So I picked Calypso by David Sedaris as my “Brain Candy” square for CBR10 Bingo, which after reading it, seems like maybe not the best choice, because these short stories are a bit darker than usual. Sedaris’ sister Tiffany committed suicide in 2013, and this, his mother’s alcoholism, and a strange tumour growing on his side become the running topics in many of the stories in his first compilation in five years. Calypso is still hilariously funny, in exactly the ways you expect it to be. I’ve always had […]
Same old Sedaris, now with added feels
For several years now, I’ve refused to buy hardcover books. I don’t like the added expense, of course, but mostly, I just don’t like the extra bulk and really don’t like how they feel in my hand: too much like textbooks or hymnals. I don’t need to be reminded of either when I’m trying to read something fun. As a result, I’m consistently a year or two behind everyone else with my reading, a (discount) price I’m willing to pay. David Sedaris has long […]
First I got up, then I had a piece of toast…
There’s a stand up comedian who had a bit about how boring it is to hear about other peoples’ dreams, how the description is always surreal to the teller but just illogical to the listener; the punch line being “there’s a reason you were asleep for this.” There’s a reason your books were inspired by rather than directly published from your diaries, sedaris. It kind of hurt to write that. I love David Sedaris, I love his writing. I often say of writers I love […]
Familiar and Funny
And now for something completely different – David Sedaris’ Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002. For those of you unfamiliar with his work (are there any of you out there), David Sedaris is a humorous essayist raised in North Carolina and currently living in England with his longtime partner Hugh. He became famous in the 90s with autobiographical essay collections like Barrel Fever and Naked, and continues to put out new books every few years. Apparently he has been keeping a diary since 1977 and after […]