supercheesegirl

Okay, I liked Me Talk Pretty, I thought it was funny and all, but I could take him or leave him. Sedaris really got me in this book, though. The essay "Six to Eight Black Men" had me literally laughing out loud on the train. I am still snickering just thinking about it. I love how well he writes his siblings' voices. I loved the story about his brother's baby, and the one at the end about how Sedaris looks like a mass murderer to anyone casually observing his home.

This book also showed me that what I am trying to do in a lot of my nonfiction is pretty similar to what Sedaris does so successfully. Most of the stories, when you think about it, are about Sedaris himself being crazy, stupid, a jerk, etc. I'm doing the exact same thing in a lot of my stories--right now I have stories about me being paranoid, terrified, unprepared, naive, and an asshole (sometimes all in the same story!). He's also really sharp with dialogue and voice, which is one of my strong points too. He's somebody good for me to be reading right now.

Overall, highly recommended. I have Naked in my To-Read pile at home, and I'm looking forward to it even more now. Of course, my To-Read pile is enormous these days because people keep lending me books and I keep getting more books from the library. I will never get through them all. At least it's something to strive for.