This is a reposting from last May. David Sedaris is funny enough to be recommended over and over :-)
In 'Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, Essays, Etc.' humorist and author
David Sedaris offers his wry observations on the topics of living as an
American ex-patriot in France and England, traveling the world on book
tours and remembering his childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina. His fans
will enjoy his quirky obsessions which teeter on the edge of creepy and
gross, but then pull back into touching and humane at the last sentence
or two.
Standouts from this collection are: 'Dentists Without
Borders' in which the author describes his own experiences with the
health care system in France. He describes the care he received as
inexpensive, accessible and not at all like what the opponents of "Obama
care' describe as a health care plan 'where patients languished on
filthy cots, waiting for aspirin to be invented." (3)
In 'Rubbish'
(211) Mr. Sedaris takes it upon himself to pick up all the litter along
the roads in his village in England by riding his bike around every day
to pick up other people's trash. He becomes obsessed, "At nights I lie
in bed and map out the territory I'll cover the following day... What
did my life consist of before this? I wonder." (220)
Recommended for fans of the author. Read-a-likes - other humorous essay writers:
Quinn
Cummings, Bill Bryson, Ian Frazier, Dave Barry, Sloane Crosby, Tracy
Beckerman. (Click on the 'humor' label on the right side of this blog to
find more posts about funny books and authors.)
There really is an app for everything: try the David Sedaris app to watch short videos of his diary entries.
David Carr's review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review (audiobook version)
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