The David Sedaris Box Set

by David Sedaris

Star radio storyteller David Sedaris presents his collected works in one audio box set. The longest (at five hours) is his latest, Me Talk Pretty One Day, which contains two live performances from San Francisco. Welcome to a world where dogs outrank children, guitars have breasts, and Sedaris's fellow language-class students try to convey the concept of Easter to a Moroccan Muslim in their fledgling French (translated into English): "It is a party for the little boy of God," says one. "Then he be die one day on two ... morsels of ... lumber," says another. Sedaris is hilarious, and his Billie Holiday impression is amazing.

The three-hour, Christmas-themed Holidays on Ice is the gem of the collection. It has his greatest hit, "SantaLand Diaries," a chronicle of his stint as an elf at Macy's, covering everything from the preliminary group lectures ("You are 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.") to the perils of inter-elf flirtation. Other hits feature the crazed newsletter "Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!" and the prostitute coworker his sister brought home one Yuletide, giving "the phrase 'ho, ho, ho' whole different meaning." Barrel Fever contains the fulminatingly funny "Glen's Homophobia Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 2" and "Parade," discussing the narrator's perhaps not fully plausible gay relationships with Bruce Springsteen, Mike Tyson, and Peter Jennings. Naked describes his adventures in a nudist colony, but his family tales are, as ever, nonpareil.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Memoir, Essays, Comedy, Biography

Audio CD

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

David Raymond Sedaris is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "Santaland Diaries". He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. His next book, Naked (1997), became his first of a series of New York Times Bestsellers, and his 2000 collection Me Talk Pretty One Day won the Thurber Prize for American Humor.
Much of Sedaris's humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating and often concerns his family life, his middle-class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, his Greek heritage, homosexuality, jobs, education, drug use, and obsessive behaviors, as well as his life in France, London, New York, and the South Downs in England. He is the brother and writing collaborator of actress Amy Sedaris.
In 2019, Sedaris was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Reviews

[Nordy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

'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.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

His writing is gold, always.

[thewestchestarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven in approach and execution. Like Louis C.K. Sedaris shoots as much as for poignancy as comedy and probably hits as much as he misses. While never laugh out loud funny, some of the stories stand out as very humorous including those around his time as an elf in Macy's Santa's workshop and his halting attempts to learn French after moving there with his boyfriend. The Macy's stories play less for laughs and more for social commentary including some patron's asking to avoid Santas of African-American decent - an anecdote that has the power to surprise even those with a low expectation of racial tolerance among the general Manhattan populace. The effort to learn French from scratch at midlife allows for some refreshing devotion to sheer silliness particularly with Sedaris' attempts to get French medical attention. Among most of the rest of the books, the laughs come less frequently although a fake newsletter about homophobia is as good as anything by other, better, comedy writers.

Sedaris' writing tends to organize each chapter or vignette so that it lands on a poignant moment. The structure works well at times but the repetition of it, particularly when going across several of his books in a long string, can get predictable. The writing tends to have a sad sack Charlie Brown bent to it which when not played for laughs can get a little grating prompting the infrequent response of "buck up, cupcake."

In short, read Holidays on Ice and Me Talk Pretty One Day and skip the others.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read, and I will read it again and again. David Sedaris's humor is a balm to my soul.

[Kaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Missmath144 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This box set includes Barrel Fever, Naked, Holidays on Ice, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. It's unabridged, but I think that means it's the unabridged box set, not necessarily an unabridged version of all of the above, because they named a person who was responsible for selecting the essays. Anyway, it was the usual great Sedaris humor. Great for falling asleep to because I could just start on the next side the next day, and it didn't matter if I had missed the end of one story while falling off to lala land.

[Kitchengrrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to Me Talk Pretty One Day and it was good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Dress Your Family in Cordoroy and Denim. Started Holidays on Ice, which I've heard about for years and been very enthusiastic about, and it just wasn't working for me. Got halfway through it before the due date and I picked up another book I'm more excited about. Don't think I'll be listening to any more of Mr. Sedaris. :P

[Su · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.