Day: May 7, 2013

Okay, I’m on a book reading binge again, after some time to read a new batch of neat stuff. A reminder that this project is in support of Battenkill Books, not me. I don’t need any recommendations I have books stacked up to the ceiling. If you like this book please consider buying it from Battenkill, my local bookstore. You can call the store at 518 677-2515, e-mail Connie Brooks at [email protected] or visit the store’s website. They take Paypal and ship anywhere in the world.

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They call David Sedaris’s writing style observational comedy, he is one of the most popular and unique humorists and essayists in the country, he writes books and does commentary and essays for NPR, The New Yorker and Esquire Magazine. He is a fascinating writer, he is complex. His new book of essays, “Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls,” published by Little Brown is a mix of non-fiction remembrances and fictional explorations. Almost every book-loving person I know loves reading Sedaris and has urged me to get his next book. So I did.

This is my first Sedaris book and it was different than I expected. He is very, very funny, laughing out loud funny. He is sometimes crude and vulgar. He is sometimes sharply political, almost always to the left. He is sometimes very poignant and touching. He makes very telling observations about America – his book tour at Costco is piercing, his childhood recollections about his father and childhood are very poignant.  I loved his journey through China and hilarious description of the food and the epidemic spitting on the streets of the population. He takes us through his colonoscopy and a visit to a London taxidermist who tried to sell him a stuffed pygmy. He buys a house in the British countryside only to discover that the British love to throw their trash all over the road.

Sedaris pokes a lot of fun at political correctness while generally staying politically correct.

Every essay is different, surprising. You read along with Sedaris and you are laughing, and then suddenly you are not. He can be hilarious in one line, painful the next. He definitely kept me engaged.

I have to confess that this is not my favorite book genre. Sedaris fans will love it, I have no doubt, I am happy to return to the narrative form of fiction, not because there was anything wrong with this book but because I am learning that fiction is my thing as a reviewer.

For Sedaris fans and those who love comedy combined with very sharp cultural observation, this is a no-brainer. You’ll love it.

A friend wrote me to say that he thought I just bloomed in the Spring. Perhaps this is so. In the winter I had to work to stay up in the Spring it is easier and more natural, more in sync with the natural world I am increasingly drawn to. To Mother Earth, who needs me and loves me.

George had the idea that he could just knock on the front door and walk right into Frieda’s house. Frieda had a different idea: he could not. Frieda won this standoff she stood in the door barking and growling until we came and led George in and told her to lie down, which she did. I often say that Frieda is the only man in the house. Nobody, but nobody gets into our house or past Frieda until we tell her. George even tried to pet her, another mistake, she isn’t into being petted by intruders.

I explained to her that George is not only a friend but a world famous photographer, she was not impressed. Frieda is absolutely incorruptible. They worked things out, she didn’t eat George and she posed fetchingly for the photo shoot. She is, like all of my dogs, a ham in front of a camera.

George shot two  scenes, one in the back by the barn, that was black and white, and another on the porch with his wide angle 16-35 mm zoom. I traded him my first camera for some of his photos, it was a great deal all around, this is his first digital camera, and he seemed to like it. George still shoots in film and develops it in his darkroom. He liked Maria and Frieda on the sofa to show their closeness and had me kneel alongside Maria on her right for the shots of the three of us.

We looked at the LED screen and they looked great. George will develop and print them and sent them to Connie and we’ll forward them to Random House. I was skittish about this but am happy to be photographed with Frieda and Maria. Until now, I don’t think there are any shots of the three of us. And how lucky to be photographed by a genius like George. Nobody could turn that down or be anything but grateful for it.

George Forss roared up in his 300,000 miles plus UFO Investigations Van – Frieda started barking at the engine noise about a mile away – to shoot a portrait of me, Maria and Frieda. I am publishing my book about me, Maria and Frieda – “Second Change Dog: A Love Story” in November. Connie Brooks of Battenkill Books suggested a portrait to run on her pre-order page and Random House has been bugging me for a portrait to go at the end of the book. I resisted until Connie and her mother Marilyn suggested that George take it. I could never resist the great honor and thrill of being photographed by George, one of the master photographers of the world.

Watching him set up the shot and study the light was a powerful experience in itself. He did a great job of focusing us, imagining a photo, keeping us smiling and interested while he kept up his patter about lenses, light and ISO. George is in a whole other world when he takes photos, I learn just from being near him. We got off to a slow start when the cable technician arriving to fix some cable issues and  happened to mention in passing that he heard talk about UFO’s while working in Schuylerville. I tried to stop him, but it was too late. We talked aliens for a while, and then George got re-focused. I love him as a friend and am in awe of him as an authentic genius. He even got Maria and Frieda at ease. I think he got some really nice shots. There is nobody like George.