Well, this one has been on my list for awhile and has been recommended to me multiple times. Well, to be fair, not this one in particular, but anything by Sedaris. It's not really my genre of choice - I prefer fiction and I normally read full length items - so this was a serious departure. Essays. And I mean, they weren't bad. I think he has a good eye for taking something that should be mundane and turning it into something longer and, for the most part, worth writing down. I will say though, I think sometimes the humor tries too hard. And the "realistic/non-realistic" line he walks is sometimes too blurry. Like, I wasn't sure if what I read was true or facetious, but it could actually have been either in so many cases that I was having a hard time identifying with it. Like, do I laugh cause it's not quite real or do I cock my head and raise an eyebrow cause it is too real, and a bit sad. Maybe that's the point, but I wasn't a fan of the sensation. This was particularly true regarding many of the stories about his family - I kinda just felt bad for them most of the time. Tough portrayals. And the self-deprecating tone was greatly at odds with many of the opportunities/chances he got in life, which just made me feel like I wouldn't like the person behind the words, if the words are any indication of the person. And that made it tough to like to book. However, there were a couple spots that definitely got me, like everyone attempting to explain Easter in broken French. That was pretty funny. And it was neat to know a lot of the places/landmarks mentioned, since I live in the Triangle area of NC. Overall entertaining, but definitely didn't hit me the way I think it hits others and it's not really inspiring me to delve deeper into Sedaris' works or this genre in general.