Rating: 
Summary: I'll take the cannoli
Review: I love Sarah Vowell's work on the radio. Her narrative voice is fresh and powerful, and conveys a great deal of humanity and wisdom and, above all, humor. And if you like her other work, you're going to love Cannoli. These are great stories of what it is to be alive in America.
Rating:
Summary: Wise and very funny
Review: Sarah Vowell's on public radio and in magazines. She's terrific. In this book you learn about her family, the place she grew up, her take on many aspects of pop culture, including goth culture (she concludes that it's really about Dressing Up) - and much, much more. It seems that she can go anywhere - Hoboken, birthplace of Sinatra - (she once wrote a piece called "Ixnay on My Way," hoping to save the song from the inevitable TV obits) and write quirkily and interestingly about it, no matter what is -or is not - happening there. You want more from her, right away.
Rating:
Summary: Witty, Irreverent, Entertaining and Insightful
Review: Sarah Vowell brings her trademark wit and attention to detail to a range of topics in this remarkable collection. She ranges from the everyday (mix tapes and UPS deliveries) to more complex subjects (her Cherokee heritage and Trail of Tears), and provides insights into American culture that are profound. She stakes her claim to be able to criticize American wrongdoings but also to wholeheartedly love her country (in an essay entitled "Vindictively American").The love of music she evidenced in her previous book Radio On is still here, with her faves like Jonathan Richman sprinkled throughout the book. Her irreverent spirit is best displayed in the title chapter, where she appropriates the phrase "Take The Cannoli" from the film The Godfather and truly makes it her own. Vowell goes to Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp, goes deep into the heart of the Chelsea Hotel, and gets glammed up as a goth girl, all in the name of journalism. She truly shines in this collection as a young person who has not given up on America or on rock n' roll, but who right claims her place to critique and evaluate them on her own terms.
Rating: 
Summary: Early Raves for Sarah Vowell
Review: "I love Sarah Vowell's writing - it's smart, funny, soulful, even educational. This wonderful collection is about democracy, sleep, religion, pop music and just about everything else that matters, and if you don't find something in here that makes perfect sense to you, I can only imagine that you gave up reading, thinking and laughing some time ago." - Nick Hornby, author of HIGH FIDELITY "In these sharp, funny, disarming and frighteningly intelligent essays, Sarah Vowell displays a wisdom far beyond her years. TAKE THE CANNOLI should formally qualify her for the position of national treasure." - David Sedaris, author of NAKED "Sarah Vowell's uncanny voice - by turns wise and wiseass, wry and celebratory, heartrending and hilarious - translates seamlessly to the page: equal parts Betty Boop and Dorothy Parker; Mark Twain and Walt Whitman; Woody Guthrie and Arlo Guthrie...she pegs herself as 'a typical American mutt.' American, she undoubtedly (unabashedly!) is, but typical? Hardly. This American Mutt is easily the year's Best in Show." - Lawrence Weschler, New Yorker writer and author of MR. WILSON'S CABINET OF WONDER
Rating: 
Summary: Sardonic and Educational
Review: If you taste for humor leans on the sardonic side -- this collection of essays by Sarah Vowell is for you. Vowell often finds herself to be the proverbial "fish out of water" with journeys that take her to many fascinating and diverse places such as Hoboken, NJ (home of Frank Sinatra), Walt Disney World, rock 'n roll "camp," and San Francisco "goth" clubs. You are guaranteed to be smiling or laughing out loud at some point as you read each essay. But if fun is not all you are looking for, Vowell is also a walking encyclopedia. Vowell gives us a history lesson in two essays in particular. "Michigan and Wacker" is a virtual history of Chicago in 13 pages, while "What I See When I Look at a $20 Bill" is an intriguing take on the Trail of Tears which forced Native Americans out of Georgia to Oklahoma. Embarassingly, I learned more about this ugly chapter in American history than was taught to me in high school. I recently had a chance to go to a Vowell reading (along with her NPR colleague, David Sedaris -- a wonderful pairing by the way). Vowell's speaking voice is very distinctive and made me enjoy reading this collection even more since I was able to "hear" her as I read. I encourage folks to seek her out on NPR to get the more complete Vowell experience.
Rating:
Summary: Partly cloudy patriot
Review: Read everything Sarah Vowell writes but possibly read radio on after partly cloudy patriot and take the cannoli.
Rating:
Summary: Too Short
Review: "Take the Cannoli" is a short collection of essays by Sarah Vowell, mostly printed elsewhere before being compiled here. Emphasis on "short". The title article obviously takes its cue from "The Godfather", and I came to the end wishing that the book had been as long as the movie. Vowell's organized the essays by general subject, starting with the autobiographical, lingering heavily on the travelogue, and ending with reflections on her own music collection (back to the autobiographical, then). Taken all together there's not much of a start-to-finish personal journey here (Vowell is not, after all, Michael Corleone), but the places and reflections she shows us along the way are all worth remembering. Best essay in the book follows the Trail of Tears, as the author ruminates on her own part-Cherokee Indian heritage. Overall, I spent a couple of weeks dipping into and out of Sarah Vowell's life and now I can say I'd like to have read more than the barely 220 pages we're given.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: I may be somewhat biased in my review because Sarah Vowell is my insperation. The short stories of her life are classis and fun. They are so easy to identify with and the cover real issues. Things that can be entertaing yet insightfull.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Take This Book
Review: I saw Sarah Vowell on both the Daily Show and Late Night With Conan O'Brian, which caused me to think that she must be quite good to be on such high quality programs. I was mistaken. The first essays are David Sedaris in nature, but not as good. The remainder of the book is comprised of essays in which Sarah displays her thoughts on topics such as travel, landmarks, and America. Some people may not be familiar with some of the things she references; I am, but that did not make it any better of a reading experience.
The author does a fair job of conveying her message, but her message isn't worth hearing, which makes this book not worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Start
Review: While I enjoyed the first few essays about the author's life in high school, growing up in Montana and passion for the Godfather, the subjects start to take a more defined and esoteric turn (Frank Sinatra, the Chelsea Hotel, Disney World) and that is where I lost interest in the book - not because of the topics, but because the writing itself did not draw out any interest in the subject. The writing also started to feel less like insightful autobiographical comentary and more like opinion which turned me off. I put the book down and moved on.
Based on the first few autobiographical essays which I truly did really (really) enjoy I will certainly give other books by this author a try - I'm hoping that time and success has allowed her to take herself less seriously, this book would have so benefitted from that, but alas in current form, this book was not for me.
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