Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris.

I'm a huge fan of David Sedaris's books, and this one was no exception, although it was a little more bizarre than his usual fare. He has a preface that says that some of the chapters will be written like fiction - from the point of view of characters - and those chapters were not immediately apparent until he started talking about "his" son (I don't think he has kids) or situations that he himself would probably not have been in.

Official synopsis, from Amazon:
From the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new book of essays taking his readers on a bizarre and stimulating world tour. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in the English countryside or marveling over a disembodied human arm in a taxidermist's shop, Sedaris takes us on side-splitting adventures that are not to be forgotten.
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The reason I love Sedaris's books - which are memoirs - is because he's always funny. One of the funniest stories by him, that I still remember, was about when he worked as an elf in a department store, and the things he said to the kids there about Christmas and Santa.

I'm still not entirely sure of the meaning of the title of this book, except one of the chapters was about taxidermied owls, and how David went to buy one for his husband, Hugh, and the hilarity and awkwardness he experienced in the taxidermy shop - so I'm assuming it's something to do with that.

Some of my favorite stories in this one was the owl story and also one about David's first colonoscopy - which, as you may know, are usually not pleasant, but Sedaris will entertain you and make you laugh because of the way he recounts his. It also was interesting to hear about an experience he had with someone stealing his computer bag, including his passport, in early 2008, because I heard him speak in Ann Arbor in October 2008, and it turns out that he almost didn't make that tour because of it.

He will be in Ann Arbor at Hill Auditorium this Saturday, as well (April 13th), and I have tickets to see him speak - it should be great.

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls will be in stores on April 23rd. 4 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book to review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.