Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Little, Brown
Description
Nonfiction. HTML:A New York Times Book Review Editors�?? Choice There�??s no right way to keep a diary, but if there�??s an entertaining way, David Sedaris seems to have mastered it. If it�??s navel-gazing you�??re after, you�??ve come to the wrong place; ditto treacly self-examination. Rather, his observations turn outward: a fight between two men on a bus, a fight between two men on the street, pedestrians being whacked over the head or gathering to watch as a man considers leaping to his death. There�??s a dirty joke shared at a book signing, then a dirtier one told at a dinner party�??lots of jokes here. Plenty of laughs. These diaries remind you that you once really hated George W. Bush, and that not too long ago, Donald Trump was just a harmless laughingstock, at least on French TV. Time marches on, and Sedaris, at his desk or on planes, in hotel dining rooms and odd Japanese inns, records it. The entries here reflect an ever-changing background�??new administrations, new restrictions on speech and conduct. What you can say at the start of the book, you can�??t by the end. At its best, A Carnival of Snackery is a sort of sampler: the bitter and the sweet. Some entries are just what you wanted. Others you might wa… (more)
Media reviews
There are two types of celebrity diaries. The first wrenches convulsive revelations from a corpse’s cold grip and upturns what we thought we knew about a deceased public figure. The second is a living artist’s selected highlights, a form of scrapbook memoir, polished until it reflects them in
Show More
the best light. Humorist David Sedaris’s diaries are closer to the second, though there is plenty of the fun and some of the juiciness of the first type too [...] Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member DrApple
I always enjoy David Sedaris. I enjoyed his views on life during the pandemic.
LibraryThing member detailmuse
Our meals {at the resort} are included, and though they give the illusion of bounty, each course is smaller than the one before. Last night started with a thin slice of pate followed by an araignee -- a crab that looks like a spider. It was large, but, unlike a lobster, with its weighty claws and
SO many giggles and some out-loud laughs in these short, well-crafted diary entries (though some are long enough to have been essays in his collections).
Seinfeld did a similar collection of his bits recently ("Is This Anything?" to which I answered No) but this, the second volume of diary entries from Sedaris (or Sid Harris, as some people misinterpret) is very entertaining and sometimes poignant and insightful. The signing line after a Sedaris reading is hours long, and my god: the raunchy, funny, fascinating stories he gets and gives! This comment from some correspondence stays with me:
One {letter} was from a woman who wrote that when deaf people get their hearing, they’re always surprised that the sun makes no noise. They naturally assumed it would roar.
Show More
tail, there was really no meat to be had -- a tablespoon maybe. … Then came a small lump of fish accompanied by a taste of ratatouille, a thimble of rice, three mushrooms, and a boiled potato the size of a molar.SO many giggles and some out-loud laughs in these short, well-crafted diary entries (though some are long enough to have been essays in his collections).
Seinfeld did a similar collection of his bits recently ("Is This Anything?" to which I answered No) but this, the second volume of diary entries from Sedaris (or Sid Harris, as some people misinterpret) is very entertaining and sometimes poignant and insightful. The signing line after a Sedaris reading is hours long, and my god: the raunchy, funny, fascinating stories he gets and gives! This comment from some correspondence stays with me:
One {letter} was from a woman who wrote that when deaf people get their hearing, they’re always surprised that the sun makes no noise. They naturally assumed it would roar.
Show Less
LibraryThing member whatalicesaw
Library Audiobook: So…David is still funny with a “get off my lawn” mentality. The book is laid out by year with vignettes differentiated by date, but not in date order. So you’re listening to something that happens in December & then you’re back to March. And listening is the way to go.
Tracey Ullman also narrates some passages, but to be honest, they just confused me. It was strange listening to her talk from David’s perspective with a British accent. Luckily, it doesn’t happen too often.
His tone is of a world weary child. Still affected by little things, but way over bigger things. His relationship with his father is discussed & is everything you think it would be after so many books. There’s hurt & arguments, but also a wanting to earn his father’s love. As his father gets older & the fights become fewer, you feel David’s pain & indignation over the elder Sedaris’ failure to feel remorse over how he’s treated his gay son.
There are many funny moments, often involved with book signings. David knows how to make a room love him. This was a fun book, a poignant book. Have a great time reading it!
Show More
David’s dry sense of humor comes across better when he narrates.Tracey Ullman also narrates some passages, but to be honest, they just confused me. It was strange listening to her talk from David’s perspective with a British accent. Luckily, it doesn’t happen too often.
His tone is of a world weary child. Still affected by little things, but way over bigger things. His relationship with his father is discussed & is everything you think it would be after so many books. There’s hurt & arguments, but also a wanting to earn his father’s love. As his father gets older & the fights become fewer, you feel David’s pain & indignation over the elder Sedaris’ failure to feel remorse over how he’s treated his gay son.
There are many funny moments, often involved with book signings. David knows how to make a room love him. This was a fun book, a poignant book. Have a great time reading it!
Show Less
LibraryThing member addunn3
A collection of notes from David's travels.
LibraryThing member andsoitgoes
Another great book by Sedaris. I would have given it a 5 but the parts Tracey Ullman narrated were confusing and not well done.
LibraryThing member steve02476
Fabulous, of course. Definitely not the same as his usual books, but without doubt the same writer with the same point of view.
I think I liked the first diary collection a little more, it was so interesting hearing about his younger days. But this was good too, for the Sedaris lover.
I listened to
I think I liked the first diary collection a little more, it was so interesting hearing about his younger days. But this was good too, for the Sedaris lover.
I listened to
Show More
the audiobook as I always do for his stuff. I’m sure if I read one of his books I’d just hear his voice anyway - but his real voice is more entertaining than a made up version in my head. In this book he had Tracy Ullman read about 10% of the stuff (diary entries that took place in UK or Australia). That was a little weird. I like her and she did a good job reading, but it was a bit jarring and I would have been happier if he had just done the whole thing. But it was ok. Show Less
LibraryThing member nivramkoorb
It's David Sedaris and he is the best. I probably could give this 5 stars but due to the length of this diary(536pages) there were some dead spots. This to be expected in a diary. Because it covers 2003-2020 it deals with David as he enjoys his success. His previous book of his diaries was more
when he signed our books. If you have never read Sedaris you are in for a treat. He is very funny and as an introduction to him,, I would start with his first book and read them in order. What is good about humor is that you can read his book and then pick it up 5 years later and it is still very funny.
Show More
serious and represented his less successful earlier life. This one deals with his many book tours and his famous signings in which he engages his readers and uses these interactions as source material. We were lucky to be able attend one of his readings and to engage with himwhen he signed our books. If you have never read Sedaris you are in for a treat. He is very funny and as an introduction to him,, I would start with his first book and read them in order. What is good about humor is that you can read his book and then pick it up 5 years later and it is still very funny.
Show Less
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Humor — 2022)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
9.29 inches
ISBN
1408707853 / 9781408707852
Similar in this library
DDC/MDS
| 818.5403 |