The Best of Me
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
The Best of Me
Buy Now for $37.28
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David Sedaris
-
Written by:
-
David Sedaris
About this listen
“Genius.... It is miraculous to read these pieces.... You must read The Best of Me.” (Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review)
David Sedaris’s best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career - as selected and read by the author himself. Featuring fresh and classic recordings, including a new essay and an interview exclusive to the audiobook.
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
A CNN and Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Month
For more than 25 years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to listen without laughing.
Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler’s lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say “give it to me” in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird.
But if all you expect to find in Sedaris’s work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these essays, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms - at long last - with the other.
Taken together, the performances in The Best of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected - it’s often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder - but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful.
Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called “the funniest man alive” (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing - quite often at himself - and invites listeners deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.
©2020 David Sedaris (P)2020 Little, Brown & CompanyWhat the critics say
“The genius of The Best of Me is that it reveals the growth of a writer, a sense of how his outlook has changed and where he finds humor… The subject, in many of the pieces Sedaris has selected, is the judgment and pain we inflict on one another, and by ‘we’ Sedaris does not mean people in general. He means him. And he means you. And he means me… You must read The Best of Me. It will be a new experience, knowing that enough time has passed to find humor in the hardest parts of life. More than ever—we’re allowed to laugh.”—Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review
"An excellent introduction to Sedaris’ work if, somehow, you’re not among the millions who have made him a mainstay on bestseller lists and flocked to his ticketed readings. Even if you’ve read or listened to every word he’s ever written, it’s a terrific highlights reel and a chance to view the arc of Sedaris’ development as a writer over 25 years… In his more serious moments, Sedaris expresses surprise and gratitude for his good fortune. Even his father, “that perpetual human storm cloud,” has finally, in his late 90s, acknowledged his elder son’s fantastic accomplishments. The Best of Me is a well-earned victory lap.” —Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor
“The collection magnifies many of the attributes that have made Sedaris such a beloved writer, not least of which is the sense of wit... Across 46 stories and 400 pages, Sedaris’ clarity as a writer comes through. The pieces can be painfully funny and painfully poignant for the same reason: He’s economical with words, thoughts, jokes and emotions.”—Andrew Dansby, Houston Chronicle
What listeners say about The Best of Me
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- JohnS
- 2021-02-11
A wonderful collection
David Sedaris is a master essayist. He weaves his stories with great language, humour and pathos that feel real and deeply felt, especially the essays about his family and the sister who died young. There is nothing in this book that is flawed, in my humble opinion. Bravo!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Q
- 2022-06-13
Be Careful
Listening to this on train or plane will
create the kind of cackling laughter that will ruin the day for your fellow passengers. oh well
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-11-13
You can't go wrong with Sedaris
Brilliant, dark, hilarious. This collection of Sedaris's previously published favourite pieces includes some of his fictional pieces and many of his most poignant essays. Narrated, as always, by Sedaris himself. A must read, even if you've already read/heard all of these essays before. In this new collection, juxtaposed against each other, these collected works really sing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brianne
- 2023-09-03
Excellent collection
This was a great Sedaris sampler - fiction, non-fiction, and laughs throughout. Sedaris also includes real family moments that, while funny, can also be serious and heartfelt.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michelle Holmes
- 2021-02-21
The Best of the Best
David Sedaris is a talented writer and performer. He had me laughing out loud, and also contemplating my own existence and relationships. I will re-visit this book again and again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paula Vicente
- 2022-11-19
nice
if you like David Sedaris you will like this collection. I wish he would come out with a live album of his essays. live read essays are my favorite
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- peej678
- 2021-05-10
How do people think this is funny?
Everyone recommended this book for a good laugh. I only made it 1/3 of the way through. this is my first time giving up on a book but it really is a waste of time. I really don't understand how it's so popular. It's like listening to a depressed news caster try to slip in a joke he was instructed to say with a monotone voice that blends right back into the news.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful