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  • Me Talk Pretty One Day

  • Written by: David Sedaris
  • Narrated by: David Sedaris
  • Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (203 ratings)

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Me Talk Pretty One Day cover art

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Written by: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
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Publisher's Summary

David Sedaris' new collection of essays - including live recordings! - tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes ("There was the lisp, of course, but more troubling than that was my voice itself, with its excitable tone and high, girlish pitch") and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist ("The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever") to "clearly unqualified" writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris' career leads him to New York City and eventually, of all places, France. His move to Paris poses a number of challenges, chief among them his inability to speak the language. Arriving a "spooky man-child" capable of communicating only through nouns, he undertakes language instruction that leads him ever deeper into cultural confusion. Whether describing the Easter bunny to puzzled classmates or watching a group of men play soccer with a cow, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other to every unforgettable encounter.
©2000 by David Sedaris, All Rights Reserved (P)2000 by Time Warner AudioBooks, A Division of Time Warner Trade Publishing

What the critics say

"At his best, he makes you laugh out loud, which indeed may be worth the price of admission." (The New York Times)

What listeners say about Me Talk Pretty One Day

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Worth the listen

I chose this as the last book selection of the year for my Books & Beer book club and it was to mixed reviews. At the risk of being sexist, most of the members that attended this month were female and I believe, for the most part, David Sedaris' type of humor might be a little more well received by those of us toting around a Y chromosome. That being said, I LOVED it!

I was having a difficult time getting my hands on a copy (I tend to borrow or buy used copies of most books) so I ended up first listening to the audio book. In my opinion, that was the best way to introduce yourself to Sedaris. Dry, almost-monotone, lisp-peppered... his delivery, if you are not familiar with him, brings his essays to life. I also read the digital version but I found I missed Sedaris' narration.

On a bad note: the audio book only appears to come in an abridged version so six of the essays were cut (65 pages or so) from the final product. None of them were among my favorites but I don't do abridged.

Notable essays: Go Carolina, Today's Special, See You Again Yesterday, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Make That a Double, I Pledge Allegiance to the Bag, and Picka Pocketoni.

As a French-as-a-second-language person myself, I loved, and could relate to, every inane French grammar rule Yes, vagina SHOULD be a feminine noun, not a masculine noun. MA VAGINE, not mon vagin! I tried to start a rebellion to have all females retake ownership of their vaginas (but the masculine modifier still prevails.)

Favourite quote (only because puns are my guilty form of pleasure):

David Sedaris on audiobooks: If a person who constantly reads is a bookworm, then I was quickly becoming a tapeworm.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Hilarious

I laughed out loud throughout! Highly recommended for a pick me up! Will listen again and again.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I don’t laugh out loud: except to David

I listened on my walks to work on some crazy frigid Canadian days this winter . I actually found myself sad to arrive; every chapter was wonderfully clever and often deeply messed up. Sidaris is comic genious and very little makes me laugh these days!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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Not for me.

Whiny and snarky. There must be plenty of people who are entertained by this guy. I gather he's quite popular. I made it through five chapters, well almost. But I kept asking myself why I was spending any time at all in the company of such an unpleasant person and decided to cut my losses. Your mileage might vary.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Like an uncle who thinks he's funny - but isn't

This is the second title I've tried to read by David Sedaris. I was hopeful, but couldn't get through it. I caught a couple of chuckles but after getting through half the book decided my odds of this book getting any better were not good. If you want to laugh out loud read Seth Rogens Year Book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love David sederis

He is funny, insightful and the best narrator reading his books. I have them all in paperback and audio to listen to in the car

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A must listen

David Sedaris is a master storyteller with a thesaurus vocabulary and great comedic timing. Can I please have him narrate my life!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A Mother and her stoned, gay son...

It went by so quickly! Hillarious storyteller with the underpinnings of family, identity and struggle.

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