Back to reality! The decorations have been put away, the kids are back in school, the adults are back at work, and I'm managing to spend time with my family AND fly through books. Life is good. Last week I finished two memoir-like books, both hilarious, but one on the naughtier side and one much holier than I had anticipated. ![]() The Naughty: Calypso by David Sedaris My sister has been encouraging me to read Sedaris for years, so I finally bit the bullet and grabbed his most recent memoir (which is more or less in essay form - much less boring than standard memoirs!) While he does tackle some tougher subjects, I still laughed all the way through it. I laughed so hard at the part where he was feeding bits of his tumor to a snapping turtle that I'm pretty sure I ticked off everyone in the house. (People get ticked off when you're laughing while reading but won't share what's funny. But to provide enough context to help illustrate exactly how funny it all is, I'd basically have to read them half of the book. Right?) Now I'm going to go back and read all of his other stuff. Goals! (Oh, and this isn't TOO naughty. But it can get vulgar for sure.) Pair with: Chunks of a tumor you had removed by an attendee at your book-signing event! Haha! OMG, I can't even think about it. ![]() The Nice: The Wondering Years: How Pop Culture Helped Me Answer Life's Biggest Questions by Knox McCoy Sounds pretty good, right? It was! But - I didn't realize that primarily the big question that Knox tackles in this book is God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.......in pretty much every chapter. Which is all good with me, but I wasn't prepared for it - so consider this my heads up to you. However, I'm so glad I read it, because it was genuinely super funny AND helped me ponder God with Knox. He's poignant, and I appreciated how he poked fun at how Christians can really miss the mark within pop culture. He points out that movies billed as "Christian" are without fail 1000 times worse than any other movie, and attributes this to the thought that since the MESSAGE is so great, none of the other elements of the movie matter so much. These and other musings were certainly worth the read, and the laughs, to me. Points taken off for the feeling that some laughs were just stuck in for no reason, like he's been holding on to that one-liner since 6th grade and if he doesn't get it in his awesome book, when else will he have the chance? Pair with: A six pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade Next up: I'm finishing up both an incredible science fiction book penned in the late 1950's as well as a book about an unlikely stripper. So my mind is really all over the place right now and I'm going to be needing a safe space.
7 Comments
Ramona Walker
1/7/2019 11:47:26 am
It sounds like you are stepping out of your comfort zone to try new books and that is a good reminder to us all. I've read a few books that I later wondered why I chose them because they are so unlike anything I usually read. For the most part, it has been a worthy effort, which it sounds like you have noticed as well. Now we both need to bite the bullet and read a classic.
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Kimberly Scheirer
1/7/2019 11:50:18 am
Okay! Which classic would you like to read - we can read it together! :)
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Ed Sheeran
1/20/2019 04:19:19 am
I, too, like to see Kim reading outside of her comfort zone. AKA - more classics and such. We joke that I won't read a book rated below four stars and she won't read anything published before 2000.
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Kara Doglio
1/7/2019 04:10:09 pm
David Sedaris is my favorite author! :) My fave book by him is Me Talk Pretty One Day.
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Kimberly Kay
1/7/2019 06:24:35 pm
Awesome, I will grab that one next!
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Vicky Gilpin
1/9/2019 03:53:44 pm
I love David Sedaris. I have read everything he has written. Going back to some of his early works and then continuing chronologically will add some structure, but you will already feel like you know everyone because of reading this recent book. Hearing about his siblings, one many know as a comedian and actress, is always interesting as well.
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Vicky Gilpin
1/9/2019 03:56:16 pm
Also, am I missing a table of contents for your blog? I thought you had reviewed a book, and I was hoping to scroll through the titles instead of through all of the blogs. Right now, it is not very difficult, but if you're wanting to search for particular titles, you could not. Unless, of course, I am just missing it!
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AuthorMom of four, wife of one. By day I fund-raise with coffee, by night I read with wine and chocolate. Archives
June 2023
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