, selfishness, and vapidity been so mercilessly and wittily portrayed.

Whether contrasting the elegance of one of the last flights of the supersonic Concorde with the good times and chicken wings of Hooters Air, portraying the rarified universe of Paris fashion shows where an evening dress can cost as much as four years of college, or traveling to a private island off the coast of Belize to watch a soft-core Playboy TV shoot, where he is provided with his very own personal manservant, David Rakoff takes us on a bitingly funny grand tour of our culture of excess, delving into the manic getting and spending that defines the North American way of life.

Somewhere along the line, our healthy self-regard has exploded into obliterating narcissism, and Rakoff is there to map that frontier. He sits through the grotesqueries of “avant garde” vaudeville in Times Square immediately following 9/11. Twenty days without food allows him to experience firsthand the wonders of “detoxification,” and the frozen world of cryonics, whose promise of eternal life is the ultimate status symbol, leaves him very cold indeed (much to our good fortune).

At once a Wildean satire of our ridiculous culture of overconsumption and a plea for a little human decency, Don’t Get Too Comfortable is a bitingly funny grand tour of our special circle of gilded-age hell.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 9006 11 1530518 12 9 2005 Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems total:1737|5:294|4:734|3:529|2:151|1:29| 1737 6324 2851 294 5855 3.67 3294 549 3399923 24522 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1592 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 4 8 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 05:06:10 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 17 01:36:47 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3157459 141004 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 4 6 false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 22:16:54 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 17 00:51:16 -0800 2009
David Rakoff, like his peer David Sedaris, has occasionally been featured on Public Radio's "This American Life." His (writer's) voi...more...]]> 13004661 88424 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 4 3 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 20 18:21:12 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 20 18:43:07 -0800 2008 more...]]> 13530144 332176 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 5 2 false Fri Jan 25 11:34:45 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 31 08:58:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 8666015 427149 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 3 2 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 04 16:41:07 -0800 2007 Sun Jan 06 11:53:43 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1982835 113980 199698 038566186X 9780385661867 6 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623956m/199698.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623956s/199698.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199698.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable 3.90 30 Don't Get Too Comfortable isn't quite the profoundly illuminating journey into the heart of American cultural and spiritual emptiness advertised on its dust cover. But the book's collected essays, which are brisk, bright, and rendered with a journalist's eye for detail, are funny and subversive. And Rakoff, Canadian-born and a naturalized American, is occasionally profound, never more so than when he ponders the motives of those who elect to go under a plastic surgeon's knife: "It must be murder to be an aging beauty, to see your future as an ignored spectator rushing up to meet you like the hard pavement. What a small sip of gall to be able to time with each passing year the ever-shorter interval in which someone's eyes focus upon you. And then shift away." That's gooseflesh-good writing, even though cosmetic enhancement--or life as a hotel worker or flying on the Concorde or being gay in a hetero world, all experiences in Rakoff's canon here--isn't distinctly American. (We'll grant him flying Hooters Air, though.) In short, goodies aplenty beckon as Rakoff, wit at the ready and cynicism turned up to 11, invites us to sneer at pomposity, hubris, and plain old human stupidity. Where's the queue? --Kim Hughes]]> 2005 5 2 false Thu Jun 14 18:02:10 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 21:36:10 -0800 2009 David Rakoff is my hero (and one of my many, many gay Canadian boyfriends). He's hilariously funny, but there's real meat to this volume, too. My favorite essays are the one exploring Rakoff's mixed feelings upon deciding to become an American citizen, and the chapter about the Log Cabin Republican...more...]]> 2450625 112253 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 3 2 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 27 11:38:15 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 22:53:39 -0800 2009 more...]]> 38590425 649803 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 5 1 false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 24 20:53:43 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 11:19:44 -0800 2008 more...]]> 10209103 666653 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 5 1 false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Dec 10 05:41:17 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 10 05:49:07 -0800 2007
It's a book best listened to on audio. His rhythm of speech, the emphasis he gives some words really makes his elegant language choices and wit shine like something always freshly polished.
I listen to this when I've lost my fait...more...]]> 3935336 215024 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 2 1 false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 01 16:47:51 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 17:54:25 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1325221 90678 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 4 1 false Sun May 20 13:01:03 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 19:46:05 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3280016 140975 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 4 1 false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 19 12:45:10 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 17 01:14:11 -0800 2009
But I loved it! This man is actually fu...more...]]> 24197340 552420 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 4 1 false Sun Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 10 20:11:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 22:10:29 -0700 2008
And then there is this, "If for example, it came to light that the dangerously thin, affectless, value-deficient, h...more...]]> 58335584 52625 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 2 0 false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 15:23:29 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 15:26:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3190418 199044 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 2 1 false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Jul 17 18:10:05 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 17 00:57:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 48508265 1058795 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 2 0 false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 07 09:23:54 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 13 17:01:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 66256601 674397 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 5 0 false Tue Aug 04 22:43:48 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 22:51:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1877098 80799 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 4 1 false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 12 06:48:19 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 21:18:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 16389773 334075 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 3 1 false Tue Feb 26 00:26:23 -0800 2008 Fri Aug 08 20:31:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 8233751 251218 9006 0767916034 9780767916035 269 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447m/9006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847447s/9006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9006.Don_t_Get_Too_Comfortable_The_Indignities_of_Coach_Class_The_Torments_of_Low_Thread_Count_The_Never_Ending_Quest_for_Artisanal_Olive_Oil_and_Other_First_World_Problems 3.64 1737 Don’t Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we’re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.]]> 2005 2 1 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 25 10:52:11 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 02 05:01:57 -0700 2007 more...]]> 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6699315