Tag: hilarious

2018, americana, book review, essays, memoir, travel

David Sedaris on Getting Older, Complicated Families, and the “Sea Section”

Book review: Calypso, by David Sedaris Amazon His most recent publications have been a bit of a diversion for David Sedaris. Last year, he published the first part of his diaries, Theft by Finding, which showed the genesis of some of his well known works, as well as being an unconventional glimpse into his early life and bizarre, often hilarious thought processes. I absolutely loved it, but … Continue reading David Sedaris on Getting Older, Complicated Families, and the “Sea Section”

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americana, book review, current events, essays, history, politics

Hilarious, Acidic Commentary From the 2016 Campaign Circus

Book review: Insane Clown President, by Matt Taibbi (Amazon/ Book Depository) Who knows what will come next, but that’s not really what this story is about. “Insane Clown President” instead describes how we got here. Matt Taibbi is one of several journalists who covered the madness of the Trump campaign on the ground and has since published in longer form about the experience. Taibbi’s dispatches … Continue reading Hilarious, Acidic Commentary From the 2016 Campaign Circus

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2017, americana, book review, memoir, politics

An Obama Speechwriter On Work, Country, and Getting Things Done in the White House

Book review: Thanks, Obama by David Litt (Amazon / Book Depository) Few activities offer less upside than a staring contest with the president. But now, having started one, I didn’t know how to stop. I considered averting my gaze, like a shy maiden in a Jane Austen novel, but that would only make things more awkward. I kept looking at President Obama. President Obama kept looking … Continue reading An Obama Speechwriter On Work, Country, and Getting Things Done in the White House

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2017, book review, memoir

Hilarious Truths and Poetic Tales From a Priest’s Daughter

Book review: Priestdaddy, by Patricia Lockwood (Amazon / Book Depository) “We are congregating in the dining room of my father’s rectory in Kansas City, where I have returned to live with my parents after twelve long years away…We are penniless and we are exhausted, and in the grand human tradition, we have thrown ourselves on the mercy of the church, which exists for me on this earth in an … Continue reading Hilarious Truths and Poetic Tales From a Priest’s Daughter

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2016, americana, Best of, book review, memoir, new york city

Lessons from Borough Park and the Payne Whitney

Photo: New York Hospital, Payne Whitney Clinic. From the Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington D.C. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Book review: One of These Things First: A Memoir, by Steven Gaines (Amazon ($1.99 ebook alert!) / Book Depository) It sounds strange, but I’ve read a couple of Holocaust memoirs lately and I needed to read something light and funny, stat. … Continue reading Lessons from Borough Park and the Payne Whitney

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