Rating: 
Summary: I want Sarah Vowell as my bride.
Review: This might be a little sexist, but I usually don't like books and essays of a first-person narrative that are written by women. Especially women who try to be funny.The reason for this is because that the women are trying to be funny about being women-- which, as a guy, I cannot relate to. At all. Not one bit. Other emotions are also conveyed by women writers who write from their own perspective that I cannot relate to. Yes, I do understand that things aren't fair in the battle of the sexes. But I can never FEEL that unfairness. So when women writers write about something like that, it usually misses my target. Keep in mind, I'm a pretty good guy (so I think). I'm a liberal, college-graduate who is pretty well-read and into looks at our society. But I just think that whenever any writer pigoenholes their point of view on pop culture-- no matter the gender or background or race-- it tends to fail. Sarah Vowell's essays never fail. Not once. She's a writer who captures, admirably, the ability to transcend the traditional essay format. Her essays are personal, yet they also go above and beyond and are about so much more. The more serious topics-- such as an essay entitled "What I See When I Look at the $20 Bill", about the Trail of Tears-- are handled with grace. The issues are kept serious, yet the tone is so well-managed that Vowell doesn't once come across as being too serious. The funnier essays are just that-- really funny without ever being snike, without ever looking down on their subject. When I finished the book, I decided I had a big dumb crush on Sarah Vowell. Anyone girl who writes about Elvis, the marching band, and goth nightclubs is definitely crush-worthy.
Rating: 
Summary: I love Sarah Vowell...
Review: ..on the radio. Somehow these stories are just funnier when they originate from her unique voice. They fall flat on the printed page, not giving emphasis to the write words, like Vowell would speak them. Do yourself a favor and listen to her on PRI's "This American Life". You won't regret it. I'll keep on buying Vowell's books however, she is a true storyteller.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Short
Review: "Take the Cannoli" is a short collection of essays by Sarah Vowell, mostly printed elsewhere before being compiled here. Emphasis on "short". The title article obviously takes its cue from "The Godfather", and I came to the end wishing that the book had been as long as the movie. Vowell's organized the essays by general subject, starting with the autobiographical, lingering heavily on the travelogue, and ending with reflections on her own music collection (back to the autobiographical, then). Taken all together there's not much of a start-to-finish personal journey here (Vowell is not, after all, Michael Corleone), but the places and reflections she shows us along the way are all worth remembering. Best essay in the book follows the Trail of Tears, as the author ruminates on her own part-Cherokee Indian heritage. Overall, I spent a couple of weeks dipping into and out of Sarah Vowell's life and now I can say I'd like to have read more than the barely 220 pages we're given.
Rating:
Summary: Some very funny essays but...
Review: I picked up Take the Cannoli after Sarah's appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman when the book first came out in hard cover. I found most of the essays to be very funny but the work about the Cherokee Indians was kind of depressing after laughing out loud to while reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: Like putting public radio in your pocket.
Review: I bought this book because I heard her apocolypse piece on NPR one day. I didn't realize that the author is a regular contributor to the This American Life show. When I read the book, I was pleased to find the Music Lessons essay, which was another piece I heard and enjoyed on NPR, but that they didn't cite a book for. The book is a quick fun read, although there are a few essays that are more serious in the middle that sort of interrupt the humor. Still, I liked it a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: On the radio great, on the page not
Review: something happens when "literature" written for the radion and mass consumption is trascribed and presented as literature. it loses all literary effect. she's great to listen to on the radio--the voice, the music, etc--but on the page the stuff is weak as heck. the "observations" cliche, and the humor that once was uproarious on the radio is simply nonexistent.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: I usually have a hard time with writers who see life as a long string of anecdotes. But having heard Sarah Vowell's radio work, I knew she was not a loudmouth, a know-it-all, or a brat. And this set of essays contains some of her best and most interesting work. Her ideas aren't always the most original, her insights aren't always on the cutting edge, but she is capable of bringing us back to familiar territory and giving us a viewpoint that is different than the usual. When she talks about family, she is at her best. She is candid but never maudlin. Honest and unaffected -- these are the strongest qualities of her thoughts. The only areas she and I disagree -- religion and punk rock. As an atheist, she strikes me as someone who has gotten rid of a formal religious affiliation at the expense of her faith in a power greater than herself. This is surprising in that she seems to be a very humane, caring, "faithful" person. As for her views on punk rock, she mentions a few names during various essays -- people she'd classify as punk. Unfortunately, at least a couple of these -- Nirvana, Frank Sinatra -- just don't fit. It isn't really who she mentions though as much as who she fails to mention. But, I quibble. Her writing is genuinely good. And I would recommend this book to anyone who has even just a little curiosity about it. You will be rewarded.
Rating:
Summary: Born American
Review: Ms. Vowell received a undeserved trashing in the New York Times. When honesty is shouted down as egotism and insight is brushed aside as naivité we have drowned ourselves in cynicism. Hmph. God Bless Ms. Vowell, a real, untanished American voice.
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Summary: Sarah Vowell is national treasure
Review: Sarah Vowell has become something of a voice (as one reviewer said) of our generation, the fabled and maligned X. I'm not an NPR listener, but read her Salon column as much as I could. Vowell is a distinctive and wonderful writer. She references fine art and low art and every type of culture that we have. Her pieces are moving at times, hilarious at others, and somtimes both. I loved her thoughts on mix tapes, the history of Chicago, goth culture, and growing up with her father. Vowell's work is a gift and I can't recommend this collection with anything but my heart.
Rating:
Summary: Like Holden, I Wanted to Call the Author After Reading This
Review: Sarah Vowell senses what others don't, but wish they could. This book, part history, part short story collection, part journalism, and all parts personal narrative, is difficult to classify--but that's hardly important. She's the typical American: She loves her country, and at the same time, hates it. Her ability to welcome both emotions is exceptional. This book is the answer to the redneck yell, "Love it or leave it!"
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