Me Talk Pretty One Day
Ratings412
Average rating4
Reading Me Talk Pretty One Day right after [b:The Best of Me 53487334 The Best of Me David Sedaris https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598245328l/53487334.SX50.jpg 83709164] probably wasn't the best idea. Sedaris's humor, assholeness and sharp observations are still there, but this book doesn't have the same punch as the “best of” collection, obviously. Still, his way of turning everyday moments into something funny is impressive. But his style works better for me when I take breaks between his books, as it can get pretty repetitive and boring. I'll give his work some time before coming back to check out his diaries. For now, I'd give Me Talk Pretty One Day three stars—fun, but not amazing.
I rarely read non-fiction and almost never memoir. I had heard great things about David Sedaris, so I thought I would give it a whirl. (Plus I found the book for cheap at the second-hand store.)
It took a little while to get used to his style. In fact, I almost stopped reading. I wasn't used to someone dwelling on their own life so much. However, he is an intriguing guy with a colorful life—at least as he frames it—so I continued.
It took a while to understand the title. It was something that happened when he moved to France with his partner and took French lessons. However, speaking was never his strong suit. He starts the book relaying his grammar school experiences with a speech therapist who tried to cure his lisp. He revealed the kinship he found with other males who also lisped, and not many of them took a vested interest in being cured.
He's boldly honest about his experiences as a gay man in a judgmental world. It was an eye-opener to see things from his self-deprecating point of view. His time as a furniture mover was particularly charming. His description of his quirky family are entertaining. It surprised me that he portrayed himself as somewhat of a slacker.
It's worth the read alone to see the world from his perspective.
i think of myself as your standard sedaris fan, but outside of the occasional chuckle, i couldn't help but constantly consider how apathetic i felt toward every story in this book.
This one is definitely worth getting the audiobook. I usually don't like audiobooks since they're so slow compared to reading. But the way he read it made it funnier and more enjoyable
This book is a collection of anecdotal short stories and a few of them have not aged well. To be fair this collection was published 20 years ago and most of the individual stories were published even earlier in magazines or papers. He's a great storyteller and is probably great to have at a social gathering. He's funny in a different way than his sister (which to be honest, I was worried
David Sedaris is insightful and hilarious. He has an amazing ability to write his characters saying the perfect thing to epitomise themselves and the situation they're in for maximum honest hilarity.
Calmly funny and sweet, this is an enjoyable collection that looks at a lot of aspects of day to day life, including american stereotypes in an elegant and transporting way. Definitely a big improvement from “Naked”
Listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. Lots of dry humor but some laugh out loud moments, too.
Read this book when it first came out and loved it so much. Recently decided to listen to it on Audible, read by the author. So glad I did! Just be careful if you are listening to it while driving - I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to lose control of the car! And don't listen to it while at the gym or any place in public, unless you want to make a fool of yourself. I really needed a good laugh, and this really did the trick...
Read for my 2017 Book Bingo square, “A collection of essays.”
Sedaris delivers a delightful, humorous collection of short essays that follow his years of life. The writing style, which, unfortunately, includes quite a bit of cuss words, is humorous, light and yet, meaningful and satisfying.
This was my first collection of essays and, while I enjoyed it, I wanted more. I didn't want the stories to end or I wanted to know more about a certain situation. I enjoyed the author's thoughts concerning certain life events, but I wanted more.
I really loved about a handful of the essays, some of which had me laughing out loud.
This was a great read and quite funny. There were definitely “laugh out loud” moments throughout.
Decently good plane read. Some of the essays crossed a few lines for me – too mean-spirited; too reliant on humiliation or caricature as a form of humor; too callous in their treatment of tricky subjects like the death of pets; too self-centered, puerile or generally grating. There's a fine line between being a clever satirist and being an unlikeable misanthrope, and Sedaris doesn't always quit while he's ahead.
I did laugh out loud while reading the titular essay, though. Repeatedly. And then went back and reread some of the better passages, which were, if anything, even funnier the second time. The series of essays that take place just after his move to France is absolute gold for anyone who's ever immersed themselves in a foreign language and culture.
Aside from those, my favorite essays were “A Shiner Like A Diamond” (which left me in absolute awe of Sedaris' sister) and then “Twelve Moments in the Life of an Artist” (which is admittedly pretty mean-spirited but IMO redeemed, at least in part, by both its self-deprecation and its sheer absurdity).
Far more enjoyable than Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim, which frequently made me want to open a vein. Still not exactly a lighthearted romp, so don't assume because it's filed under “Humor” that you'll be reading The Far Side. But I liked it.
I just couldn't stick with this one I tried it was just too hard for me. Some of it was very funny some if the language and subject matter was off-putting. I do five props to the author's courage I do not doubt how difficult his life must have been.
I thought it kinda stalled in the middle of the book while he was in France. Meh.
This book definitely has it's funny parts, but there are also some cringe-worthy parts as well. David Sedaris certainly has a way with language, though. If you're easily offended, this one should be avoided. But if you have an open mind, this one might be worth a read.
Another view into Sedaris' crazy world. After listening to him read his Santaland Diaries, I can't not hear his voice in my head while I read. And if you've heard his Billie Holiday impression, you know how weird a sensation that can be.
