communicating via the medium of contemporary American humourists
July 19, 2022 10:15 AM   Subscribe

My friend gave me a copy of Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris, with a nice note inside. Within the cover of which other volume of humorous American short stories should I hide my reply?

If we're being honest, I didn't really enjoy Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. But that's not important here. It was a very kind note, and I'd like to reply in a similar vein. I think that my friend is keen enough to have have read all of Sedaris' stories already - so, do you know of another similar-ish American humourist's work that a Sedaris fan might enjoy?

Bonus points if there's a gift-worthy edition currently available from UK bookshops that don't begin with the letter A.
posted by rd45 to Media & Arts (13 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Given that you weren't a big fan of Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, perhaps you'd want to reply with a copy of Wow, No Thank You.
posted by babelfish at 10:39 AM on July 19, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm a huge fan of Tim Kreider. His book We Learn Nothing is a collection of essays (not fiction) that are a combination of poignant, humorous, and insightful. They're all quite good.
posted by alex1965 at 10:48 AM on July 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


Perhaps they might enjoy James Thurber?
posted by Lycaste at 10:53 AM on July 19, 2022


You can't go wrong with one of the many, many collections of essays and stories by S.J. Perelman, who is among the most consistently funny of American humorists, in my opinion. I mean, the guy wrote gags for The Marx Brothers.
On edit: Perelman is great, but not contemporary! D'oh!
I really like the work of Sam Lipsyte. Maybe a collection of his short stories would do here?
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:56 AM on July 19, 2022


Metropolitan Life. Fran Lebowitz has a similar sensibility as Sedaris, but in my opinion is far funnier. (OK, it came out 44 years ago, but unlike Thurber and Perelman, she's still alive, so I'm calling it contemporary.)
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 11:22 AM on July 19, 2022 [1 favorite]




Bossypants is the funniest thing i've read in a while. Linked to goodreads for purchasing options
posted by OHenryPacey at 11:47 AM on July 19, 2022 [2 favorites]


You could respond with a book by the other gay NPR humorist named David: David Rakoff.
posted by Ragged Richard at 12:02 PM on July 19, 2022 [2 favorites]


It's been a few years since I dipped in, but EB White's essays are charming and funny and calm. He was an uncommonly fine writer.
posted by theora55 at 12:04 PM on July 19, 2022


Yes to Bossypants.
Anything by PJ O'Rourke, "Thrown Under the Omnibus; a Reader," or "Modern Manners: An Etiquette Guide for Rude People" are 2 favorites.
How about Cynthia Heimel? "Get Your Tongue out of my Mouth; I'm Kissing You Goodbye" is wacky and delightful.
Similar to Sedaris in some ways but I loathe him as a human, Woody Allen.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 12:46 PM on July 19, 2022


I’d suggest Jenny Lawson’s Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, which is hysterical and fits with Sedaris’s memoir-y humor.
posted by Mchelly at 1:16 PM on July 19, 2022 [3 favorites]


“You could respond with a book by the other gay NPR humorist named David: David Rakoff.”

I came here to say exactly this, and want to add that the two were friends before Rakoff passed
posted by charlemangy at 9:11 PM on July 19, 2022


My favorite book of humor is James Thurber's The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze. I've reread it many times. Published in 1935, so not exactly contemporary, but timeless. Sadly out of print, but widely available in used book stores.
posted by neuron at 9:33 AM on July 20, 2022


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