David Sedaris14 CD Boxed Set by David Sedaris

David Sedaris14 CD Boxed Set Reviews

• 
  Nordy

  This box set includes the audio books of Sedaris's Barrel Fever, Holidays on Ice, Naked, and Me Talk Pretty One Day.
  
  Even if you have read any of Sedaris's work, I would highly suggest listening to the audio of him reading it. There is no substitute for listening to the inflection he gives his own personal stories and the characters his sister Amy creates with her voice are awesome. Several of the stories are read live.
  
  Some of my favorite quotes from the books:
  
  Barrel Fever: "If you're looking for sympathy you'll find it between shit and syphilis in the dictionary."
  
  Holidays on Ice: "And don't tell me, 'I don't wear underpants, I'm a dancer.' You're not a dancer. If you were a real dancer you wouldn't be here. You're an elf and you're going to wear panties like an elf."
  
  Naked: "We were not a hugging people. In terms of emotional comfort it was our belief that no amount of physical contact could match the healing powers of a well made cocktail."
  
  Me Talk Pretty One Day: "On my fifth trip to France I limited myself to the words and phrases that people actually use. From the dog owners I learned "Lie down," "Shut up," and "Who shit on this carpet?" The couple across the road taught me to ask questions correctly, and the grocer taught me to count. Things began to come together, and I went from speaking like an evil baby to speaking like a hillbilly. "Is thems the thoughts of cows?" I'd ask the butcher, pointing to the calves' brains displayed in the front window. "I want me some lamb chop with handles on 'em."
  
• 
  Nicole Marble

  'My sisters, stuffed with sausages.......'
  Who can resist someone who writes a sentence like that?
  Having just suffered through Anthony Bourdains 'Medium Raw', my favorite story is Sedaris commenting on trying to get an ordinary meal in NYC that isn't 'tarted up' in the ultra hip terribly cool fashion of haute haute cuisine.
  This is a LONG collection of Sedaris' monologues, him improving in time.
• 
  Jim

  Like, holy shit.
  
  Listening to David Sedaris is exponentially better than the already goddamned hilarious experience of reading him. That voice. That phrasing. That delivery. It's everything that's good about radio and the oral tradition, and it reminds of how Sedaris attained popularity in the first place -- through his NPR pieces that ended up being the 'Holidays on Ice' book.
  
  Really, I recommend this far more than reading his books. It sounds cheap, but I would probably not say this of any other book I've ever read. Trust me on this one.
• 
  Kam

  Very funny, interesting, and unique guy.
  
  Very often he uses his real life, and it's fun and quirky, and his viewpoint is sensitive, break sometimes, and worth hearing.
  
  I listened to the audio of this just before I went to bed. and I'd be lying there, laughing out loud!
  
  The odd part of him: Last night, he started talking about touching stranger's heads, like it's the most normal thing in the world, and it got really creepy. Like, you're the one with OCD fella, not me; because the assumption is that you're relating to some of the stuff he writes, and suddenly it's like 'Woah!'
  
• 
  Verona Barr

  Not a book, but a wry and irreverent look at his life by the author. Not to mention, very funny!
• 
  Kaz

  This box set includes:
  BARREL FEVER AND OTHER STORIES
  HOLIDAYS ON ICE
  NAKED
  ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY with a full hour of bonus tracks not available on cassette
  ***above description is from Amazon.
  
  I wander if ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY, CD version, includes the bonus part or not. This is a huge doses of David Sedaris. If you are new to David Sedaris, you should probably try out with some other, like "
  When You Are Engulfed In Frame" to test if you can laugh his humor.
  
  I have listened "Barrel Fever and Other Stories" before, but it was still funny, especially "rooster" and "stadium pal".
  
  Some (or most) people call "Holidays On Ice" dark humor, but it was quite funny.
  
  Some parts of "Naked" and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" were funny.
  
  After all, it was a huge doses of David Sedaris. I still like his works, both writing and reading, but I prefer to have him a small bit at a time, or a day.
• 
  Leslie

  This CD set is so great. I hope somebody buys me this for Christmas. This is the complete set of the Sedaris canon, completely narrated by David Sedaris himself. There's just something about an author that reads his own work. It brings it to life in a way that no one else can. I love the voices he does for his sister, his parents, and especially his redneck brother "The Rooster". That and the fact that his stories are always twisted and hilarious and that his family is totally dysfunctional and Greek-American to boot. I had bought this for BPL when it first came out. I was the first one to listen to it. After I checked it in, it somehow went missing, never to be seen again (I did not steal it, I swear. I really do hope Santa Claus brings it to me). That is how good this set is.
• 
  Su

  This was actually the first audio cassette book I had listened to, and it certainly hooked me. Not only did I find the hours of driving seemingly evaporate, I found myself arriving at my destination in a better mood. I laughed so hard at some of his stories, but also was touched my sadness at the levels of despair he can relate with his words. I love his writing.
• 
  Laura

  If you're a fan of Sedaris's writing, do yourself a favor and purchase his audio books. Great for passing the time on a long drive, or entertaining yourself in lieu of TV, these stories read by the author and his sister Amy are not mere reading but a form of performance art. Absolutely hilarious voice impressions, comic timing, and so on.
• 
  Shannon

  This was given to me as a gift and is the perfect thing to listen to while you do any activity that doesn't allow you a book in your hand. Off the wall and with amazing personality, Sedaris and sister Sedaris do a great job reading with voices and attitude.
• 
  Ryan

  I read the books first and thoroughly enjoyed them, but when you hear him read the stories it gives them a voice far exceeding anything I could have imagined (literally and figuratively). I recommend this if you have or have not read them.
• 
  kt

  For some reason I can't completely jump on the Sedaris bandwagon. For every piece that I absolutely love, there are 2 or 3 that I really don't care for. The audiobooks are recommended over the books, however, particularly to hear his Billie Holiday impressions and sister Amy's character voices.
• 
  Jennifer

  Overall, I love David Sedaris. I will say that there were some stories of his in the middle of the set that I didn't care for, so I fast forwarded past them. Then there were stories I just love, and they were as good as always!
• 
  kathryn

  this isn't a book! the only thing that beats reading a david sedaris story is david sedaris reading his own story.
• 
  Matthew Cepress

  This is a comp. of Sedaris' stuff on CD. It's been my friend and travel companion on many a long drive. I especially enjoy hearing Amy Sedaris read as well because she's lovely and kooky all at once.
• 
  Meghan

  Fantastic audio collection, in heavy rotation in my car's CD player.
• 
  Michelle Taylor

  One of the only cases I know for listening over reading an authors work. He makes my world a better place.
• 
  Mathew

  If you travel, as I used to, this is perfect for those long drives. I have taken trips where I have listened to this front to back. Sedaris' voice adds great depth to his stories.
• 
  Amber

  This is possibly THE funniest thing I've ever heard in my life! I will laugh just thinking about this. The stories are funny and they can only be read by the author - he's a hoot!
• 
  Sara

  I don't know how people read David Sedaris. Listen to him and it will change your entire perspective on his work.
• 
  Carl

  I enjoy David Sedaris' books a million times more when he reads them. Me Talk Pretty One Day (with Amy Sedaris playing their brother Paul) is funny enough to justify purchasing the entire box set.
• 
  Jean

  heard a few discs from a friend. as special as his voice is i really did love it. his voice fits his words. lucky him (duh)
• 
  Greg

  I loved this entire collection. Most of all the occasional live readings. However, the copy I have is Kelly's, and I've probably had it around five years now.
• 
  Jennifer

  These are a great listen. We saw David live in Denver a few years back. He is a master story teller. His stories are funny but some boarder on disturbing. Start with the santa land diaries.
• 
  Meadow

  Don't get me wrong, David Sedaris is a fabulous writer, but hearing him actually TELL the stories is like a thousand times better. This is on both my iPods. BOTH of them, that is how great it is.
• 
  Devon

  I think I enjoy listening to Sedaris more than I like reading him. Either way is good, but this is just an added dimension of good.
• 
  Solveig Haugland

  Stomach hurt when i laughed. It's the story about trying to explain easter in halting french to a non-christian....so much pain and memories of my own time in france.