Happy Go Lucky - David Sedaris

NonFiction

Verdict: Read It!

David Sedaris has long been a favorite author of mine. I find his humor divine and just a touch too real without denegrating anyone. It's glorious. 

I didn't find much work by him at my local library, but I did find this one and I'm so glad I did. If you are familiar with Sedaris's work, you expect humor. This book was indeed humorous, but in a gentler, more observational way. The central theme of the book is the end of his father's life. A father who for sure was an unrepentant asshole his whole life....until he wasn't at the end. Sedaris has multiple siblings and walks the reader through a variety of reactions to the end of a life of someone close to him and his siblings. His partner is a central theme and a redeeming grace for the reader - someone supports David, even if it is in an odd and off beat way. 

I'm not at all disappointed, but I did find myself quietly contemplating what he had written more than perhaps I would have with other works. The underlying theme is that familial relationships and death are fucking hard. With a Grandfather well into his 90's and slowly declining, I could relate a little too well. I'll never advocate skipping any Sedaris work you can get your hands on and this is no exception.

Read it!

~Becky~

Stupid Guy Goes to India - Yukichi Yamamatsu

I recently finished this book after getting it from Just Books. I didn’t realize it was a manga book (an adult version of a cartoon, mainly from Japan) until I got it, but I read it nonetheless.

The author is a Japanese man who speaks neither English nor Hindi. He decides to come to New Delhi India and try to sell manga, which pretty much doesn’t exist, and all the hilarity that ensues. He actually lives in Delhi and goes about getting a book published and struggles to get the idea to catch on.

This is a great book for those who understand how things work in India. I found myself laughing because it reminded me so much of when we landed up in India to live. The difference was being married to an Indian who speaks Hindi, having common sense, and understanding the culture. You can almost predict how much trouble and nonsense this guy is going to get into just because of how innocent he is. India is just not a place for the naive.

You have to give this guy credit for taking a huge leap of faith. In the end, he doesn’t achieve his goals, but still ends up with some pretty huge bragging rights. Hats off Yukichi Yamamatsu.

Verdict: Read it.

From the Archives: I am America (And so can You!) - Steven Colbert

Listening to: Still more Scooby Do

Mood: Happy

So I’m a big fan of Mr. Steven Colbert. In fact, I’ve been going through withdrawal symptoms lately with the writers’ strike, but that’s a different blog altogether. He made a big deal out of the book that he wrote and endlessly (and indeed shamelessly) plugged his book on his show, so I decided to pick it up at the library when I saw it. Mr. Colbert, I know I am not a true patriot because I use libraries. Sorry about that, but that’s how I roll.

I was a bit disappointed by this book. Steven wrote the book with a whole list of other people. He added his style, viral name, and image to the book, but I was left wondering how much he actually wrote.  It’s a bit heavy on Steven’s style, and borrows a lot from his show. It’s also a little fragmented if you read all of the side notes in with the text, like I did.  I know most of us don't look to Mr. Colbert for brain science expertise, but still. This book is just fine if you want a shot of humor and irony, ala Steven Colbert, but don’t expect him to say anything different from what you’ve heard on his show.

Becky

A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson

Listening to: 2 very chatty daughters of mine

Mood: In a funk

I happened to be browsing through my sister in law’s bookshelf for something, anything to read, she suggested this book. It’s pretty slim pickings around the G household these days. India – you need libraries. Make it happen.

Anyhow, I know that this book may not appeal to everyone. The author goes and hikes portions of the Appalachian Trail. Actually, my interest was only piqued because my brother had expressed a keen interest in hiking the trail while he was staying with us a year ago.  That combined with the endorsement of my sister in law that he was funny and I decided why not.

She wasn’t lying, he is funny. Not all the time, and not enough to write home about, but he does take a light hearted approach to writing. I found it interesting enough to read in 1 day. I’m a fast reader though.

It wasn’t a great book, it was just a “meh” book. Mildly amusing and a good time pass if you have any interest at all in Hiking. I felt that it dragged on a bit at the end. The best part was his phobia of bears and reminding all the readers that he read lots of books on bear attacks and how he was sure to die of a vicious, slow bear attack.

Verdict: Meh. Not a bad read if you’re bored or interested in hiking.

I'll Mature When I'm Dead - Dave Barry

Dave has long been a favorite of mine. I find his writing goes very well with my sense of sophomoric humor. His new book is along much of the same lines as his previous books and newspaper articles with the exception that he now seems to be getting older at a rapid pace. While this was a little depressing to see, it was still a nice time pass book.

Verdict: Nice mindless humor if you like that sort of thing.