18 books like Barrel Fever

What to read after Barrel Fever — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim David Sedaris · 2004 · ★ 4.1 · 257p · ≈ 8h · Moderate David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother’s wedding. He mops his sister’s floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn’t it? In his newest collection of essays, David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary… Shares: American essays, American Humorous stories, American wit and humor, Essays

The Widow Bedott papers Frances M. Whitcher · 1856 · 403p · ≈ 13h · Challenging "Following the twists and turns of an unimaginable crime, The Widow is an electrifying debut thriller that will take you into the dark spaces that exist between a husband and a wife. When the police started asking questions, Jean Taylor turned into a different woman. One who enabled her and her husband to carry on when more bad things began to happen. . . But that woman's husband died last week.… Shares: American Humorous stories, American wit and humor, Humor, Social life and customs

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls David Sedaris · 1960 · ★ 3.9 · 288p · ≈ 9h · Moderate From the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new book of essays taking his listeners 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.… Shares: American essays, American Humorous stories, American wit and humor, Essays

Take the cannoli Sarah Vowell · 2000 · ★ 4.0 · 219p · ≈ 7h · Moderate "While tackling subjects such as identity, politics, religion, art, and history, these autobiographical tales are written with a biting humor, placing Vowell solidly in the tradition of Mark Twain and Dorothy Parker. Vowell searches the streets of Hoboken for traces of the town's favorite son, Frank Sinatra. She goes under cover of heavy makeup in an investigation of goth culture, blasts… Shares: American essays, American wit and humor, Social life and customs

Hey rub-a-dub-dub Theodore Dreiser · 1920 · ★ 4.0 · 312p · ≈ 10h · Challenging This collection contains numerous essays about the idea of the literary American character and several dramatic works from Dreiser. Dreiser held the collection in high regard, but it was panned by critics on its release. Many of Dreiser's unique obsessions, from the political to the scientific, are explored in these essays. Shares: American essays, Essays

When You Are Engulfed in Flames David Sedaris · 2007 · ★ 4.3 · 321p · ≈ 10h · Moderate "David Sedaris's ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art," (The Christian Science Monitor) is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book. Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside… Shares: American essays, American Humorous stories, American wit and humor, Essays

Let Me Tell You What I Mean Joan Didion · 2021 · ★ 4.2 · 184p · ≈ 6h · Moderate From one of our most iconic and influential writers: a timeless collection of mostly early pieces that reveal what would become Joan Didion's subjects, including the press, politics, California robber barons, women, and her own self-doubt. Here are six pieces written in 1968 from the "Points West" Saturday Evening Post column Joan Didion shared from 1964 to 1969 with her husband, John Gregory… Shares: American essays, Essays

Thurber Country Lt James Thurber · 1901 · 276p · ≈ 9h · Challenging First published in 1949, Thurber Country remains a benchmark of satirical writing. This edition includes a new introduction by Lillian Ross. There are 26 short pieces. Most (including "File and Forget," a correspondence with his publishers which is not recommended to people who have a tendency to get bad hiccoughs from too much laughing) have already appeared in The New Yorker. Seven pieces have… Shares: American Humorous stories, American wit and humor, Humorous fiction, Humor

Essays, first series Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1876 · ★ 3.5 · 376p · ≈ 12h · Challenging Emerson, Alfred Kazin observes in his Introduction, "was a great writer who turned the essay into a form all his own." His celebrated essays--the twelve published in Essays: First Series (1841) and eight in Essays: Second Series (1844)--are here presented for the first time in an authoritative one-volume edition, which incorporates all the changes and corrections Emerson made after their initial… Shares: American essays, Essays

Routledge Revivals David E. E. Sloane · 2017 · 332p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Originally published in 1979, Mark Twain as a Literary Comedian looks at how Mark Twain addressed social issues through humour. The Southwest provided the subject for much of Twain’s writing, but the roots of his style lay principally in north-eastern humour. In the mid-1800s the northern United States underwent social changes that reflected in the writing of the literary humourists like Twain.… Shares: American Humorous stories, American wit and humor, Humor

slouching towards bethlehem Joan Didion · 1967 · ★ 4.2 · 238p · ≈ 7h · Moderate American novelist Joan Didion's first volume of nonfiction essays, first published in 1968, consisting of twenty works that reflect the atmosphere in America during the 1960s, especially in California. Shares: American essays, Essays, Social life and customs

Naked David Sedaris · 1997 · ★ 4.0 · 320p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Naked, published in 1997, is a collection of essays by American humorist David Sedaris. The book details Sedaris’ life, from his unusual upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, to his booze-and-drug-ridden college years, to his Kerouacian wandering as a young adult. Shares: American Humorous stories, American wit and humor, Humor, Social life and customs

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk David Sedaris · 2010 · ★ 3.4 · 192p · ≈ 6h · Moderate If animals were more like us, if mice kept pets and toads could cuss, if dogs had wives and chipmunks dated, sheep sat still and meditated, then in the forest, field, and dairy you might find this bestiary, read by storks, by rats and kitties, skimmed by cows with milk-stained titties. "I found the book to be most droll," might quip the bear, the owl, the mole. Others, though, would be more… Shares: American Humorous stories, American wit and humor, Humor

Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys Dave Barry · 1995 · ★ 3.9 · 189p · ≈ 6h · Moderate For thousands of years, women have asked themselves: What is the deal with guys, anyway? What are they thinking? The answer, of course, is: virtually nothing. Shares: American wit and humor, Humor

A fable for critics James Russell Lowell · 1848 · 80p · ≈ 2h · Challenging A Fable for Critics By James Russell LowellA Fable for Critics is a book-length poem by American writer James Russell Lowell, first published anonymously in 1848. The poem made fun of well-known poets and critics of the time and brought notoriety to its author.A Fable for Critics satirized many of the most important figures in American literature at the time, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and… Shares: American wit and humor, Humor

Westward ha! S. J. Perelman · 1948 · 159p · ≈ 5h · Challenging Shares: American wit and humor, Humor

Modern essays Christopher Morley · 1921 · 351p · ≈ 11h · Challenging "A collection of representative contemporary essays" written by British and American authors. Shares: American essays, Essays

Mr. Dooley in peace and in war Finley Peter Dunne · 1898 · 260p · ≈ 8h · Challenging Welcome to Mr. Dooley's place, a neighborhood saloon in the working-class community of Bridgeport, located on Chicago's near southwest side. Here matters of the gravest import are perused with homespun philosophy and good cheer. Covering the waterfront from Mack's (President McKinley's) foreign policies and political appointments to the Alaskan gold rush and juvenile delinquency, Martin T. Dooley… Shares: American Humorous stories, Humor, Social life and customs

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