Am almost done, and have found myself surprisingly underwhelmed by the collection, minus the Lorrie Moore (I believe it was) short story. Feel kind ofAm almost done, and have found myself surprisingly underwhelmed by the collection, minus the Lorrie Moore (I believe it was) short story. Feel kind of like it was scraped together as a money-making scheme since tacking sedaris's name on anything will make it sell (and since the book has his name in big bold letters, kind of misleadingly making it look like he actually wrote it and didn't just compile it)....more
I think David Sedaris is really funny. He makes me laugh out loud. Often. And yet, sometimes, every once in a while, when I'm reading a collection of I think David Sedaris is really funny. He makes me laugh out loud. Often. And yet, sometimes, every once in a while, when I'm reading a collection of his stories all in a row, I get to thinking that he's a WEE bit of a one-trick pony. Such is the case thus far with this book. Laughed out loud several times last night, but in the end, I feel like I've eaten a batch of cotton candy--not much nutritional value despite the fact that it's fun and tastes really good....more
I love Bruce Campbell and his chin. And I love Evil Dead. This book was a fun read--mainly because I never realized what went into the making of Evil I love Bruce Campbell and his chin. And I love Evil Dead. This book was a fun read--mainly because I never realized what went into the making of Evil Dead and that Campbell and Raimi were friends (so all THAT was fascinating). The second half of the book is not quite so interesting as the first. And Bruce Campbell (in all his campy awesomeness) is definitely not the most crazy-awesome of writers. But if you're a fan, you'll definitely enjoy. If for no other reason than the pics of him as a child and teenager. That chin has always been around......more
I thought it was fascinating, and now I have a big ol' Arbus boner. Seriously though: she's the shit. Check out her photography if you haven't alreadyI thought it was fascinating, and now I have a big ol' Arbus boner. Seriously though: she's the shit. Check out her photography if you haven't already. And then read the book. Or maybe the opposite (I read the book first and THEN got really into her photography, because I remember little blurbs from the book about some of the photos)......more
This book is a quick and easy read, but I was kinda disappointed with it. When I first started reading it, I thought: Wait. Have I read this before? IThis book is a quick and easy read, but I was kinda disappointed with it. When I first started reading it, I thought: Wait. Have I read this before? It seemed strangely familiar. But I think it's because it feels and reads like every other book written by someone who spent time in a mental institution. This review is not intended to slight the experiences of Daphne Scholinski, as they *were* awful and ridiculous and she shouldn't have had to deal with any of them. But honestly, this book offers up nothing interesting and fresh on the topic of gender, transgender issues, or sexuality issues. If I were to sum up what I thought this book was trying to say in one sentence, it would be "People shouldn't be hospitalized for not fitting gender "norms"," and that almost seems so self-evident as to not warrant someone writing a whole book to tell me that. I mean, I didn't expect crazy new revelations, but I at least expected it to open up my eyes to the issue (or this *message*) in a different kind of way. Instead, all it did was make me go, Ho hum--Yeah, you shouldn't've been hospitalized for gender "issues" and yeah it was a damn crime, but is that all I'm supposed to get out of reading this? ...more
This book was fascinating in a lot of ways--I didn't realize, for instance, that Salinger was kind of easily sucked into "cult-like" practices. Then aThis book was fascinating in a lot of ways--I didn't realize, for instance, that Salinger was kind of easily sucked into "cult-like" practices. Then again, about midway through the book, I started to very very deeply hate the author (his daughter) and all her whining and boohooing and woe-is-me-ing. So much of it was interesting, but Margaret Salinger just really needs to suck it up and not be so self-pitying and melodramatic. I don't doubt that Salinger was probably a bastard sometimes as a dad, but it's really too bad he didn't have a daughter who was a bit more resilient and who could've written a memoir that didn't feel like such a pity-party the whole goddamn time....more