From the Amazon product description: Are you lacking direction in how to whip up a swanky soiree for lumberjacks? A dinner party for white-collar workers? A festive gathering for the grieving? Don't despair. Take a cue from entertaining expert Amy Sedaris and host an unforgettable fete that will have your guests raving. No matter the style or size of the gathering--from the straightforward to the bizarre--I LIKE YOU provides jackpot recipes and solid advice laced with Amy's blisteringly funny take on entertaining, plus four-color photos and enlightening sidebars on everything it takes to pull off a party with extraordinary flair. I've raved often enough about how much I like David Sedaris so coming across this book by his sister, Amy, at the library delighted me but as is often the case when I go in with such high hopes - it wasn't all wonderful. There were some things about it that just fascinated me - the photography to start. Amy is a very pretty girl and she dresses her self up in costumes to grace many of the pages; seeing her transformations was fascinating. She also used plenty of pictures of food and decorations. The sneak peek page on her website says, "This book is so visual, a monkey could enjoy it." The vignettes she creates to go along with the party themes are very clever and looking at all the details is a treat. Some of the recipes sounded pretty good but if I am actually going to get a recipe from a book and try it - it's not going to be from a comedienne, it's going to be from a cook so although they sounded okay, I didn't make anything from the book. The humor was at times wonderful and at times made me cringe. When she talks about how to deal with the inebriated and says, "Better to cut them off rather than pretend it's not happening and then allow them to stay over and wet your bed" that makes me laugh. But then other times she goes too far over the edge and I am not offended but neither am I amused. She also includes crafts which I could absolutely live without. The final verdict is that I was glad I got this one from the library, it was a sometimes funny romp but not something I would ever refer back to again.
This post is linked to Weekend Cooking over at Beth Fish Reads. Click on the logo to see the other posts this week.
This book is my "I" book for the 2010 A-Z Reading Challenge. Click on the button to see my progress.
8 comments:
I'm a big fan of David Sedaris, too! Will look for Amy's book at the library... thanks.
Not sure about this one.
Perhaps she should leave the books to her brother. we all can't do everything...
I saw this at the bookstore the other day. Now I wish I'd picked it up - at least to look at all the pictures. I'm a David Sedaris fan too so now I'm very curious. Thanks for telling us about it.
Sounds like a fun book to look at and skim over. I'm not sure I like her humour though, just from the example you gave.
I like your balanced review though.
I didn't know David Sedaris had a sister, let alone one who wrote.
I'll have to find this book!
I've added this to my reading list. I am now your newest follower.
Check out my blog, if you like:
http://mydevotionalthoughts.blogspot.com/
Well, just the idea of Amy Sedaris as a lovely hostess makes me laugh!!!
Sorry I didn't get here sooner; I've been out of town since Friday morning.
Even if I'd never make any of the recipes in this book, it sounds like a great one to look through and perhaps check out of the library. I'd love to see those photos.
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