- "Happy-Go-Lucky", David Sedaris
- "Fool", Christopher Moore
- "Breaking Twitter", Ben Mezrich
- "Starry Messenger" , Neil deGrasse Tyson
- "The Best of Me", David Sedaris
- Currently reading: "Fairy Tale" , Stephen King
- TBD
Hilarious! A collection of funny stories on David's life and family. What was really important besides the entertainment value is a perspective of someone living in and out of the United States during some major cultural points around 2020. There's a whole story dedicated to guns, another about lockdowns while living in NYC. Also what it was like during the BLM protests in NYC. And then there's a whole bunch of stories of Sedaris reflecting in painful detail his family and the heavy dynamics and personalities all with a witty sense of humour. I would gladly recommend to anyone who would listen to "This American Life" podcast, where I've listened to several of his stories. Without a doubt he's gifted and this was a beautiful collections of personal stories. I'm currently reading another of his books, "The Best of Me", which is honestly a collection of humourous writing that was thrown against the wall to see what would stick (not the recommended method of cooking or writing these days). It's okay, but I've skipped a a few chapters which appear to be fake parody letters to a newspaper or similar comedy writing exercises.
I've read a few of Moore's novels as he's remained one of my favourite authors in comedy sci-fi/fantasy category. This one was, after reading the author's afterward notes in the back, a retake on Shakespear's King Lear. I'm not a fan of Shakespear, and thus some setup and scenes I could've cared less. That being said it was the same pose and pacing I expected with filthy dialogue and scenes all humourously tied together. The actually storyline and plot was loss on me at times because the characters were so close in naming and personalities I didn't try too hard to keep track. I find this common in books that require a map and list of main characters listed at the front. If this were a movie and you were watching with someone there might be lots of pausing to ask, "Who the fuck is this person again?" As it was a wind down book before bedtime I read it with asumed interest until the annoying jumping around and details every night. It was still a decent read, but I still perfer Moore's contemporary setting books instead.
Just finished this book last evening and decided I had to capture my thoughts (hence this list). The book is a fascinating story telling behind the headlines and perceived scenes of Elon Muck's takeover. There's been quite a bit of artistic liberty taken re-telling teh scenes and details as though this was a treatment for a future movie deal. I have watched the movie "Dumb Money" which was based on a book by the same author. It's written appropriately for the non-techie audience, but there's plenty of details and bits of what it's like to work at a big tech business in SF and NYC. Most evenings I'm re-reading "Ego is the Enemy", by Ryan Holiday to my son as he drifts off to sleep. "Breaking Twitter" is an excellent case study of someone falling intoxicated by the thrill of the egotism and all that Twitter's business model encourages in people. Doing and saying outrageous things for attention. My opinion is still uncertain about Elon Musk, for instance I did not know he was on the spectrum with Asperger’s. And the managemnt style is very similar from a book I read about Donald Trump while I was in college. The unpredictable whisms of the wind and self destructive nature of self importance and treating people as a means to an end. Overall, I could not put the book down when I had a chance, very similar to how I treated Twitter back when it was fun and useful for someone interested in tech.
If you're a big fan of the science spokeman, Neil deGRasse Tyson, which I am - then you're going to love this book! As the subtitle suggests, "Cosimc Perspective on Civilzation", Neil give his perspective of various subject and topics that typically consume our attention as a society. Taking two sides or perspectives and then giving argument to both or contrasting both.
TOC
Chapter 1: Truth & Beauty
Chapter 2: Exploration & Discovery
Chapter 3: Earth & Moon
Chapter 4: Conflict & Resolution
Chapter 5: Risk & Reward
Chapter 6: Meatarians & Vegetarians
Chapter 7: Gender & Identify
Chapter 8: Color & Race
Chapter 9: Law & Order
Chapter 10: Body & Mind
Coda: Life & Death
The book and arguments are organized nicely, but I loved that Neil breaks down thinking and subjkect matter into simple and amusing terms. Giving that pop culture voice we're use to hearing, it was a delight to dig into topics I probably would want to pick his brain about if ever given the opportunity to meet the man.
Some little antidotes such in the Meatarians & Vegetarians, him mentioning there's very few vegaritians in the sea, which was shocking to learn. And some of the playing with statistics in Risk & Reward, can dilute scary numbers when translated. In fact, I think my favorite chapter was Law & Order, because Neil shares his experience of never getting selected for jury dity because once you break things down as a scientist it's hard to be swayed by lawyers. In one story he inquired why "The Accused" was being charged with something like 1000mg of cocaine possession, and not 1.00g, less than that of a dime. Upon the rest of the jurors hearing this and nodding in agreement of the shenanigans he was dismissed.
As the time of the reading I did watch Neil's Masterclass, Teaches Scientific Thinking and Communication, which was a nice accompanyment for some of breaking down ideas and thinking for audiences, especially when going to interviews. Perparation is key in preparing for the arguments he knew where going to be coming his way. The example was pointing out the NASA's Cassini mission cost less than what Americans spent on Lip Balm.
Another thankful example why I love that our library no longer enforces late fees! Chewed this one slowly over 2024, just finished a few days into 2025.
As with the other David Sedaris book, this one was a fantastic raw take on various topics. What did throw me for a loop was that there were several fictional pieces of work that, while hilarious, were not what I was use to from this author and thus skipped a few of these works that were lengthy, such as pretend letters and satirical opinion pieces.
The last story, "Unbuttoned", was also included in the "Happy-Go-Lucky" (AFAIK) and gives a candid glimpse on his family. I cannot recollect if there's a story in this beast, which there were many stories all from different points in the author's career and life, that there's an on-going concern in his circle that he's always going to use what's happening in his life as material. Some of what I admire is the unfiltered sharing that, if it were me, would probably alienate and ostracize me from my friends and family. After reading story after story you get the impression that the author is either immune to that via thick skin-I-don't-give-AF-attitude, or that is what makes the commentary so engrossing and hilarious as we're not normally meeting someone with this delivery.
Overall, lengthy but some top notch comedy writing!
Currently reading.