Comments on: Review – When You Are Engulfed in Flames

By: memoire pour mac

memoire pour mac — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:42:54 +0000

I have been waiting for a new David Sedaris book for a long time. I read the entire book yesterday afternoon and I could not stop laughing. His descriptions, dialogue, and demented details are uniquely Sedaris. This book did not disappoint; I knew what I was getting into the moment I read through the table of contents. Some critics are saying that there is nothing new here, blah, blah, blah. What do they want from a David Sedaris book? Romance? Epic Adventure? YA Fiction? I am a huge fan of Mr. Sedaris (David, not Lou), and his essays on his life leave me laughing. The section on smoking was not only funny, but very truthful. I could taste the menthol while reading. Very descriptive-very hilarious! Thank you David Sedaris.

By: memoire pour mac

memoire pour mac — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:42:54 +0000

By: Marci

Marci — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:01:09 +0000

I actually met David last week at a book signing. He was exactly as I expected, calm, deliberate and odd. I, however, was not. Check it out on my blogg - littlebit-mt.blogspot.com

By: Ruth

Ruth — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:02:43 +0000

I first heard of David Sedaris over 15 years ago from a NPR reading of the Santaland Diaries. Can you imagine that as your first exposure to him? After catching my breath from all the laughing, I thought “who IS this guy?” It was like this little treasure that had been handed to me. It still is. And if I ever met him, I would be a gibbering idiot, I'm sure.

By: katjaib

katjaib — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:47:37 +0000

Just saw this. You are 1000% right. And Sedaris out loud is the only thing better than Sedaris in print.

If new to Sedaris, do check out "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim." And don't miss him when he comes to town. He often reads new works in progress. Bring kleenex and Depends.

http://www.barclayagency.com/sedaris_appearance...

By: MicheleConnolly

MicheleConnolly — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:06:46 +0000

I ♥♥♥ Sedaris!
He can't write fast enough for me.

By: Siobhan bulfin

Siobhan bulfin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:02:48 +0000

Thanks. I haven't read any of his work but will hunt him out. I love diarists and authors who find humour and whimsy in everyday life. I too have a house full of (harmless unless you're a fly) spiders who I've befriended believing we can absolutely co-exist quite happily.

By: Melissa McDaniel

Melissa McDaniel — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:23:26 +0000

Someone made the comment that Dave Barry is the average Joe next door you'd want to meet and Dave Sedaris is the creepy guy who lives down the road that the neighbors talk about. I actually want to meet Dave Sedaris, too, so I'm not sure what that says about me, but I'm a raving fan. I love him! I'm on a long road trip and have Engulfed in Flames on CDs, which I've been listening to and laughing to for days now. You have to get the audio versions of his books because his delivery is perfect. Sedaris reading Sedaris is the only way to go!

By: Bryan Maleszyk

Bryan Maleszyk — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:06:43 +0000

FWIW: Mr. Sedaris is visiting Boston (correction: Cambridge) tomorrow for a book signing in Porter Square. I am in total agreement that listening to his essays is an experience much more conducive to his dry yet caustic wit. If you ever listened to him on This American Life, you get the feeling that he is a man who is who is unsurprised at anything, yet he finds contradiction and wonder in the most basic of things.

The essay on befriending the spider appeared in an alternative format in the New Yorker. I laughed out loud when I read it, on a crowded bus. I'm sure David Sedaris could find an essay in that.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:46:19 +0000

Chris, you don't tell us why you need audio format? It seems dangerous. I already can't read his books in public – I laugh out loud and strangers edge away. If I were to put them on my iPod, why, I might fall off the treadmill.