NewMexiKen and Donna attended a David Sedaris reading this evening at an Albuquerque Barnes & Noble. He’s on a book tour promoting his sixth and most recent collection, published this month, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. If Sedaris’s reading was any indication, the book will be as amusing as his previous collections including Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day.
Sedaris, a diminutive man himself, said that all adult men 5-6 and under could skip the line and go directly to the book signing table. Sure enough, there were several. The author said he once had made that offer for smokers, figuring their time was shorter than non-smokers.
Sedaris’s work appears frequently in The New Yorker and on NPR.
I am VERY jealous. I LOVE David Sedaris. A really huge fan. Was it great? Don’t tell me – I’ll use my imagination and assume that it was.
He was delightful. Big crowd, too.
I wish I was there.
Here is Sedaris on Letterman a couple years ago. He read this last night, too.
Tell us more. What did he say or read that was totally new to you?
Sedaris read the first story in the new book, two essays on style including the one seen in the video linked to above, and a few excerpts from his diary. He also took some questions.
After having read all the rave reviews on NMK and watching the clip of Sedaris on Letterman, I ran right out to the local library and grabbed up a couple of his books. I’m always thrilled to find a new author who’s worth his salt. They are such a rare breed–especially funny ones.
Good decision, Debby. Sedaris is one of a handful of writers whose books I actually buy as soon as they come out. Most books I just get from the library, but his I want to keep.
Oh! I’m jealous! I saw Sedaris speak about 10 years ago in San Francisco, and I remember laughing so hard I was crying for most of the reading, and my face actually hurt later that night. His books are great on CD because his voice is just perfect too – it’s exactly the kind of voice you’d expect him to have. Can’t wait to read the new one.
His sister is pretty funny, too:http://www.amysedarisrocks.com/sedaris.htm