An Evening with David Sedaris: Theft by Finding

Well Hello, Bookworms!

I thought I’d catch you up on what I’ve been doing, or more accurately, what I was doing in late April. I’ve always had a soft spot for David Sedaris and his quirky essays (here’s a review from a while back.) Of course, his humor and tone aren’t for everyone (as evidenced by the friend to whom I loaned Me Talk Pretty One Day who was UNIMPRESSED by the casual drug usage.) Not every writer is for every reader, but if you are a Sedaris fan, you were probably pretty stoked to hear that he was released a new book of his diary entries called Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002). *I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley and have been hideously tardy in supplying a review for which I apologize. I haven’t accepted any more galleys in recent days given my sporadic (at best) blogging presence.*

Luckily, I found a kindred spirit in my neighbor/book club member/friend Catherine (remember when we threw her a bookish baby shower?) She is the sweetest, and shares my penchant for both David Sedaris and NPR. Which is why when she found out Sedaris was coming to our little corner of Illinois for a speaking engagement and to promote Theft by Finding, she texted me right away and plans were made.

Yes, we paid $40 for 2nd balcony tickets and we’d do it again!

I insisted on getting tickets in the balcony because the main floor seats in this theater have no center aisle and crawling over people whilst I was 25 or so weeks pregnant sounded AWFUL. Of course, the best laid plans were all for naught, because we still ended up having people crawl over us, but I digress. The fact that I was hauling around a sizable belly and already had swollen ankles (nope, no complications, I just retain water like WOAH) also meant that we opted out of waiting in line for the book signing. Plus, I’m totally intimidated by authors I admire and figured I’d say or do something awkward enough to land me in a future Sedaris anecdote.

The reading was mostly segments of Theft by Finding and if you’re a fan of Sedaris’s work, it’s a treat. All the weirdness you love about his essays are presented in real life snippets of diaries he’s kept for his entire adult life. The sardonic slice of life observations will delight his fans, and hearing them in his own voice is even better. If you’ve not yet indulged in Sedaris’s self-narrated audio books, I HIGHLY recommend you do so.

The long and short of it is, if you dig Sedaris, you’ll like Theft by Finding. Go out and grab yourself a copy, bonus points for the audio book. And, should you discover Sedaris is coming to your town, you won’t be disappointed by attending one of his events (if it’s in your budget.) May you be braver than I and get your book signed. He’s rather creative with his inscriptions, I’m having some regrets that I didn’t wait in that line. Of course, now that I have ankles again, it’s easy to forget how swollen I was. 7 months ago Katie has ZERO regrets.

Any of you bookworms have a signed Sedaris book? Any weird doodles or inscriptions?

*If you make a purchase from a link on this site, I will receive a small commission.*