Now Ed Cunard’s got me going on about books… without pictures. I ask you!
I’ve found some of my favorite authors through National Public Radio, actually, Sedaris being one of them. Naked is probably my favorite of his collection of essays, but that’s like picking the best slice of pizza. Since that time of year looms, Holidays on Ice would be an excellent diversion from all of the pesky love and good will, and it has a pretty good audio version. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have Julia Sweeney’s reading of “Merry Christmas to Our Friends and Family,” but check your local NPR listings to see if they’re re-broadcasting “A Very Special Sedaris Christmas” from This American Life. (The show’s site seems to be on the fritz, or I’d link to it. It has a pretty good audio archive.)
Another frequent This American Life contributor is Sarah Vowell, who also provided the voice of the daughter in The Incredibles. She’s a fine essayist, judging by Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World. (She can get a little grad studentish when she talks about subjects like Sinatra and the The Godfather, but even her weak essays still have some great material in them.) I keep meaning to pick up The Partly Cloudy Patriot, her second collection.
Last, but not least, is the woofy but clearly disturbed Augusten Burroughs, author of Running With Scissors: A Memoir. I can’t begin to describe that book to you, but it will make you feel a lot better about your own childhood, take my word. Exciting as that collection was, I think Dry: A Memoir is a lot better. It’s much more focused, with a better control of tone. He’s got a new collection out, too, called Magical Thinking: True Stories. (It’s on the list.)