Review: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

If you're going to sit down with a David Sedaris book, I highly recommend you do so with the audio version. There is something to hearing his stories in his own voice that just makes it even better. ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY is the first Sedaris book I've read, after years of a friend telling me to 'just do it'! And now I'm glad that I did it. This strange title will make sense once you've read this book and it will make you chuckle every time you see it.

In this, his foutth book, Sedaris talks about some of his life's experiences and how they shaped who he is today. Its autobiographical in a satirical way. He talks about his childhood, siblings and parents and then moves on to college life and thereafter. All of his stories are filled with funny, detailed observations and will have you laughing out loud. The story about his embarrassment of having to go to speech therapy classes in high school for a lisp and how he learned to use alternative words so that he wouldn't have to pronounce certain letters that brought attention to his affliction were hilarious. As was his learning to speak French while living in France years later. Keeping in mind that the book was published in 2000, right before technology really blossomed to what it is today, Sedaris talks about his hatred of computers for taking all of the attention and respect away from the beloved typewriter. There are many insightful stories such as these. Goodreads has a great description of this book that you can read here.

My Thoughts:

I chose to listen to this book on audio, so I downloaded it to my iPod and listened as I worked out on my elliptical machine. It was the perfect choice. It made time fly by and kept my mind off of the boredom of working out alone, not to mention, it had me laughing out loud much of the time. I especially liked when he talked about trying to outsmart the speech therapist and also when he tried to speak French, but there were so many other stories that I loved too. His father and his relationship with his kids is also a big part of the book and although funny, is poignant as well.

Most of the audio book is done with regular narration but there are other parts that are recorded with a live audience. During those parts, its easy to see why people flock to his readings. It's not a huge book, only 288 printed pages, a little over 5 hours on audio and, I believe, well worth the time. Sedaris is, for me, an author I will probably always listen to rather than read. It's just better that way.

ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY

Author: David Sedaris

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Published: 2000

Pages: 288

Grade: A

Would I recommend this book? Yes!

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Vintage Paperback)

I'll start off by saying that I didn't intend to read this book. Of course, I'd heard about it and knew of Truman Capote, but hadn't read any of his work. Then one day this past January, I watched the movie Capote, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. I was entranced by his performance. He was utterly amazing as Truman Capote.

After I watched the movie, I couldn't get the story of the Clutter family murders out of my head. The sheer senselessness and brutality of it haunted me. I made a mental note that I would definitely read the book 'one day'.

A few weeks later I made a trip to my public library and before I knew it, was staring at all of the different editions of this classic history-making true crime novel. I ended up taking one home. I started reading immediately and put all other books I was reading off to the side.

The book is written in parts. The first detailing the last day the Clutter family was alive. It chronicles alternately between the family and the two men who were then making their way to Holcomb for a 'score'. Part two of the book is the aftermath of the murders and how the community dealt with it. There were few leads and no one could even imagine who could've done such a terrible thing to a family that everyone loved and respected. Part three describes how the authorities learned the identities of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, retracing the killers' movements after they fled. Part four involves their incarceration and ultimate sentencing to Death Row to await their fate.

As it turns out, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the shocking murders that took place on that moonlit November night in Holcomb, Kansas. To say that I enjoyed this book sounds disturbing, so I will just say that I appreciated Capote's writing and the details of the case. It must've been a mentally exhausting book to write and having seen the movie, Capote, I know that it was very difficult for him as he spent so much time with Perry Smith in order to get the information needed for the book. Capote, in fact, befriended him and at times, misled his intentions to gain his trust, so I don't have much sympathy for what Capote went through in order to write his book. I know I keep referring to the movie, but it explains much of what happened. I know from the movie Capote felt tortured about his less than honest actions regarding his so-called friendship with Perry. In fact, in the front of the book he wrote (and never finished) Answered Prayers, after In Cold Blood, he wrote a message that said: "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones." I find that extremely poignant.

This is a book that even though is written about a horrible crime, I'm glad I read it. Here's a clip I found of Truman Capote taling about writing the book:

And here is a clip from the movie Capote starring Philip Seymour Hoffman:



I definitely want to read some of his fiction books, for example The Grass Harp, which I'm told is beautifully written. Or Breakfast At Tiffany's. Have you read any of Truman Capote's books? If so, please leave a comment and tell me how you liked it.

IN COLD BLOOD
Author: Truman Capote
Publisher: Vintage (paperback)
Published: 1994 (First Edition published 1965)
Pages: 368