false 9006 11 <p>David Rakoff takes us on a bitingly funny grand tour of our culture of excess. Whether he is contrasting the elegance of one of the last flights of the supersonic Concorde with the good-times-and-chicken-wings populism of Hooters Air; working as a cabana boy at a South Beach hotel; or traveling to a private island off the coast of Belize to watch a soft-core video shoot&#8212;where he is provided with his very own personal manservant&#8212;rarely have greed, vanity, selfishness, and vapidity been so mercilessly skewered. Somewhere along the line, our healthy self-regard has exploded into obliterating narcissism; our manic getting and spending have now become celebrated as moral virtues. Simultaneously a Wildean satire and a plea for a little human decency,<i> Don&#8217;t Get Too Comfortable</i> shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we&#8217;re in a special circle of gilded-age hell.</p> 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:1718|5:292|4:725|3:524|2:149|1:28| 1718 6258 2818 292 4 8 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 05:06:10 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 09 05:49:36 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 6 true false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 22:16:54 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 22:17:33 -0700 2007
David Rakoff, like his peer David Sedaris, has occasionally been featured on Public Radio's "This American Life." His (writer's) voi...more...]]> 4 3 false 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...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Jan 25 11:34:45 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 31 08:58:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false 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...]]> 5 1 false 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...]]> 5 1 false 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...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Jun 14 18:02:10 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 14 18:03:21 -0700 2007 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...]]> 4 1 false false Sun May 20 13:01:03 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 02 23:10:19 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 1 false 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...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 19 12:45:10 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 18 14:49:02 -0700 2007
But I loved it! This man is actually fu...more...]]> 4 1 false 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...]]> 3 1 true false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 27 11:38:15 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 10 09:21:28 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false 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...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Jul 17 18:10:05 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 17 18:12:22 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false 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...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Aug 04 22:43:48 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 22:51:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 12 06:48:19 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 19 05:33:09 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Feb 26 00:26:23 -0800 2008 Fri Aug 08 20:31:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false 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...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6741400