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5th out of 272 books
—
125 voters
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
by
David Rakoff
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—wh...more
Paperback, 222 pages
Published
September 12th 2006
by Anchor
(first published January 1st 2005)
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Aug 09, 2007
ari
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
american people living an american life. this american life.
Shelves:
non-fiction
So, I promised myself that I would stray away from the non-fiction universe after perusing a particularly disturbing online survey that noted that for the most part, unhappy people read non-fiction because they are unwilling to bask in the fervent imagination of a good fiction writer. This is to say that non-fiction writers are inherently unimaginative, and the people that read their work are depressed boors staving off suicide one "Chicken Soup for the _______ Soul" at a time.
Of course, I woul...more
Of course, I woul...more
I went to the bookstore looking for a Sedaris book because I needed to laugh. I was distraught to learn that I'd read everything he'd written!
David Rakoff, like his peer David Sedaris, has occasionally been featured on Public Radio's "This American Life." His (writer's) voice is not as dark as Sedaris'... but he is quite hilarous; I bought this book in hopes of laughing, and was not disappointed. The man knows how to turn a phrase. May I please quote a passage where he describes the experience...more
David Rakoff, like his peer David Sedaris, has occasionally been featured on Public Radio's "This American Life." His (writer's) voice is not as dark as Sedaris'... but he is quite hilarous; I bought this book in hopes of laughing, and was not disappointed. The man knows how to turn a phrase. May I please quote a passage where he describes the experience...more
13 likes · like · see review
Ironically, as a secular humanist who shows no patience for groups like the Christian Right, Rakoff actually practies what those groups preach: He hates the sin, but loves the sinners. Or rather, he hates the stupid, shallow practices of modern American life, but shows a certain empathetic tolerance for the people who practice them.
Rakoff's criticisms of the absurd and narcisstic aspects of modern american life are intelligently snarky and, even better, consistently ring true. He's especially e...more
Rakoff's criticisms of the absurd and narcisstic aspects of modern american life are intelligently snarky and, even better, consistently ring true. He's especially e...more
Although I enjoyed reading this book, I found it disappointing for a number of reasons. First, the contents have nothing at all to do with the title--none of the essays mentions artisanal olive oil or low-thread-count sheets, for example. Second, I didn't really "get it"--I just couldn't figure out what the point was. And finally, the author's non sequitur cheap shots at Republicans and George Bush were off-putting (there's plenty to complain about without just inserting random anti-Bush sentenc...more
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 Republicans. In the latter Rakoff presents himself as sympathetic to their plight yet understandably completely baffled by gay Republicans' attempts to earn a place inside "the big tent" (the essay's called "Be...more
Highly entertaining, but I have to say, he uses lots of words I didn't know, and I consider myself to be a pretty educated person. The writing is a little awkward and lacks flow at times, but overall, it's a quick and funny read that covers lots of strange situations, from a flight on the hooters airline, to suspended reanimation conferences.
Some essays are funnier than others, but I love anybody that calls Barbara Bush (senior) a "stupid cunt" and Barbara Bush (junior) a "girls-gone-wild human...more
Some essays are funnier than others, but I love anybody that calls Barbara Bush (senior) a "stupid cunt" and Barbara Bush (junior) a "girls-gone-wild human...more
I knew this was gonna be good when, in the first half page, the author compares loving America as a Canadian to loving the schoolyard bully's daily battery and petty theft. If you're the kind of person who resents the blog "Stuff White People Like", this guy will probably rub you the wrong way, but honestly, it's funny because it's true and this guy will make you laugh regardless. This book was like an amalgamation of my seven funniest friends if they were sent on a trip around the world to obse...more
3 likes · like · see review
Does anyone write like David Rakoff? I challenge you.
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 faith 1. in nonfiction writing or 2. in my way of viewing the world...both of which take place more often than I'd like.
"A grass-soup situation is a self-dramatizing one based on such a poorly imagined and improbable premi...more
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 faith 1. in nonfiction writing or 2. in my way of viewing the world...both of which take place more often than I'd like.
"A grass-soup situation is a self-dramatizing one based on such a poorly imagined and improbable premi...more
3 likes · like · see review
Aug 08, 2007
Danielle
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
someone with a lot of time to fill
Shelves:
modern
The title of this book is really catchy and I rushed out immediately to buy it. Instead of a critique of all the ridiculous things people do and care about in the first world, it was a random report of different experiences he did on purpose to see what it owuld be like. For example, is fasting a problem of the first world? Perhaps he means pushing aside food when there is plenty, but that is more like anorexia. Fasting is not a first world phenomena and I would say it is not widespread either....more
Like Sedaris, Rakoff writes in a dry, self-deprecating voice that makes him immediately endearing (unless you have a problem with left-wing gay men). These relaxed essays don't rely on family anecdotes as much as Sedaris, nor are they as sentimental. Rakoff is a humorist first and the satirical observations on Americanism and a culture of excess make for great light reading that's guilt free, so long as you don't pay $50/lb for imported sea salt from France.
David Rakoff makes me chuckle and cho...more
David Rakoff makes me chuckle and cho...more
It seems that David Sedaris sparked something several years back and there was suddenly a new crop of gay male memoirists. I didn't find any of them particularly funny (except for Sedaris himself) and so I approached Rakoff's book with skepticism.
But I loved it! This man is actually funny. He isn't incredibly self-involved (see: Augusten Burroughs). He writes about intesting things (the chapter on the Log Cabin Republicans was especially good).
The book is also an incredibly quick read, good for...more
But I loved it! This man is actually funny. He isn't incredibly self-involved (see: Augusten Burroughs). He writes about intesting things (the chapter on the Log Cabin Republicans was especially good).
The book is also an incredibly quick read, good for...more
I didn't love all of the essays included in this book, but the last few chapters (essays on the Log Cabin Republicans, plastic surgery, and cryogenics) were fabulous.
And then there is this, "If for example, it came to light that the dangerously thin, affectless, value-deficient, higher aspiration-free, amateur porn auteuse Paris Hilton was actually a covert agent from some secret Taliban madrassa whose mission was to portray the ultimate capiltalist-whore puppet of a doomed society with nothing...more
And then there is this, "If for example, it came to light that the dangerously thin, affectless, value-deficient, higher aspiration-free, amateur porn auteuse Paris Hilton was actually a covert agent from some secret Taliban madrassa whose mission was to portray the ultimate capiltalist-whore puppet of a doomed society with nothing...more
**Warning** This book contains some profanity.
Why did it take for this man to die before I discovered how wonderful his writing is? His voice, too, for that matter, is distinctive and snarky and delicious. I was moved by the many tributes to him on This American Life, Wire Tap, and The Daily Show, so I put this book on hold. He is so funny! His writing is very personal and brilliant!
In this book he writes about becoming a US citizen after 9/11, luxury vs. simplicity, accompanying a Latin playbo...more
Why did it take for this man to die before I discovered how wonderful his writing is? His voice, too, for that matter, is distinctive and snarky and delicious. I was moved by the many tributes to him on This American Life, Wire Tap, and The Daily Show, so I put this book on hold. He is so funny! His writing is very personal and brilliant!
In this book he writes about becoming a US citizen after 9/11, luxury vs. simplicity, accompanying a Latin playbo...more
This book has suffered from unfavorable comparisons to the work of David Sedaris, but I don't think it has quite the same aims. Sedaris will write about anything, if he thinks it's funny. Rakoff is more of an essayist or reporter, who happens to be funny sometimes. So he gets deployed to write about the Log Cabin Republicans or plastic surgeons or whatever, and the result is droll, but it's not a comedy piece per se.
This volume clearly dates to the first George W. Bush administration, which mak...more
This volume clearly dates to the first George W. Bush administration, which mak...more
With Rakoff's passing I thought it appropriate to revisit this Canadian expat. I've given him short shrift in the past, he the second fiddle to the other nebbish, homosexual New Yorker named David. (Turns out it was that same David Sedaris that helped propel Rakoff's early career.)
Don't Get Too Comfortable is a collection of essays. It becomes clear that you can take the Canadian out of Canada but you can't get the Canada out of the Canadian. Rakoff seems to be the outsider looking in. Starting...more
Don't Get Too Comfortable is a collection of essays. It becomes clear that you can take the Canadian out of Canada but you can't get the Canada out of the Canadian. Rakoff seems to be the outsider looking in. Starting...more
Rakoff is a regular contributor to This American Life. This 2005 book of personal essays has some great funny parts and a snarky sensibility, but was immediately shadowed in my mind by his next book, Half-Empty (2010), which is leaps and bounds greater in writing ability. Still, a quick and entertaining read.
An example from a passage where he describes the experience of meeting a snotty designer while reporting at a fashion show:
"All of the designers I have met up to this point have been very n...more
An example from a passage where he describes the experience of meeting a snotty designer while reporting at a fashion show:
"All of the designers I have met up to this point have been very n...more
So I've heard this guy on This American Life and thought I'd try his book out. Now, I think the David Sedaris comparison has been made, but it's unavoidable. The voice of David Rakoff is very similar: witty, sharp, biting, dry, highly observant. However, whereas Sedaris writes about organic experiences--things that occur naturally in his life, most of Rakoff's experiences are "experienced" purely for the sake of writing about them. He actually sets out to find odd experiences so he can write abo...more
I admit, I love pointing out "Rich People Problems" to my fellow educationed, white, middle-class family and friends as they bitch about their iPhones and the slightly undercooked beef at mediocre chain restaurants. That is until I had my problem with the Kindle Fire to be labeled as the same (shout-out to sister-in-law Ellen for that nail on the head). It is fun to point out the grotesque nature of excess, as long as we all recognize our true desires to experience it. I love that David Rakoff d...more
This book is a collection of nonfiction essays about the American culture of excess. Rakoff turns his attention to the obscene extravaganza that defines the lives of many here and now. From Hooters Air to beachside luxury resorts, Rakoff roasts the completely unnecessary things we do while we pretend they are totally normal. His time spent with his own manservant during a softcore shoot on a private island in Belize boggled my mind. "Is this real?" I asked myself. Rakoff stumbles most charmingly...more
We have become an army of multiply chemically sensitive, high-maintenance princesses trying to make our way through a world full of irksome peas.
All of the nice things I have to say about listening to David Rakoff narrating one of his audiobooks was said in my review of Half Empty and I would reiterate that it is a very enjoyable experience. The writing here in Don't Get Too Comfortable The Indignities of Coach Class The Torments of Low Thread Count The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil...more
All of the nice things I have to say about listening to David Rakoff narrating one of his audiobooks was said in my review of Half Empty and I would reiterate that it is a very enjoyable experience. The writing here in Don't Get Too Comfortable The Indignities of Coach Class The Torments of Low Thread Count The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil...more
I remember reading David Rakoff when I was in high school, having discovered Sedaris and wanting more. I own Fraud from that time in my life. When he died, I was sad because of that memory, and for the few pieces I'd heard over the years on This American Life. So I checked out his books to catch up with him. (Sad state of Tulsa's library patrons, in the days after his death, all of his books were still available.)
I enjoyed this, starting Half Empty, but I does speak to a certain style of person;...more
I enjoyed this, starting Half Empty, but I does speak to a certain style of person;...more
Jul 17, 2007
Sherrie
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
sardonic readers.
Shelves:
2006booklist
I want to really enjoy Rakoff’s essays because he desperately wants to be in the same league as Sarah Vowell and David Sedaris. Rakoff’s writing is just off/mean enough not to be included into their league. Quite frankly, looking back, I can’t remember too much about these essays…which speaks volumes. An okay volume of essays…not the best. I’ll read him again…give him another chance. Book #10 of my 2006 Book List, finished reading it on 2-20-06.
I must make a confession here. While the book was certainly witty, and laugh-out-loud funny in some places, I think I was looking for something more. I was expecting more academic sociology--incisive commentary and analysis of society's excesses--and I got, well, light observational essays a la David Sedaris. Unfair? Maybe. Stupid of me? Guilty! Did I miss the point? Oh my yes, and we all know I'm very good at that. But I read an entire bookful of David Rakoff jetting to private islands and atte...more
Possibly my favorite contemporary writer. His fiction (like an excellent entry on "This American Life" about a holiday party gone wrong) is entertaining. But his essays on American culture are spot-on. They are well-crafted, well-researched, and clever. Rakoff doesn't need to resort to the same snark behind which many writers hide.
In this collection, Rakoff explores just how selfish we have become, and how that selfishness manifests itself. And the writer is not exempt. In one piece, he can't u...more
In this collection, Rakoff explores just how selfish we have become, and how that selfishness manifests itself. And the writer is not exempt. In one piece, he can't u...more
No spoilers.
Blurb: David Rakoff is brilliant, funny, wry and self-deprecating. If you appreciate the work of David Sedaris, this is smarter. If you like Sarah Vowell, this is sharper and more cutting. If you don't know those authors, go check them out as well.
Longer version: I've followed David Rakoff through This American Life, and occasionally read his works in various magazines. He's always smart, always a bit sad, but a genuinely talented observer of people. The hypocrisy of the first-world...more
Blurb: David Rakoff is brilliant, funny, wry and self-deprecating. If you appreciate the work of David Sedaris, this is smarter. If you like Sarah Vowell, this is sharper and more cutting. If you don't know those authors, go check them out as well.
Longer version: I've followed David Rakoff through This American Life, and occasionally read his works in various magazines. He's always smart, always a bit sad, but a genuinely talented observer of people. The hypocrisy of the first-world...more
These essays are solidly in the "I write essays about myself and things that happen to my upper-middle-class self blah blah" category, but Rakoff's self-awareness makes it totally palatable and drains away any pretentiousness. I think he is the best of the This American Life writers and their ilk... certainly I think he is a better wordsmith than Vowell or Sedaris, although truthfully I kind of love them all anyway.
The title is a misnomer; Rakoff is not, in fact comfortable with luxury; he is in some ways even uncomfortable with the fantasy of luxury. A better title would be Discomfort. Though the book belongs firmly in the genre of Gay Men Observing Culture, Rakoff, though anxious, is less neurotic than David Sedaris and kinder than Augustin Burroughs. A quick read, gentle and enjoyable, but not momentous.
This book has been on my to-read list for years. Whenever I heard Mr. Rakoff interviewed, I always thought about how I needed to read his books, because they seemed like the sort of humor I enjoy. Following Mr. Rakoff’s passing in August, I vowed to stop dragging my feet. And I’m glad I did, because this book is everything I expected and more (and I don’t just say that to honor the recently deceased).
A collection of humorous essays, the book is unique in that the weakest essays are in the first...more
A collection of humorous essays, the book is unique in that the weakest essays are in the first...more
I saw Rakoff on The Daily Show and he seemed like a nice enough guy so I thought I’d give his collection of high society/ pop culture essays a shot. But I’m not sure taking shots at the Hooter’s plane really warrants print publication. Mocking the Hooters plane is water-cooler comedy, not US Library of Congress comedy. If you want to mock them on TV at least we can see the waitresses. The other topics he covers are more a reflection him, than what he’s covering. Do I need to know what it’s like...more
This was disappointing. The first chapter had so much promise, so much hope to be a wonderful book, but then it was kind of...blah. And the cover line about "The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never- Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems"? There was nothing about ANY of those things in there. Bummer.
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David Rakoff (November 27, 1964 – August 9, 2012) was an essayist, journalist, and actor. Originally from Canada, Rakoff is a graduate of Columbia University, he obtained dual Canadian-American citizenship in 2003, and currently resided for much of his life in New York City. His brother Simon is a stand-up comedian.
Rakoff has written for the New York Times Magazine, Outside, GQ, Vogue and Salon. H...more
More about David Rakoff...
Rakoff has written for the New York Times Magazine, Outside, GQ, Vogue and Salon. H...more
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“For most of my life, I would have automatically said that I would opt for conscientious objector status, and in general, I still would. But the spirit of the question is would I ever, and there are instances where I might. If immediate intervention would have circumvented the genocide in Rwanda or stopped the Janjaweed in Darfur, would I choose pacifism? Of course not. Scott Simon, the reporter for National Public Radio and a committed lifelong Quaker, has written that it took looking into mass graves in former Yugoslavia to convince him that force is sometimes the only option to deter our species' murderous impulses.
While we're on the subject of the horrors of war, and humanity's most poisonous and least charitable attributes, let me not forget to mention Barbara Bush (that would be former First Lady and presidential mother as opposed to W's liquor-swilling, Girl Gone Wild, human ashtray of a daughter. I'm sorry, that's not fair. I've no idea if she smokes.) When the administration censored images of the flag-draped coffins of the young men and women being killed in Iraq - purportedly to respect "the privacy of the families" and not to minimize and cover up the true nature and consequences of the war - the family matriarch expressed her support for what was ultimately her son's decision by saying on Good Morning America on March 18, 2003, "Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? I mean it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"
Mrs. Bush is not getting any younger. When she eventually ceases to walk among us we will undoubtedly see photographs of her flag-draped coffin. Whatever obituaries that run will admiringly mention those wizened, dynastic loins of hers and praise her staunch refusal to color her hair or glamorize her image. But will they remember this particular statement of hers, this "Let them eat cake" for the twenty-first century? Unlikely, since it received far too little play and definitely insufficient outrage when she said it. So let us promise herewith to never forget her callous disregard for other parents' children while her own son was sending them to make the ultimate sacrifice, while asking of the rest of us little more than to promise to go shopping. Commit the quote to memory and say it whenever her name comes up. Remind others how she lacked even the bare minimum of human integrity, the most basic requirement of decency that says if you support a war, you should be willing, if not to join those nineteen-year-olds yourself, then at least, at the very least, to acknowledge that said war was actually going on. Stupid fucking cow.”
—
21 people liked it
While we're on the subject of the horrors of war, and humanity's most poisonous and least charitable attributes, let me not forget to mention Barbara Bush (that would be former First Lady and presidential mother as opposed to W's liquor-swilling, Girl Gone Wild, human ashtray of a daughter. I'm sorry, that's not fair. I've no idea if she smokes.) When the administration censored images of the flag-draped coffins of the young men and women being killed in Iraq - purportedly to respect "the privacy of the families" and not to minimize and cover up the true nature and consequences of the war - the family matriarch expressed her support for what was ultimately her son's decision by saying on Good Morning America on March 18, 2003, "Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? I mean it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"
Mrs. Bush is not getting any younger. When she eventually ceases to walk among us we will undoubtedly see photographs of her flag-draped coffin. Whatever obituaries that run will admiringly mention those wizened, dynastic loins of hers and praise her staunch refusal to color her hair or glamorize her image. But will they remember this particular statement of hers, this "Let them eat cake" for the twenty-first century? Unlikely, since it received far too little play and definitely insufficient outrage when she said it. So let us promise herewith to never forget her callous disregard for other parents' children while her own son was sending them to make the ultimate sacrifice, while asking of the rest of us little more than to promise to go shopping. Commit the quote to memory and say it whenever her name comes up. Remind others how she lacked even the bare minimum of human integrity, the most basic requirement of decency that says if you support a war, you should be willing, if not to join those nineteen-year-olds yourself, then at least, at the very least, to acknowledge that said war was actually going on. Stupid fucking cow.”
“I am no fun at all. In fact, I am anti-fun. Not as in anti-violence, but as in anti-matter. I am not so much against fun - although I suppose I kind of am - as I am the opposite of fun. I suck the fun out of a room. Or perhaps I'm just a different kind of fun; the kind that leaves on bereft of hope; the kind of fun that ends in tears.”
—
9 people liked it
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Jul 24, 2007 06:29am
In what state are the books and bits you must surely be writing? When can we read them? :)
Sep 24, 2007 05:02pm
Jun 04, 2012 06:02pm