A Night With David Sedaris

Anyone who knows me knows I worship at the alter of David Sedaris. If ever you are in need of a laugh, run, don't walk, to pick up Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim, or the classic The Santaland Diaries , a true account of a grown man working as an elf at Santaland at Macy's Department Store. His writing makes me laugh so hard I want to throw up.

Which is why I was thrilled to score tickets to Sedaris' Greensboro talk this last Thursday.  Most of the talk was him reading his essays which may sound dull but, rest assured, isn't. I was howling along with the rest of the audience.  Hearing Sedaris proclaim his boyfriend Hugh as being too "faggy," was worth attending the concert alone.

I went with two of my writer girlfriends and of course driving home that night we had to pick apart what made Sedaris so successful. For my part, I think he' s just an observer of life. He went to Japan recently and read parts of his diary to us. One entry noted a whole chicken cost $42. Then later he came across 8 strawberries that were $5 each. "My God," he wrote in his diary. "You could almost buy a chicken for that amount!"

At the end of the evening, he answered questions (informing us Ireland was the only place he'd been that reminded him of North Carolina, where he'd grown up, because you'd ask someone the time and 10 minutes later they're still talking at you...) and also recommended a book. Apparently, he recommends a book on every tour he goes on which I find incredibly nice of him and wow--wouldn't you like to be the author on the receiving end of THAT gift?

The book he recommended on Thursday was The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead, written by the son of Mel Brooks.

So there you have it. Zombies, elves, and $42 Japanese chickens. I told you this guy was fun... Give yourself a treat and read one of his books today.