David Sedaris
"Charmingly subversive - and funny.... The book is about animals the way George Orwell's Animal Farm was about animals.... Sedaris is a witty, deft observer of the human condition."
It is certainly true that this collection of essays is actually about humans, even though it is populated with animals of almost every sort. And it is also true that these stories are, in the words of Aileen Gallagher of New York, as if the author channeled "a dark and dirty Aesop." (Definitely a strong PG-13 rating) And it is also true that they are often laugh-out-loud funny.
56/5: I tell you I'm depressed, I tell you I feel cornered and lonely, and your response is "Fine. Now feed me," which is actually very insensitive of you.
Gregory A. Boyd
"After reading classic contemplative authors...theologian and pastor Gregory Boyd longed to experience the presence of God for himself.... What he's learned as a pilgrim on a spiritual journey can help you find true spiritual transformation as you begin to practice the discipline of inviting God into every moment."
I started reading this book to be able to participate in a series of Pastor's Book Club discussions. I really enjoyed the first few chapters and the first discussion session, but my schedule didn't allow me to participate in the subsequent discussions and I ended up petering out of actually finishing the book with two chapters to go. One thing I DID learn from the book, though, is to not beat myself over the head about falling short. That's living in the past. Real life only happens in the present. And perhaps in some present moment that has yet to arrive, I'll finish this thing.
56/5: Allow yourself to rest in that support and realize that every point of contact reflects the truth that you are held in existence each and every moment by the perfect love of God (Hebrews 1:3).
William Knoedelseder
"In the mid-1970s, Jay Leno, David Lettermen, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Robin Williiams, Elayne Boosler, Tom Dreesen, and several hundred other shameless showoffs and incorrigible cutups from all across the country migrated to Los Angeles, the new home of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. There, in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams, and laughter, they created an artistic community unlike any before or since. It was Comedy Camelot -- but, of course, it couldn't last."
The author was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, covering the comedy beat, and this book makes his close connection to the events and the event-makers more than evident. While rated PG-13 (well, actually, probably R for language), it was an easy, interesting read with a ton of behind-the-scenes detail and inner thoughts of the main people involved. Perhaps the most-telling quote is something that Richard Lewis sighed: "The business, by and large, is made up of wallets, not hearts."
56/5: For the first half-hour run-through, the comics included Dreesen, Letterman, Leno, Johnny Dark, and Elayne Boosler, who had just moved to town.
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