Humor

The Best of Me

The Best of Me

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-06 11:31:07
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：David Sedaris
  • ISBN：1549139703
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Summary

“Genius… It is miraculous to read these pieces… You must read The Best of Me。” —Andrew Sean Greer， New York Times Book Review

David Sedaris’s best stories and essays， spanning his remarkable career—as selected and read by the author himself。 Featuring fresh and classic recordings， including a new essay and an interview exclusive to the audiobook。

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
A CNN and Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Month​

For more than twenty-five years， David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space， virtually creating his own genre。 A Sedaris story may seem confessional， but is also highly attuned to the world outside。 It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence。 And it is almost impossible to listen without laughing。
 
Now， for the first time collected in one volume， the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work。 In these stories， Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy， hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic， and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler’s lap。 He drowns a mouse in a bucket， struggles to say “give it to me” in five languages， and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird。
 
But if all you expect to find in Sedaris’s work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned， you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery， more fellow-feeling than derision。 Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones。 In these essays， Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together， recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings， losing one parent and coming to terms—at long last—with the other。
 
Taken together， the performances in TheBest of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him。 No experience， he sees， is quite as he expected—it’s often harder， more fraught， and certainly weirder—but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful。
 
Full of joy， generosity， and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called “the funniest man alive” （Time Out New York）， The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing—quite often at himself—and invites listeners deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time。

The Best of Me AUDIOBOOK TRACK LISTING
Introduction （new recording）
 
From Barrel Fever 1994         
Glen’s Homophobia Newsletter Vol。 3， No。 2。 
 
From Holidays on Ice 1994      
Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol  （new recording）
Christmas Means Giving  （new recording）
 
From Naked 1997
the incomplete quad  （new recording）
 
From the New Yorker 
Girl Crazy  （new recording）
Card Wired  （new recording）
How to Spend the Budget Surplus  （new recording）
 
From Me Talk Pretty One Day 2000
You Can’t Kill the Rooster （new recording）
Me Talk Pretty One Day  （new recording）
Jesus Shaves  （new recording）
 
From the New Yorker
Dog Days    （new recording）

From Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Demin 2004           
Us and Them 
Let It Snow 
The Ship Shape 
The Girl Next Door 
Repeat After Me   
Six to Eight Black Men （live recording）
Possession 
Nuit of the Living Dead 
 
From When You Are Engulfed in Flames 2008                      
Solution to Saturday’s Puzzle  （live recording）
The Understudy
Town and Country    （live recording）
In the Waiting Room  （live recording）
 
From The New Yorker
Undecided
 
 From Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk 2010
The Cat and the Baboon    （live recording）
The Motherless Bear  （new recording）
The Faithful Setter  （new recording）
 
From Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls 2013
Dentists Without Borders  （live recording）
Memory Laps 
Think Differenter   （new recording）
Loggerheads 
If I Ruled the World 
Easy， Tiger 
Laugh， Kookaburra  （live recording）
Just a Quick e-Mail
A Guy Walks into a Bar Car
Standing By  （live recording）
Understanding Understanding Owls 
 
From Calypso 2019                                          
Now We Are Five 
A House Divided 
The Perfect Fit 
Leviathan 
A Modest Proposal
Why Aren’t You Laughing？ 
The Spirit World 
 
From The New Yorker:
Unbuttoned  （new recording）
 
Audio Exclusive
Interview with Paul Constant （new recording）

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Reviews

Drew ，

I enjoyed the essays。 David Sedaris is my favorite， so it's not a surprise I did。 There are several poignant moments， particularly parts that deal with his sister Tiffany; they are heart tugging。 The humor is top notch。 The quality of the essays live up to the book's title。 I enjoyed the essays。 David Sedaris is my favorite， so it's not a surprise I did。 There are several poignant moments， particularly parts that deal with his sister Tiffany; they are heart tugging。 The humor is top notch。 The quality of the essays live up to the book's title。 。。。more

Jarteaga ，

Truth be told- I did not finish。 I just didn’t enjoy as much as his others。

Charliecat ，

A collection of Sedaris's previously published pieces。 Funny， sardonic & randomly touching。 I wonder how much of 'David Sedaris' is a construct of David Sedaris。Just like 'Stewart Lee' is a construct of Stewart Lee。 A collection of Sedaris's previously published pieces。 Funny， sardonic & randomly touching。 I wonder how much of 'David Sedaris' is a construct of David Sedaris。Just like 'Stewart Lee' is a construct of Stewart Lee。 。。。more

Cris ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is a set of short stories or essays about David’s life。 The one I love the most is about the Halloween candy。 I think at some point in our life we have all been told we have to share pie candy with someone。 I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did。

Michelle ，

great audiobook - witty， contemplative， and laugh out loud funny at points

Jeanne ，

Love his wry sense of humour 。。。。at times he hits a very sensitive chord。 for me 。 I like to listen to him rather than 。 read

Rebecca Detzel ，

Hilarious and inappropriate。 I love his books！

Cindy H。 ，

Like most essay collections， some are always better than others and this is true for this compilation。 However the better ones were outstanding！！！ When David reflects on his childhood and family there is nothing funnier or more heartfelt。 I highly recommend this audio as David’s narration was perfection。 So many laughs and a few tears，too。

Joshua ，

An embarrassment of riches。 Wonderful to chart Sedaris' progression from clever satirist to a truly insightful， poignant memoirist who never loses his trademark humor。 There are many more stories that cut have made the cut， but several of them， such as "Memory Laps，" "Now We Are Five，" "Laugh， Kookabura，" "Why Aren't You Laughing？" and "The Spirit World" are as good as anything he's written--or I've read this century！ While this book is no replacement for all of his subsequent books， where you c An embarrassment of riches。 Wonderful to chart Sedaris' progression from clever satirist to a truly insightful， poignant memoirist who never loses his trademark humor。 There are many more stories that cut have made the cut， but several of them， such as "Memory Laps，" "Now We Are Five，" "Laugh， Kookabura，" "Why Aren't You Laughing？" and "The Spirit World" are as good as anything he's written--or I've read this century！ While this book is no replacement for all of his subsequent books， where you can find these stories and many， many more， it's a truly worthy "greatest hits，" and a testament to Sedaris' place as a bone fide America writer， rather than simply a 'humorist' or a 'performer。' 。。。more

Anne Gunn ，

I always enjoy David Sedaris’ books， but this collection is the best I’ve ever read！

Bryony ，

Truly the best of his essays， brilliant to revisit。

Hannah ，

This book is everything I want to be as a writer。

sheila ，

david sedaris is hilarious i need more of his writing

Raymond Klucik ，

A collection of short stories about his large family， as always， and the mortality of his late parents and sister。 Entertaining， funny and makes me appreciate my family just a tad bit more。 D’accord， génial！

Saima ，

I ended up really enjoying this。 You could feel him working some stuff out in his writing which made me feel all the more connected to this book。Edited to clarify that most of these essays/stories come from other works but 1。 Though I've read most of his work， not all and 2。 There is enough new here that I especially connected to。 I think too， it's telling which pieces Sedaris chooses to put in here。 Kind of makes you reread with a change narrative in mind。 I ended up really enjoying this。 You could feel him working some stuff out in his writing which made me feel all the more connected to this book。Edited to clarify that most of these essays/stories come from other works but 1。 Though I've read most of his work， not all and 2。 There is enough new here that I especially connected to。 I think too， it's telling which pieces Sedaris chooses to put in here。 Kind of makes you reread with a change narrative in mind。 。。。more

Anna Iliff ，

An aptly named collection of memorable， well-written and favorite works by David Sedaris。 As a long time reader of his work， I enjoyed this collection。 However， I felt that this book drew heavily from Calypso， so if you’ve read that recently （like I did） you’ll find yourself wanting to skip over a good chunk of the book。 I wish it had drawn more from some of his other books （like Naked， for instance） or New Yorker articles， but overall I enjoyed the read。 It was nice to revisit stories I’ve read An aptly named collection of memorable， well-written and favorite works by David Sedaris。 As a long time reader of his work， I enjoyed this collection。 However， I felt that this book drew heavily from Calypso， so if you’ve read that recently （like I did） you’ll find yourself wanting to skip over a good chunk of the book。 I wish it had drawn more from some of his other books （like Naked， for instance） or New Yorker articles， but overall I enjoyed the read。 It was nice to revisit stories I’ve read before。 I also thought Unbuttoned was a great final story to include。 I think my one question would be if this was a collection of the author’s favorite （best） works， or what his publisher or critics deemed to be his best。 I’d argue that some of his earlier work is really fantastic and was mildly disappointed this collection included so much of his later pieces。 This makes me think that it was the author’s subjective view of “best，” because it’s so hard to read your earlier work as you evolve and change as a writer。 。。。more

Maggie ，

DNF。 Entertaining but not enough to keep going

Maria Lennon ，

This book is such an honestly funny book about life。 Love every word。 It's like sitting with a friend drinking and telling stories。 This book is such an honestly funny book about life。 Love every word。 It's like sitting with a friend drinking and telling stories。 。。。more

Alanna Schwartz ，

David Sedaris always inspires me to write， and reading his favourite essays and stories made me so happy。

Joyce Bryan ，

Such choice storiesI enjoyed the variety of all the stories in this book。 As usual the ones about his mom and dad are the best in my opinion。

Anita ，

This consists of some of his great essays （ Jesus Shaves， 6 to 8 Black Men） and new material。 As always he is consistently funny， with great insights into life that often bring tears as he touches on truths that we all can relate to。 Listening to him read his own stories makes them all even better。

Leigh Johnson ，

Bedtime reading。 Some of my faves from his long career。

J。A。 Wright ，

He's funny but so politically incorrect （too often）。 He's funny but so politically incorrect （too often）。 。。。more

Abby Turner ，

Always funny

Megan ，

Hilarious and often poignant。

Isabel ，

Laugh out loud funny and at times poignant， this truly is the best of David Sedaris。

Deb ，

Nope

Drew ，

Something I’ve learned about myself: I like standup comedy， comedy films， comedy shows， and even comedy documentaries and podcasts。But I don’t care for comedy writing。 I couldn’t even get through Seinfeld’s book。It probably didn’t help that my home state is the butt of many of Sedaris’ jokes。 His style is just not for me。

Karin Garcia ，

This is what David Sedaris thinks of as his best writing， and he's one of my favorite authors， so I couldn't give it anything less than 5 stars。 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is what David Sedaris thinks of as his best writing， and he's one of my favorite authors， so I couldn't give it anything less than 5 stars。 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 。。。more

Quaker Maid ，

OK， I'm giving this 3 stars simply because I THINK （hopefully he's doing this on purpse） he's trying to go for the 'old grouch' asthetic in his humour。He sure does sound like a jerk。 Think every 'ism' you can imagine， and Sedaris has it in spades on this one。He is aging， so I think he's trying to keep up with what one expects of him at the age he currently is。 You notice his mental growth as his books [I listen on audio-version] progress。This book is a compilation of some of his old book and som OK， I'm giving this 3 stars simply because I THINK （hopefully he's doing this on purpse） he's trying to go for the 'old grouch' asthetic in his humour。He sure does sound like a jerk。 Think every 'ism' you can imagine， and Sedaris has it in spades on this one。He is aging， so I think he's trying to keep up with what one expects of him at the age he currently is。 You notice his mental growth as his books [I listen on audio-version] progress。This book is a compilation of some of his old book and some skits I've never heard。 I don't think I've missed any of his books， so I'm thinking some of this is 'new' material。 I think he's smart enough to know that making a book only of past skits won't sell well。Anyway， the 3 ☼ is explained this way:Sedaris usually gets ☼☼☼-☼☼☼☼☼ from me。 I'm giving only ☼☼☼ for this one because I'm tired of him pointing out a person's race ONLY when that person is a POC。 I'm tired of him commenting on women's weight ~only commenting on men's weight when theyre MORBIDLY obese， occassionally。 His classism is clearly showing here ~to a point where it's NOT funny， even though all the whites in the room are laughing when it's a live skit。 His reverse agism is showing ~he degrades people who do the same thing， and lesser autrocities， that he did at later stages in his life （listening to 'A Guy Walks into a Bar Car' now）。 He's [enter word for person who doesn't have a child judging those who do and how they raise that child here]。 Well， I could go on， but you get the point。And furthermore， about the explanation: I give it 3 ☼☼☼ because I think this is intentional on his part。 I think he's trying to play the 'old carmudgeon'。 I hate to say this though， it doesn't work well for him。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Best of Me

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Best of Me&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Best of Me&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0