book data
1287 ratings, 3.68 average rating, 228 reviews
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published
September 20th 2005
(first published 2006)
by Doubleday Canada
binding
Hardcover, 240 pages
isbn
0385661851
(isbn13: 9780385661850)
description
David Rakoff's Don't Get Too Comfortable isn't quite the profoundly illuminating journey into the heart of American cultural and spiritual empt...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2031)
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
american people living an american life. this american life.
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 ...more
Of ...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
lefties who need a laugh
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 descri...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 descri...more
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Read in November, 2007
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-Bu...more
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Read in November, 2008
recommends it for:
Jordan, Debbie
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 w...more
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Read in April, 2006
recommends it for:
Mamabeth
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 i...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 i...more
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Read in January, 2008
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 espec...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 espec...more
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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' attem...more
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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 ...more
David Rakoff makes me chuckle ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
someone with a lot of time to fill
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 eithe...more
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Read in August, 2007
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 r...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 r...more
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Read in June, 2008
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 wi...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 wi...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
bitchy queens
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 "gir...more
Some essays are funnier than others, but I love anybody that calls Barbara Bush (senior) a "stupid cunt" and Barbara Bush (junior) a "gir...more
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Read in April, 2006
recommends it for:
sardonic readers.
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.
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Read in June, 2007
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.
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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.
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Read in November, 2007
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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Read in November, 2008
I could have given this book another star, but I didn't want to. A shame there are no half stars. This book seems to present itself as an "on the heels of" David Sedaris piece. It's not, and that's what's both good and bad about it. The writing's not that good. The satire is a means of covering some uncomfortable issues and maybe a lack of understanding. It starts out light enougg; some waxing on nationalism, air travel, and the Today show subculture. The gloves are off in the middle w...more
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Read in February, 2006
Funniest book I have read in a long time! David Rakoff starts out his book by detailing his decision to become an American citizen and what that involved (he's originally Canadian but has lived here forever) - hilareous! From there, his essays cover everything from living in a post-9/11 NYC to flying on the Concorde vs flying on Hooters airline, Paris couture shows, Playboy photoshoots, and Midnight Madness games in NYC. I HIGHLY recommend checking this out! (He's sometimes compared to David Sed...more
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Read in October, 2008
Like Rakoff’s other book, “Fraud,” “Don’t Get Too Comfortable” is a collection of wry observations made from a cynical remove. The subject matter is cultural excess, phenomena like fasting rituals that ostensibly put practitioners into a state of spiritual clarity, artisanal foods regarded with near-sexual enthusiasm, and the casual opulence of the supersonic trans-Atlantic flight.
Easily, Rakoff ridicules luxuries enjoyed by the rarefied few. But more than that, he skewers the f...more
Easily, Rakoff ridicules luxuries enjoyed by the rarefied few. But more than that, he skewers the f...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
lovers of This American Life
"Don't Get Too Comfortable" is a witty romp through some of the more absurd pursuits of the leisure class. A lot of these essays are puff pieces, full of snappy verbal pyrotechnics but without a lot of substance. However, a few stand out for their punchy, confessional social and political commentary: the first one, where Rakoff describes how and why he decided to become a US citizen after living as a resident alien for several decades, and two of the later essays: one in which Rakoff (...more
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currently-reading (on 113 people's shelves)
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essays (on 29 people's shelves)
nonfiction (on 24 people's shelves)
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