If you're looking for Sedaris's tight, well-constructed essays, you'll leave disappointed. But if you're a nosy voyeur who wants a glimpse behind the curtain, this is a fun read. In his opening remarks, he says that he doesn't picture this as a book that's to be read from cover to cover - but because I'm a rebel, that's what I did. And I was glad I did, because while entire clumps of entries are more mundane than amusing, when viewed chronologically, they offer up a compelling portrait of a man I'd consider among the top of this generation's humorists. I've long said that Sedaris would be one of my guests at a dinner party of interesting strangers, and this book did nothing to dissuade me from that notion. He's as lovely as he is twisted, and I'll continue to attend every reading he hosts in DC.