Rating: 
Summary: Me Laugh Hard One Day
Review: These hilarious essays reveal the unoticed surrealty of daily life. From the absurd eating habits of family members to the "Youth in Asia" every amusing passage can tell you a bit more about yourself and what our society considers to be "normal." David Sedaris is certainly one of the greatest literary comedians of our time.
These quirky stories are filled with Sedaris' real family and freinds, who make the situations he writes about all the more amusing and fun to read, especially the stories about his father, Lou, the natural mechanic who proves time and time again that genetics aren't everything. His laid-back mother and rough-neck little brother, Paul (the rooster), also bring humor to this collection. But, by far, the strongest character has to be his sister, Amy (who also co-wrote Barrel Fever, Holidays on Ice, and Naked). With her imaginary boyfriends, "fatty suits," and fake bruises and scratches, Amy "shines like a diamond" in the face of normailty.However ridiculously funny these adventures are, only the truly open-minded and those willing to expand their horizons and read about possibly opposing lifestyles will really enjoy Sedaris' experiences.
At times his actions may suggest him as the village idiot, but besides his occasional wacky stupidity, Sedaris won't fail to amuse.
Sedaris captures the faults and humors in American (and even parts of European) culture. The ridiculous antics of the people in his life are displayed in fantastic detail, which will bring a smile to your face for every page you turn.
All in all, Sedaris bases his creativity more on reality with imagined fantasy rathar than fantasy or reality alone, which makes him unique on the national bestseller list.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Funny
Review: This book is very funny: I read it on the bus every morning, and got a lot of dirty looks for laughing out loud. Every now and then, however, I got the feeling that Sedaris knew he was being clever and hilarious, and, by the end of the book, his tone started to irritate me and I longed for something sincere. Overall this book is funny and very well written. Just take a few weeks off before reading another Sedaris book, or you will quickly get sick of him.
Rating:
Summary: absolutely hilarious
Review: I have never read a book so consistantly funny. I wasn't laughing at every page, but there was at least one line or paragraph in each essay that honestly made me laugh out loud. I won't give any away; enough are posted here. Any more, and I'd give away half the laughs. I'll admit, I wondered what was going on in Sedaris' head at some points, but at others his thoughts so closely mirrored my own that it was just too funny. His one-liners and anecdotes are wonderfully witty (my favorite was the American tourists in Paris who arrogantly think no one else on the train speaks English). He accurately points out negative qualities of Americans in the second half, yet he doesn't talk down to his readers as he himself is a lazy loaf who spends most of his time in France in a movie theater. Just wonderful. You'll laugh your way through it.
Rating:
Summary: Me Talk FUNNY One Day! (And You'll laugh, too)
Review: Sedaris, in another collection of autobiographical essays, showcases his wit and dares to be as politically incorrect and offensive while still maintaining a strong pull at the heartstrings of the reader. This is a book to read on those days when you just think your life couldn't get any weirder- and you will thank Sedaris for demonstrating how relatively normal your life is. Part One of this book is a collection of autobiographical essays from various times in his life, including a hysterical essay about teaching a writing class entitled "The Learning Curve," as well as the essay entitled "The Youth in Asia" about his family's pets, which is all at once laugh-out-loud funny, and oddly touching and thought-provoking. This is a pattern one will find in Sedaris's writing. He falls in the same category as Kurt Vonnegut was labeled: a Zany satirist with a heart. And indeed, he has a heart, strange and twisted, but still lovable. Through his misadventures, tales of a grandmother who he couldn't stand and being glad of her passing, and tales of weeping at the death of a cat ("she was never really fond of the outdoors, so I sprinkled her ashes on the carpet and vacuumed them up,") we gain a particular insight into our own social dysfunctionalities while laughing at another person's. Part Deux (part TWO, for those of you less inclined towards the French language) is about Sedaris's (mis?)adventures in France with his partner. Sedaris takes a stab at religion, the Easter Bunny and French Easter traditions all in one swipe in the essay "Jesus Shaves," while providing a touching and serious explanation of the importance of faith. In his typical style, however, he pins onto the end of this touching monologue the phrase "that's just f*cked up" as a mischievous punchline. In this section of the book, we also follow him on adventures with the concept of masculine and feminine vowels in French, and how he avoids this conflict by referring to everything in the plural. ("Hugh may be annoyed by the two turkeys in the freezer, but wait until he sees the CD players I got him for his birthday.") This collection of essays will consistently make you laugh, while maintaining a strong emotional connection to your own life: In this book one can glimpse elements of their own predicaments and faults, while laughing over how much stranger Sedaris's are. For all the authors that strive to make their everyday characters able to relate to everyday persons, Sedaris makes the reader able to relate to himself through the insane exaggerations and misadventures that we all like to think we have. Me Talk Pretty One Day is a great book! Don't Miss it! Another Amazon quick-pick I recommend is The Losers Club by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: Fan Of Memoirs
Review: <br />What a beautifully poignant memoir this is. Everyone should read this book. It is so beautifully written, I can not say enough wonderful words.<br /> Other Memoirs: Nightmares Echo by Katlyn Stewart,Lost Boy by David Pelzer,Beauty For Ashes by Joyce Meyer
Rating:
Summary: I guarantee you will laugh out loud... a lot
Review: As usual, David Sedaris has written a collection of personal essays that are downright hilarious. I read this book cover to cover last night and am still laughing the next day any time I think about it. The first part of the book features essays dealing with his childhood experiences and his colorful, occasionally dysfunctional family (if you haven't, also read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim for more on the Sedaris family--especially his gruff, often belligerent and always foulmouthed brother). The second part covers the author's early visits to and life in France--his borderline sadistic French teacher, the joy of watching American movies in Paris, and (the best essay in the book) riding the metro with American tourists.
All in all, this is a great book that will put you in a good mood and keep you laughing.
Rating:
Summary: Just Hilarious
Review:
Like Richard Perez -- author of The Losers' Club -- David Sedaris doesn't know the meaning of normal. With essay topics ranging from his experience as a methamphetamine addicted performance artist, to his food-hording, Great Dane enamored father, and his false efforts at learning French, Sedaris never fails to hit the hilarious mark. Sure, some of the stories are offensive, but, hey, life can be offensive sometimes.
In any given situation, the reader can expect Sedaris to always say or do the unexpected. In one essay, titled "Picka Pocketoni" a pair of fashion challenged American tourists on the Paris Metro wrongly assume that Sedaris is a local pickpocket, and a stinky, non-English speaking one at that. As they discuss their opinions in increasingly shrill English, Sedaris savors the moment, wondering how best to take advantage. In similar situation I could see myself dying of embarrassment, but not Sedaris. He revels in the opportunity to be seen as quick and dangerous. In fact, he seems encouraged that someone might mistake him for a well coordinated foreign rogue capable of who knows what kind of mischief.
Amongst Sedaris' various ramblings on insomnia induced fantasies some inevitable political humor creeps in. One fantasy, titled "I've Got a Secret" begins: "I'm a pretty, slightly chubby White House intern whose had a brief affair with the President." But then Sedaris makes a 180 shift and "our heroine" becomes known as a brave stoic unwilling to capitalize on her unfortunate circumstances. Then after the press coverage dies down, she writes a best-selling novel under an assumed name and gets down to her life's work: sleeping with professional football players.
Sedaris takes unprecedented pride his refusal to learn any useful French - despite six summer visits and a two-year stay. The book includes several essays devoted this topic. During his second summer in Normandy, Sedaris devotes himself to learning 10 new words per day, in a faux effort to expand his two-word vocabulary of "ashtray" and "bottleneck".
The list includes: "exorcism, facial swelling, death penalty, slaughterhouse, sea monster and witch doctor." In a later story, Sedaris has taken to amusing himself while walking around Paris listening to a pocket medical guide with French-English translations for visiting doctors. His fondest hope is that he'll have to opportunity to try out his new conversational French at some cocktail party in the future:
"That's me at the glittering party, refilling my champagne glass and turning to my host to ask if he's noticed any unusual discharge."
And that pretty much says it all, n'est pas? Don't miss this great book! Two other wonderful books I'd like to recommend include The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, and Naked by David Sedaris -- both funny and entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Forget Your Troubles -- And LAUGH!
Review:
I purchased "Me Talk Pretty One Day" recently from Amazon and I'm glad that I did. I really needed this book when I got it, as I'd been stressing out over finding a job and a place to live for the past few months. The crappy economy has taken a toll on my patience and my otherwise positive outlook on life. But when I opened up this book and started reading one day, I was fully absorbed into the stories, forgetting my worries.
Sedaris starts with a description of his fifth grade speech therapy lessons for a lisp he couldn't seem to shake. Observations about himself, the therapist, the other kids, and the various ridiculous notions that entered his mind abound, right from the start, and persist right through to the end of the book, describing his adult life in Paris. It's his unique perspective that really turns the stories into something worth reading.
From the first chapter on, he introduces readers to his father, mother, sisters, and brother, each with their own unique characteristics, but managing to share that kookiness gene that seems to have run in the family.
You will read about his experiences at college, and at attempting to make a living by creating contemporary artwork, and later becoming a creative writing teacher, a personal assistant, and a mover.
You will learn of his travels from New York, to Raleigh, to Chicago, back to New York, and finally to Paris. The entire second half of the book focuses on his French adventures, adding another layer of perspective as he finds himself in completely different surroundings.
I am not a particularly avid reader, but I'd quickly read through the entire book in just a few days - simply because it was so fun to read, that I couldn't put it down. I'd found myself reading chapters at a time, staying up late at night to read just one more story. Aside from Me Talk Pretty One Day, let me tell you about two other Amazon purchases I liked, Naked by Sedaris, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez. Truly knockout books!
Rating:
Summary: You'll laugh pretty hard
Review: I went to the bookstore in search of any book that would catch my interest. I browsed through quite a few books but when I read the first page of ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY, I knew I had to have it. It's absolutely hilarious. It's a little bold and crude but its the funniest book I've read. It's wittiness makes you want to scream with laughter. I read the whole thing three times it always cheers me up when I feel blue. My favorite story is BIG BOY. It's probably the shortest but no matter how many times I've read it, it always makes me laugh out loud. Also recently enjoyed a collection from McCrae titled THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. Really riveting material that packs a punch. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Uhh, why the hype?
Review: This is a compilation of about 200 Andy Rooney 60 Minutes essays, just that Andy Rooney is funnier and more interesting.
There is no story here, just the author ranting and raving about his life, which to me, doesn't make a book interesting or enjoyable. I can complain about my own life. Why should we care about Sedarris complaining? Amusing, but once you are done, it will leave you mind forever.
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