Rating: 
Summary: A snarky slice of Americana
Review: Sarah Vowell is witty, acerbic and opinionated, yet she has an abiding respect and deep interest in the history of the United States, both good and bad. She knows her subject matter extremely well, and interjects her adventures with some of the most biting wit and a view of the world far beyond her years.Sarah Vowell is a former Pentecostal-turned-Atheist, one half of a pair of mis-matched twin sisters, born in Oklahoma, raised in Montana, and, at the time she wrote this book, a resident of Chicago. She is a registered Democrat and avowed gun-hater, who clashes amusingly with her Republican, gun-loving father, and who is appalled at her twin sister's fascination with guns. This does not prevent her, however, from helping her father fire off a cannon into the great open spaces, but she doesn't come back for more. This collection of essays covers a great deal of territory, including Vowell's childhood, her religious upbringing, her obessession with the film 'The Godfather' (hence the title, a line from that film), a trip to Disney World to see the Hall of Presidents (where someone in the audience actually whoops and hollers for the audioanimatronic Abraham Lincoln), a trip to Hoboken, New Jersey to re-trace the steps of the town's favorite son, Frank Sinatra, and a re-tracing of the Cherokee Trail of Tears with her sister behind the wheel (because, she has not learned to drive and defends herself by saying Barbara.Walters.Does.Not.Drive), which becomes a soul-searching adventure. She stays at the famed Chelsea Hotel in New York and she goes underground as a Goth in San Francisco. She is just as funny writing about her adventures as she is re-telling the less-monumental personal events of her life. Just when I thought I'd read her funniest paragraph, I would find myself laughing uproariously in another chapter. Her analogies, her witticisms and her sly remarks are hilarious. Sarah Vowell is sarcastic without seeming bitter, and she is honest without being brutal. She is simply a great writer and essayist, and a very droll wit and a slightly cynical, yet somewhat hopeful, view of life in these United States.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious.
Review: I picked up this book after I saw Sarah Vowell reading her latest book, The Partly Cloudy Patriot, on BookTV. The writing style is very conversational, and reading the book is like talking to a really smart, really funny media-addict/friend. The essay format is great, because you can pick the book up anytime you get a minute and avoid trying to keep up with an involved plot. What I like about the book the most, however, is Vowell's obvious love for and knowledge of America. In a time of abject apathy (and, let's face it, often disappointing political news), it's so refreshing to hear from someone who still loves and believes in America. Reading this book, I re-learned alot of forgotten U.S. history, and it was really enjoyable to boot. I plan to move on to The Partly Cloudy Patriot next.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: I first heard Sarah Vowell on "This American Life" on the radio. As she read her piece on the Goth scene in San Francisco, I remember thinking, "This MUST be public radio, because a voice like that would never cut it at a corporate super station." To call her voice squeaky is a disservice to rubber ducks and old floors alike. Her ability to capture life in America and put it into words is extraordinary. While her politics are so far to the left that I found myself grimacing in certain parts, her wit and deadpan (yes- deadpanning the written word!) delivery more than make up for her misguided ideals.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad, but Not Great
Review: Like many other readers of this book, I found that Vowell's essays work much better on NPR than they do on the page. Part of that may be ascribed to the overall mood that's created when you hear her voice tell the story, along with the perfect background and bridging music. Her timing and pace is just so much better on radio than in writing-a lot of those caustic or telling one-liners just lie dead on the page. Finally, when I hear her radio pieces it's usually a totally welcome surprise and treat while I'm stuck in the car, whereas when actually sitting down to read her book, I couldn't help thinking of unread books on my shelf crying for attention. What I mean is that Vowell's take on American life is most welcome and effective when it's unexpected. The sixteen essays aren't particularly bad (except the one on Frank Sinatra, which is the one case where Vowell takes a conceit-Sinatra as the original punk-and attempts to ram it home despite the obvious contradictions), but very few of them are truly engaging in the way her radio work is. The best two, are not surprisingly, two of the most personal: "Shooting Dad", in which she elegantly displays her relationship with her gun-loving father, and "What I See When I Look On the Face on the $20 Bill", in which she and her sister embark on a "Trail of Tears" road trip to try and get in touch with their part-Cherokee heritage. On the other end of the spectrum are her set pieces on the famous Chelsea Hotel, learning to drive, hanging out with goths, Disney World, a cheezy Rock 'n Roll fantasy camp, none of which are particularly insightful, funny, or distinctive. Somewhere in the middle are more autobiographical pieces, such as those on her insomnia, obsession with The Godfather, playing music in high school, and the end of the world all of which have chuckle moments and are much less self-consciously post-ironic hipsteresque than other parts. Vowell is great on radio, and I suspect over time, she'll get better and better on paper. The two recommendations I have for this book are to spread it out over time, read it in small chunks, and not to have overly high expectations.
Rating:
Summary: She'll make you laugh, she'll make you think.
Review: I was first attracted to this book when I was flipping through a friend's copy and read "American Goth", easily still my favorite of the essays with its hilarious description of an outsider's affectionate view of the goth subculture. Soon after, I began to see her on television and hear her on the radio. It was when I saw her reading from her newest book, The Partly Cloudy Patriot, on C-SPAN that I knew I had to read this whole thing. And after reading through both books, I have firmly decided that Sarah Vowell is my new hero. Take the Cannoli is not as strong a collection as the later book, but it will defintitely whet your appetite. Warning: this book is not for the extremely conservative minded. She is very frank when offering opinions, sometimes even rudely blunt. In fact, that would be my only real criticism. Many of her essays smack of the youthful indignation that tends to fade with age, and sometimes it grates a little. On the whole, though, I love this collection (in addition to "American Goth", I highly recommend "Species-On-Species Abuse" for a good laugh). Ms. Vowell is the kind of optimist-in-cynic's-clothing that I often wish more people could appreciate.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent Observations
Review: These stories of odd occurences, self development and intelligent observations of the world around Ms. Vowell are a pleasure to read. She writes in such a way that each story is as entertaining as it is educational. Each story pulls you along unwittingly toward a moral, whether it be the sanctity of mix tapes, American history or "Species-on-Species Abuse". She writes for more than just a punch-line, which isn't to say there weren't times I laughed out loud (e.g. Rick Derringer promoting clean guitars). A good book to take with you if you're traveling and need short stories that can stand alone. Bonus: There are 5 illustrations in this book by the talented Tony Millionaire, creator of the Maakies comic. What a treat.
Rating: 
Summary: Witty and Smart
Review: I saw Sarah Vowell on David Letterman one night without having a clue who she was. She was so funny and charming on the show, I had to go out and buy one of her books. I started with 'Take the Cannoli', which is a collection of short essays/stories. This is a wonderful book - I read it cover to cover in about two sittings. The writing style is smart, witty, and very easy to read (by easy to read, the meaning and humor of the stories jump right out at you). Growing up in the 80s/90s, it was easy to identify with the stories - I laughed out loud more than a few times. All in all, the book seems to reflect the impression I got of Sarah when on Letterman. I would recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Follow That Dream
Review: Sarah Vowell is a huge talent, there's no question about that. "Michigan and Wacker" and "What I See When I Look At a $20 Bill" are breakneck history lessons that are both funny and sad. Her essays on Sinatra feature some of the best writing I've ever read on the man. And while it's impossible to use the phrase "breathtakingly beautiful" without sounding like a blurb on a movie poster, the final paragraph of "The End is Near, Nearer, Nearest" actually earns it. So why only three stars? T.S. Eliot once described Edgar Allan Poe as someone very gifted but "has yet to reach puberty", and I think the same could be said about Vowell. Too often (especially during her essays about Disney World and Rock 'N 'Roll Fantasy Camp), she comes across as a petulant teenager killing time during Honors English. It's hard to believe that someone this gifted can write "I've always admired goths" while keeping a straight face. You can almost picture her with a Planet of the Apes lunchbox and Sleater-Kinney t-shirt asking, "Am I cool? Am I cool? Please tell me I'm cool." (If you want to read similar essays without the hipster aftertaste, check out Susan Orlean or Elizabeth Gilbert.) Take the Cannoli is definitely worth taking home, and it's scary to think about how good she could be in 10 or 20 years. Hopefully, by then she'll have realized there are worse things in life than being called "Hon."
Rating: 
Summary: Take the cannoli and go somewhere else.
Review: What works for Ira Glass doesn't work for Vowell.
This book is excruciating.
Rating:
Summary: Four Stars and Counting
Review: This is the second book I've read by Sarah,and I applaud her decision to provide even us less than scholarly readers a book that is an easy read. I appreciated that her essays were clear, concise and purely written. Best of all I have discovered another storyteller and that in my opinion is always a good deal.
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