A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020 by David Sedaris
There’s no right way to keep a diary, but if there’s an entertaining way, David Sedaris seems to have mastered it.
If it’s navel-gazing you’re after, you’ve come to the wrong place; ditto treacly self-examination. Rather, his observations turn outward: a fight between two men on a bus, a fight between two men on the street, pedestrians being whacked over the head or gathering to watch as a man considers leaping to his death. There’s a dirty joke shared at a book signing, then a dirtier one told at a dinner party—lots of jokes here. Plenty of laughs.
These diaries remind you that you once really hated George W. Bush, and that not too long ago, Donald Trump was just a harmless laughingstock, at least on French TV. Time marches on, and Sedaris, at his desk or on planes, in hotel dining rooms and odd Japanese inns, records it. The entries here reflect an ever-changing background—new administrations, new restrictions on speech and conduct. What you can say at the start of the book, you can’t by the end. At its best, A Carnival of Snackery is a sort of sampler: the bitter and the sweet. Some entries are just what you wanted. Others you might want to spit discreetly into a napkin.
If i am ever looking for a book that will make me laugh, David Sedaris is one of my go to authors.
I just friggin ❤️ him more every single time I read his work.
There is just such a uniqueness in his dry, sarcastic, honest, occasionally petty, sometimes dark and frequently inappropriate humor.
He is weird in the most wonderful way.
I just enjoy so much his storytelling of basic events of his life…I love the way he recalls things and especially the details he remembers about people.
He just says the most off the wall, authentic and honest things!
He is a storyteller in the very best sense…you feel like you are right there with him, meeting all the crazy and wild people he describes, experiencing all the random strange things that happen to him.
He writes so naturally and with such ease… he makes you feel like you could do the same and be just as funny.
Except you absolutely can not…because you are not nearly as talented as David sedaris.
Its like when you watch the Olympics and the athletes are so good at their event that they make it look easy.
And you’re sitting there on your couch with your bag of Doritos thinking ”I could totally do 500 back flips in a row…I just have to add some flexibility work to my exercise routine.” 🤣
But then, you come back down to Earth and realize you are 41 and cant even do a cartwheel to save your life… and just appreciate the wonderful hardwork and talent you see in front of you.
Yeah…its like that 🤣
His humor ain’t for everyone though….he is kind of an acquired taste.
I always prefer to listen to his books on audio (i am saying that so often these days, have yall noticed?)
There is just something about hearing him read his own thoughts to you that feels right.
Plus he does GREAT voices and there are delightful little musical interludes between chapters that are just a fun little addition.
He always reads his own books on audio BUT this time he also had British actress Tracey Ullman read a few as well.
He explains the reasoning for this before the book starts and while it is quite on par with his storytelling humor, I wasnt really crazy about this situation.
While she IS hilarious and a fantastic narrator, it just wasn’t the same hearing his diary entries in her voice and not his.
But whatevs. Did not ruin my literary experience or anything…just did not add to the enjoyment of it 😬
Hoping his next book will be all David for all the chapters🤞
Loved the book. Love the author.