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judyward's review against another edition
4.0
One of the reasons that I love David Sedaris is that he shares my love of reading and books. In his introduction, Sedaris reflected about books and wrote that, in his opinion, "a good one would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit. This led to a kind of trance that made the dullest work, the dullest life, bearable." And he claimed that "I believed, and still do, that stories can save you." Exactly! David Sedaris wrote the introduction to this book and he has picked his favorite short stories to be enjoyed by readers. The authors are as varied as the stories and include Alice Munro, Dorothy Parker, Tobias Wolff, Lorrie Moore, Patricia Highsmith, and Flannery O'Connor. I picked up this book expecting it to be authored by David Sedaris and, after my initial surprise, found myself engrossed in the wonderful short fiction.
lizburny's review against another edition
4.0
It's difficult to rate a compilation of stories such as this. There were several 5 star short stories, a slew of 4s, and a couple of 2s. Overall, I loved it and it gave me a great list of authors whose work I want to pursue.
katepowellshine's review against another edition
4.0
With David Sedaris as the editor, I was expecting more of the stories to be humorous, and I was surprised to find so many stories that were, frankly, depressing. That didn't prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the collection, though. I suppose it would be difficult to go wrong with that collection of authors. Very enjoyable.
agruenbaum's review against another edition
3.0
It wasn't his work. It was the collected work of others. Not really my thing...
manadabomb's review against another edition
4.0
I had the audio book for this one and since it was under 3 hours and short stories, I tackled it. David Sedaris is just awesome, so awesome, I'm happy to listen to him reading other people's work.
Color me surprised then when I see that the printed book version had many more short stories than the audio book. Now I feel like I missed something.
The audio book covered
"Where the Door is Always Open and the Welcome Mat is Out" by Patricia Highsmith, read by Cherry Jones
"Bullet In the Brain" by Tobias Wolff, read by Toby Wherry
"Gryphon" by Charles Baxter, read by David Sedaris
"In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried" by Amy Hempel,read by Mary-Louise Parker
"Cosmopolitan" by Akhil Sharma, read by the author
I am having difficulty choosing which story I liked best, not that I am forced to choose, mind you. All were really excellent and read incredibly well.
I do think I need to get the printed version because if the selection for the audio book was this good, I don't think I want to miss the others.
Color me surprised then when I see that the printed book version had many more short stories than the audio book. Now I feel like I missed something.
The audio book covered
"Where the Door is Always Open and the Welcome Mat is Out" by Patricia Highsmith, read by Cherry Jones
"Bullet In the Brain" by Tobias Wolff, read by Toby Wherry
"Gryphon" by Charles Baxter, read by David Sedaris
"In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried" by Amy Hempel,read by Mary-Louise Parker
"Cosmopolitan" by Akhil Sharma, read by the author
I am having difficulty choosing which story I liked best, not that I am forced to choose, mind you. All were really excellent and read incredibly well.
I do think I need to get the printed version because if the selection for the audio book was this good, I don't think I want to miss the others.
thuismuis's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this collection more than I thought I would. The stories cover a variety of awkward and borderline conventionally taboo topics to draw you into perspectives you might not readily consider. One or two were excessively long and a little boring for my preference, but still tastefully, masterfully executed.
spiderfelt's review against another edition
4.0
Most of these short stories were fantastic. I'm not sure I understand David Sedaris any better, but I appreciated being exposed to authors I wouldn't have read otherwise.
kayla_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Lovely collection, first story didn’t set the tone exactly as I’d imagined, but memorable nonetheless
trilobite's review against another edition
5.0
The best collection of short stories I've ever read. These are stories selected by David Sedaris, not written by him. Don't expect all of these stories to be humorous just because Sedaris is humorous. He's a serious reader and he has chosen some excellent short stories for this collection.
inthecommonhours's review against another edition
2.0
I was so excited when I saw three of my favorite short stories chosen by Sedaris:
Revelation by O'Connor
In the Cementary Where Al Jolson Is Buried by Hempel
People Like That Are the Only People Here by Lorrie Moore
Unfortunately those were probably three best in the collection, and I already owned them. But at least the $ for this book went to a good cause. There are other good stories in here (specifically, Charles Baxter's "Gryphon" and "Oh, Joseph, I'm So Tired" by Richard Yates ) but none that compare to those three.
Revelation by O'Connor
In the Cementary Where Al Jolson Is Buried by Hempel
People Like That Are the Only People Here by Lorrie Moore
Unfortunately those were probably three best in the collection, and I already owned them. But at least the $ for this book went to a good cause. There are other good stories in here (specifically, Charles Baxter's "Gryphon" and "Oh, Joseph, I'm So Tired" by Richard Yates ) but none that compare to those three.