Rating: 
Summary: A Quick Read
Review: Yes, most of these essays are quite funny but by the time I was halfway through, I found the author to be way too judgemental in his opinions. Others have commented on his "self-deprecating humor" but I found him to be self-absorbed and couldn't find any particular justification for his superior attitudes. I know that all the other reviewers of this book will disagree violently with me but I believe that there are far better satirical essayists out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Very funny
Review: This was my introduction to Sedaris' wry sense of humor, and I was not disappointed. I had never heard of David Sedaris before picking up this book. No radio shows, no earlier works, nothing. I found myself laughing aloud at the descriptions of family life, world travel, and especially, the essay about crossword puzzles. In spite of this, I give it four stars because I felt the subject matter was more suited to a narrative than a series of essays. There are essays in this book that are out-of-place, and this tends to alter the tempo of the book. Still, I highly recommend this book to fans and newbies alike.
Rating: 
Summary: It Takes A Lot To Make Me Laugh!
Review: It truly takes a lot to make me laugh, but I learned not to read anything by David Sedaris in public. His skewed inside viewpoints of life are hilariously offbeat and ring true. So true, that you will be laughing out loud. Whether describing his amphetamine induced college "performance art" shenanigans or his childhood abuse by a speech therapist bent on taking glee in his curiously high-pitched lisp, Sedaris knocks you over with a literary feather laced with lead. Commentaries on New Yorkers, southerners or any other ethnic or regional folk are side-splittingly accurate. Always self-depracating, Sedaris is kind enough to include everyone in his hit-list of ridiculous human behavior. As a reference, David Sedaris' wack-job of a sister is also highlighted. It is no surprise that she went on to be a major contributor to Comedy Central's "Strangers With Candy". Don't be surprised however, if everyone you tell this book about has already read it.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK, WITTY MAN!
Review: This is a wonderful, delightful, witty book written in true Sedaris style. If you have every attempted to learn a foreign language, your laughter will resound as you read of the author's attempt to master the French language. As one who has learned French and Spanish, I thoroughly understand the mistakes that can be easily be made, especially when some words in each language are so similar but have entirely different meanings - whoops, sorry, wrong word, wrong language! What else can one possibly say about Sedaris, other than he is a master of humour. The essays told her are so down-to-Earth, and straight from the heart that the reader will find it difficult to put the book down until the last page has been read. Great book - one of his best and well worth a five-star rating, plus. What else can one say other than this is Sedaris at his finest.
Rating:
Summary: Baring your soul in boxer shorts and black socks
Review: Having just finished Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, I felt really let down. Not because the book was a failure in my eyes, but because it was over, and I had no more opportunities to laugh out loud,nudge people and say, "Hey, listen to this!" Which doesn't exactly buy me any points with anyone. The book is the best of its genre: ascerbic and witty and, as I used to tell my creative writing students, self-effacing. One can hardly point out the absurdity of others without showing his own, and Sedaris does such a clean, uncluttered job of it that my critical editor demon, who lives in the hope that she will get a good piece of prose to chew up and spit out, goes hungry, and I am fed just enough. He manages to tell just enough, enough to make the reader believe in the truth as stranger than fiction essays in the book. I was being treated like an adult, one with enough intelligence to see much more than is on the paper, trusted with intimate details of a life strangely lived. Sedaris is the kind of writer that makes you want to meet him, hang out with and talk to and listen and try not to be embarrassed at the fact that he is maybe oblivious to the social laws he is breaking by sitting in boxer shorts and black socks in an outdoor restaurant. And I want to do the same.
On a trip to England, my husband and I watched Miss Firecracker on the television in our room instead of joining in with the rest of the country's celebration of the 50th anniversary of D Day, which just happened to begin when we arrived, and which I was unaware of until getting off the plane. As we staggered into Heathrow, hundreds of signs were waving, hoping to connect with the great numbers of older couples,politicians, and entourages that had accompanied us on the flight. And on our return,a week after OJ drove down a California highway with a disguise and his passport, we were oblivious to the event and sordid details until we hit Boston. That's the kind of thing Sedaris helps us see--the embarrassment and confusion of coming into the room and knowing everyone is talking and then they suddenly turn to look at you and you want to think you don't know why but you have probably six reasons tucked away ready to jump up and own the enbarrassment and humiliation.
I loved this book, pure and simple, and hope others who avoid nonfiction like the plague, as I do, will give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: Just charming.
Review: Sedaris is a master of the short story / essay. Get everything he writes.
Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Review: Love David Sedaris, but this effort isn't as consistently funny as his previous pieces. At times he tends to go off on these self-indulgent tangents that I found pretty boring. Overall I still think he's genius.
Rating:
Summary: Very very funny
Review: This book is a series of essays about speaking, some of which are laugh out loud funny, and others of which are just pleasant to read. The first few essays are about childhood and the author's speech therapy, and are quite funny and touching. The last few are about the author's attempt to learn French in France. If you have ever tried to learn a foreign language you know the ridiculous, embarassing mistakes you make. I read this book on a plane, and actually had to close the book during these essays because I was convulsing in laughter and the other passengers were starting to look at me funny.
I recommend this book, mainly for the last few essays which I found hysterical. The first few are also good, don't get me wrong!
Rating:
Summary: I love me some David Sedaris
Review: David Sedaris has such a way with words and wit, he makes all of his stories hysterical. I'd recommend any of his books to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: A new height of humor
Review: "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is simply the funniest book I have ever read. This auto-biographical look into the ironic and vigorously funny anecdotes of Sedaris's life offer the reader a bizzare sense of hope, and an invitation to take life less seriously. These are stories that make you cry with laughter and beg to be read aloud to friends. I can't imagine that David Sedaris is for everyone, however. This is not a book that I would gift to my grandparents or in-laws, but for an adventurous fun person with a decent sense of humor, "Me Talk Pretty One Day" will certainly become a favorite.
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