Assassination Vacation in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Feb 04, 2008 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: memoir, best-sellers

I listened to Assassination Vacation on audiobook. Sarah Vowell has such a unique voice and by reading the book herself you really get a sense of her wit. There were many times I laughed out loud. While I love books about people's travel experiences, I wasn't too sure about this one... reading about a vacation someone took to learn more about the assassins of American presidents? But it is so unique I really glad I took the time with this one. I learned things I didn't even know I wanted to lear ...more

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Jun 07, 2016 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, audiobook, history

I appreciated this book most because I envied Sarah Vowell's deep rabbit hole into a random theme. I feel I need a hobby or niche interest to fill a hole in my life that I didn't know existed until I listened to this book. Fun historical facts and some LOLs round out the story to hold he listener's interest. Overall, a fun listen for any casual American history nerds. ...more

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Feb 23, 2011 Kristen rated it really liked it

Sarah Vowell is a contributing editor of NPR’s “This American Life,” and she’s always witty and often laugh-out-loud funny. Like the sort of book that makes people on the bus look at you because they can’t understand why you would be laughing while reading a book.

I’ll be the first to admit that Vowell’s nerdy and slightly macabre style and wit are right up my alley (a humor book about taking vacations to the various sites around the US dedicated to the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garf Sarah Vowell is a contributing editor of NPR’s “This American Life,” and she’s always witty and often laugh-out-loud funny. Like the sort of book that makes people on the bus look at you because they can’t understand why you would be laughing while reading a book.

I’ll be the first to admit that Vowell’s nerdy and slightly macabre style and wit are right up my alley (a humor book about taking vacations to the various sites around the US dedicated to the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley? Sign me up!). Like her, I can’t walk past a plaque on a building and not feel compelled to read it. I like the feeling of knowing that something significant happened right where I am standing, and trying to envision that place and moment when it happened. And Vowell does a great job of mixing history with funny anecdotes about the journey of exploring these various places, making someone with only a small amount of interest in presidential assassinations find the book to be fascinating, funny, and gosh darn it, educational, too!

The other strength of Vowell’s writing is the warmth she exudes when talking about the people she meets, this nation, and about her own family. One sentence that really struck me was about her two-week “assassination vacation” trip with her twin sister Amy and Amy’s three year-old son Owen. The fact that her sister agreed to be the driver/chauffeur for this bizarre trip (with her three year-old in tow) speaks volumes about how much she loves her sister Sarah, and their interactions also reflect the love that you can have for your siblings and family – you want to be a part of something just because you know how happy it makes them. And one of my favorite lines goes something like this: “While I am never surprised by how much I love my nephew Owen, I am continue to be pleasantly surprised by how much I like him.” Which is to say that you will always love your family, but when you find that even if you weren’t related to someone you’d still like them anyway, that’s saying something.

Along these lines, when Vowell meets the colorful cast of characters who run these historic monuments, off-the-beaten path pilgrimage sites, etc, she portrays them with a humanity and warmth that a lesser writer couldn’t do, because they would be tempted to make fun of them. It’s a quick read (250 pages, large-ish font), and if you have any interest in history, or just like the humorists on “This American Life,” I’d highly recommend “Assassination Vacation.” ...more

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Nov 12, 2008 Ashley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: what-i-study, history

I really, really liked this book. I thought Vowell did an excellent job making history fun, far from dull, and married trivia with broader reflections on American life. At times her political opinions felt a little clunky-- like they were dropped in as an afterthought. I agree with her politics, but in general I feel like the political passages actually take away from the richer, more interesting information about the people she's writing about. My mom liked the book too but, since she didn't li ...more

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