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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules | David Sedaris
7 posts | 15 read | 18 to read
'When apple-picking season ended, I got a Job in a packing plant and gravitated towards short stories, which I could read during my break and reflect upon for the remainder of my shift. A good one would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit . . . Once, before leaving on vacation, I copied an entire page from an Alice Munro story and left it in my typewriter, hoping a burglar might come upon it and mistake her words for my own. That an intruder would spend his valuable time reading, that he might be impressed by the description of a crooked face, was something I did not question, as I believed, and still do, that stories can save you'.
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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Finally checked out this collection, anthologized and edited by my favorite dark humorist, the incomparable, and always fashionable, David Sedaris. There are some really robust and unique stories here. It‘s fun to read things an author you love, loves. I adore Sedaris and anything he‘s attached to.

HeatherBookNerd How have I not heard of this?! 4y
britt_brooke @HeatherBookNerd I know! It‘s 15 years old. He doesn‘t have any stories in it, so I don‘t think it got a ton of attention, but it‘s a nice collection. I think you‘ll like it! (edited) 4y
LeahBergen Yes, this is a great collection. 👍🏻 4y
90 likes5 stack adds4 comments
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Rebecca.Eckland
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I enjoy short story collections generally; however, one curated by an author whose work I admire was a real treat! It‘s almost like getting a mixed tape from a friend, only it‘s literature, so it‘s better. Each story is remarkable in its own way, so if you‘re looking for a nice variety of literary fiction, this collection is worth it. As Sedaris notes in the intro, you‘ll leave this collection thinking about “...them and their damned excellence.”

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Lindy
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Once, before leaving on vacation, I copied an entire page from an Alice Munro story and left it in my typewriter, hoping that a burglar might come upon it, and mistake her words for my own. That an intruder would spend his valuable time reading, that he might be impressed by a description of a crooked face, was something that I did not question, as I believed and still do that stories can save you.
—David Sedaris (from the introduction)

LeahBergen 😆😆 He‘s wonderful. 5y
Cathythoughts “ Stories can save you “ this is brilliant 👍🏻♥️ 5y
Lindy @LeahBergen He obviously has a rich fantasy life. 😁 5y
See All 7 Comments
AlaMich 😆 5y
Blaire I love this and I love Alice Munro. So nice that he‘s a fan. 💕 5y
Lindy @Blaire Agreed. 😊 5y
51 likes1 stack add7 comments
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Lindy
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The print edition of this collection contains 17 short stories by stellar authors. The #audiobook only has five, and the publisher didn‘t change the description, so that was disappointing. The audio format also doesn‘t separate each story; instead the running notes list Part 1, 2 & 3. All that aside, the five stories are excellent and each is performed with skill by a different narrator, including Sedaris. Akhil Sharma reads his own work.

Lindy Stories in the audiobook are by Patricia Highsmith, Tobias Wolff, Charles Baxter, Amy Hempel and Akhil Sharma. 5y
LeahBergen That‘s too bad! I enjoyed this collection. 5y
Lindy @LeahBergen I enjoyed it too... what there was of it. I feel cheated only because those other authors are listed and I wanted to hear their words too. 5y
36 likes3 comments
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Lindy
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I‘m waiting to board a flight to Whitehorse, where I will be hanging out on my sister‘s farm for a week. This is one of the audiobooks I‘ve downloaded for my trip. It looks like a promising assortment of stories and authors… if they‘re good enough for Sedaris, they are probably good enough for me. 🎧🛫

45 likes2 stack adds
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susanw
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I was basically off line yesterday, so here's my #longtitle post. It's a collection of short stories gathered by David Sedaris. Some older, Flannery O'Conner, some newer, Lorrie Moore. Can't go wrong, right? #booktober @RealLifeReading

75 likes5 stack adds