Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A lavish gift edition of David Sedaris's best stories, spanning his spectacular bestselling career. Hand-picked by David himself, these are stories that will make you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time, from "the funniest man alive" (Time Out New York). What could be a more tempting holiday gift than a compendium of David Sedaris's best stories, selected by the author himself? From a spectacular career spanning almost three decades, these stories have become modern classics and are now for the first time collected in one volume.
The collection will also feature an introduction by the author; a never-before-collected story, "Unbuttoned"; and a new interview with David Sedaris.
Table of Contents
Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2
Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol
Christmas Means Giving
The Incomplete Quad
You Can't Kill the Rooster
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Jesus Shaves
Us and Them
Let It Snow
The Ship Shape
The Girl Next Door
Repeat After Me
Six to Eight Black Men
Possession
Nuit of the Living Dead
The Understudy
In the Waiting Room
Solution to Saturday's Puzzle
Town and Country
The Cat and the Baboon
The Motherless Bear
The Faithful Setter
Dentists Without Borders
Think Differenter
Memory Laps
Loggerheads
If I Ruled the World
Easy, Tiger
Laugh, Kookaburra
A Guy Walks into a Bar Car
Standing By
Understanding Understanding Owls
Now We Are Five
A House Divided
The Perfect Fit
Leviathan
A Modest Proposal
Why Aren't You Laughing?
The Spirit World
Unbuttoned
Synopsis
David Sedaris's best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career--as selected by the author himself
For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing.
Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler's lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say "give it to me" in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird.
But if all you expect to find in Sedaris's work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these pages, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms--at long last--with the other.
Taken together, the stories in TheBest of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected--it's often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder--but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful.
Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called "the funniest man alive" (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing--quite often at himself--and invites readers deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.
The Best of Me AUDIOBOOK TRACK LISTING
CD01 Track 01: Introduction (new recording)
From Barrel Fever 1994
CD01 Track 03: Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2.
From Holidays on Ice 1994
CD01 Track 06: Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol (new recording)
CD01 Track 08: Christmas Means Giving (new recording)
From Naked 1997
CD01 Track 11: the incomplete quad (new recording)
From the New Yorker
CD01 Track 14: Girl Crazy (new recording)
CD02 Track 01: Card Wired (new recording)
CD02 Track 02: How to Spend the Budget Surplus (new recording)
From Me Talk Pretty One Day 2000
CD02 Track 03: You Can't Kill the Rooster (new recording)
CD02 Track 05: Me Talk Pretty One Day (new recording)
CD02 Track 07: Jesus Shaves (new recording)
From the New Yorker
CD02 Track 09: Dog Days (new recording)
From Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Demin 2004
CD02 Track 10: Us and Them
CD02 Track 12: Let It Snow
CD03 Track 01: The Ship Shape
CD03 Track 04: The Girl Next Door
CD03 Track 08: Repeat After Me
CD04 Track 01: Six to Eight Black Men (live recording)
CD04 Track 04:
Synopsis
David Sedaris's best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career--as selected and read by the author himself. Featuring fresh and classic recordings, including a new essay and an interview exclusive to the audiobook.
For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to listen without laughing.
Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler's lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say "give it to me" in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird.
But if all you expect to find in Sedaris's work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these pages, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms--at long last--with the other.
Taken together, the stories in TheBest of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected--it's often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder--but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful.
Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called "the funniest man alive" (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing--quite often at himself--and invites listeners deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.
The Best of Me AUDIOBOOK TRACK LISTING
CD01 Track 01: Introduction (new recording)
From Barrel Fever 1994
CD01 Track 03: Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2.
From Holidays on Ice 1994
CD01 Track 06: Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol (new recording)
CD01 Track 08: Christmas Means Giving (new recording)
From Naked 1997
CD01 Track 11: the incomplete quad (new recording)
From the New Yorker
CD01 Track 14: Girl Crazy (new recording)
CD02 Track 01: Card Wired (new recording)
CD02 Track 02: How to Spend the Budget Surplus (new recording)
From Me Talk Pretty One Day 2000
CD02 Track 03: You Can't Kill the Rooster (new recording)
CD02 Track 05: Me Talk Pretty One Day (new recording)
CD02 Track 07: Jesus Shaves (new recording)
From the New Yorker
CD02 Track 09: Dog Days (new recording)
From Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Demin 2004
CD02 Track 10: Us and Them
CD02 Track 12: Let It Snow
CD03 Track 01: The Ship Shape
CD03 Track 04: The Girl Next Door
CD03 Track 08: Repeat After Me
CD04 Track 01: Six to Eight Black Men (live recording)
C
Synopsis
"Genius... It is miraculous to read these pieces... You must read The Best of Me." --Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review
David Sedaris's best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career--as selected and read by the author himself. Featuring fresh and classic recordings, including a new essay and an interview exclusive to the audiobook.
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
A CNN and Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Month
For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to listen without laughing.
Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler's lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say "give it to me" in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird.
But if all you expect to find in Sedaris's work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these essays, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms--at long last--with the other.
Taken together, the performances in TheBest of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected--it's often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder--but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful.
Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called "the funniest man alive" (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing--quite often at himself--and invites listeners deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.
The Best of Me AUDIOBOOK TRACK LISTING
Introduction (new recording)
From Barrel Fever 1994
Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2.
From Holidays on Ice 1994
Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol (new recording)
Christmas Means Giving (new recording)
From Naked 1997
the incomplete quad (new recording)
From the New Yorker
Girl Crazy (new recording)
Card Wired (new recording)
How to Spend the Budget Surplus (new recording)
From Me Talk Pretty One Day 2000
You Can't Kill the Rooster (new recording)
Me Talk Pretty One Day (new recording)
Jesus Shaves (new recording)
From the New Yorker
Dog Days (new recording)
From Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Demin 2004
Us and Them
Let It Snow
The Ship Shape
The Girl Next Door
Repeat After Me