Well, I’m finally getting around to buying one of David Sedaris’ books. I like his radio readings, and his Esquire columns. They always make me laugh out loud, so I know I’ll enjoy a full book. I know the titles from searching the web. The last time I looked in bookstores during Christmastime, they were all sold out, so couldn’t browse (he’s popular here in NC, being a hometown boy).
What do y’all Dopers suggest as the best Sedaris book to start with?
Whichever one has Santaland Diaries as the last story. I think it’s “Barrel Fever”. That one is great. They’re all really good, though.
As Giraffe suggested, start with Barrel Fever.
I would say Me Talk Pretty One Day. I didn’t have much of a taste for Barrell Fever. I perfer his memiors to his satire. You also couldn’t go wrong with Naked, but I found that one kind of sad as well as funny. Pretty was heavier on the laughs. Of course, those are the only ones I’ve read, so take it as you will.
Pash
I really didn’t care for any of them that I’ve read, but of the lot, Me Talk Pretty One Day was most tolerable.
OOH! OOH!!
second vote for Me Talk Pretty One Day. I laughed my arse of on that one. When I went and got my secret santas gift last year I also bought Naked and Holidays on Ice which also has the Santaland diaries. I liked Naked but not as much as Me talk Pretty. Holidays on Ice was okay. Seems the more I read the more I got bored.
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Naked is the only one I’ve read. I didn’t like it at all. I’d been told that this guy was hilarious but the book rarely even reached the heights of mildly amusing.
Sedaris is awesome.
I read them in order (in large part b/c I started early). However, if you want to stick to his memoirs (clearly his most popular work; you never see his fiction in Esquire), you can skip Barrel Fever and still get The Santaland Diaries from Holidays On Ice (a collection of two or three holiday-themed stories).
My favorite is naked. I have a signed copy of that one. I’d advise reading them in chronological order (Holidays -> naked -> Me Talk Pretty One Day) since his later essays eventually start to assume a familiarity with him that the first ones don’t. So it’s like getting to know a friend a day at a time.
Also, if you like Sedaris, you’ll also like David Rakoff. They’re very much alike, and they’re both contributors for This American Life. I got his book, Fraud, the very day it came out 
Naked was my favorite by far, although they’re all good. Also, if you can get your hands on an audio copy of him reading “The Santaland Diaries”, you really should.
Dr. J
Naked was the first one I read, and I think it’s about even with Me Talk Pretty. I didn’t really care much for Barrel Fever, and I haven’t bought Holidays on Ice yet (although between flipping through it and listening to NPR, I’m pretty sure I’ve read/heard it all).
Also go to the This American Life website (thislife.org). You can listen to all the old shows, a number of which feature him reading his stuff. Don’t miss his Billie Holiday impersonation. It’s brilliant.
I agree with the burgeoning consensus in this thread, that Barrel Fever, while okay, is not nearly as good as his memoir-oriented work (Naked, MTPOD) which I enjoyed much more.
yeah, if you’ve read his other stuff, you’ve read Holidays on Ice. It’s basically his holiday stories from the other books, repackaged. But it includes The Santaland Diaries.
Also if you like The Santaland Diaries, in Rakoff’s book you’ll find Christmas Freud, a similarly bizarre holiday job experience (This American Life aired them both in the same episode).
Thanks for the input, y’all. I believe I’ll start with Naked, and progress from there.