Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful, as always
Review: There are great stories in all his books and this is another collection filled with great observations of human nature. I think poignant is a good description... the ability to turn disappointment into humor. Sedaris is a master of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny and honest
Review: This is the first time I've ever experienced any of David Sedaris' work. Some stories were more hysterical than others, but overall it was really refreshing. Sedaris is dark and critical of almost everything, including himself. He has the gift of looking at completely ordinary things and describing it in a way that paints hilarious. (i.e. when he scores low on his IQ test, he describes it as about the dollar amount to buy 3 buckets of chicken.) I did find it strange however, how the book ends so abruptly, and also how he manages to make himself look like such pure loser. He never discusses his success in radio or writing. (I guess going on and on about how successful you are just isn't as funny.)
Rating:
Summary: funny, smart, and wickedly observant
Review: David Sedaris's new collection, Me Talk Pretty One Day, tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes ("There was the lisp, of course, but more troubling than that was my voice itself with its excitable tone and high, girlish pitch") and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist ("The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever") to "clearly unqualified" writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris's career leads him to New York (the sky's-the-limit field of furniture moving) and eventually, of all places, France.I recommend it to all!
Rating:
Summary: Get the Audio!
Review: I don't usually listen to books, but I bought this for an upcoming road trip. Since so much of the book is oral, there is speech therapy, singing, attempting to speak French, it is wonderful to listen to the author's actual voice.
Rating:
Summary: well-written humor
Review: The typical problem with humor is that it appeals only to certain groups; while one group finds a work the pinnacle of intlect, another may find it a pile of stewing unamusement. Sedaris writes fairly universally-appealing humor. His essays are very clearly written, witty and even insightful. He has displayed his capabilities very well with this work
Rating:
Summary: Mostly hysterically funny . . .
Review: This is the first book by David Sedaris that I have read and, for the most part, it was very funny. During certain portions (I am ashamed to include one short scatological piece among them) I was laughing out loud. Others were very funny in a more "dry" sense. The first portion of the book is Sedaris' autobiography of growing up in a quirky family, dealing with a not-too-successful speech therapist, and working (?) as an artist and in other trades. Next, he describes his stays in France at his friend's house in the country and in Paris. Anyone who has spent time in France, and struggled with the French language, will be able to relate to the humourous situations. This is definitely a good book if you need some chuckles and some loud laughs!
Rating: 
Summary: Him write any better?
Review: Perhaps I bought this book at the wrong time or at least with the wrong impression; while this collection of essays did leave several smirks, there wasn't much in the way of the howlingly funny, gutbusting hilarity, wacky hi-jinks that people keep reviewing about. While it was interesting to divide the book in half according to setting/stage of his life, the material rages back and forth without much in the way of structure to keep the reader interested. Self-deprecating? You betcha. Motivated? Oh mais oui. Entertaining? Sure, but what's the purpose? The family portraits he presents only confuse me. Are we to be sympathetic to David because his foul-mouthed brother shares a dialouge with his father that he himself could not have? Are we supposed to feel smug and superior for David because of this? Why is a sister who wants to constantly disguise herself in the name of subversive humour be portrayed in a "Gosh, that nutty sister. What will she think of next to challenge the boundaries of physical comedy?" manner. Too many passages seem to relate a story whereby David suffers a character assassination from someone he doesn't even know, yet instead of defending himself, he presents himself as someone who shouldn't even bother. Why is it that Sedaris damns the local hick culture yet talks for three pages in disgusting detail about a bowel movement he finds in a toilet? Sure, the social taboos we hold in place are then brought to the front to be examined, but by the end, I wish he hadn't even bothered. Overall the book leaves me not with a better understanding of the author, but rather a feeling like not wanting to spend too much time trapped in a crowded subway train with him. I know this sounds like a huge personal criticism of Sedaris, yet its not intended to be. Rather the book just confuses more than it entertains. I can relate to feeling disjointed in school but otherwise there are just too many loose ends in the book for my taste. Perhaps I need to read more of his work to get a better grounding of his style and mannerisms, but for the most part, I'm more content to think about my own farcical attempts at the French language than hear about his.
Rating:
Summary: Coming up for air
Review: Ever notice that most of the books we elect to read are tied to that notion that we need to constantly be aware that we are bettering ourselves? You know, keep up with the new novelists, pace yourself with philosophy, social comment, heavy thesaurus-impacted stories, somehow neglecting that tiny inner voice that says "Entertain me!" Well, here is the antidote: another skyride with David Sedaris whose Mark Twain style surfaces shared foibles and makes them hilarious instead of embarassing moments. I didn't find myself laughing out loud the way all the promo for this little tome guarantees, but I sure stayed with it, big grin spreading across my face, even giving up an invitation for a night out at an escapist triller movie in favor of finishing this little piece of joy. David Sedaris is funny and tender and unafraid to talk about his thinking patterns, +/- autobiographical history, and his incidental sexuality like most folks ramble on about the weather. Puts things into perspective.........and boy do we need that!
Rating:
Summary: Fun Gem!
Review: Just wondering through a small independent bookstore one evening, having just been talking to a colleague about writing nonfiction, this book caught my attention. Paging through it, stories regarding "France" caught my attention. (One of my favorite places in the world!) Sedaris's name sounded vaguely familiar (NPR). Got it home and cherished each story, laughing at every page, reading bits out to loud to friends. Really fun, relaxing, enjoyable!
Rating: 
Summary: NOT SO PRETTY AS BEFORE
Review: I enjoyed stray lines from TALK, but overall it seemed much less like a cohesive whole than NAKED and certainly less surprising and funny than BARREL FEVER. Some of the essays were downright pedestrian. Vertical food presentation? Who cares. Sometimes they lose luggage on airplanes, too. And the rant against technology? Hey, how about an article about how tough it is to program a VCR. Some of the pieces seemed tame enough and [slow] enough for NPR but not insightful and edgy enough for a book with David Sedaris' name on the cover.
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