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Title: Possible Side Effects
ISBN: 0312315961
Author:
Augusten Burroughs
Publicate Date: 2006-05-02
Publish: 2006-05-02
List Price: $23.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $6.12
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.50
Amazon Merchant Price: $16.29
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Read the book, the material is much better in print.
I own a copy of this book and found it hilarious, so I thought it'd be fun to listen to it while I'm working out or doing housework or whatever. I was wrong.
While Mr. Burroughs writing style is breezy, sarcastic, and hilarious, he can't read worth a damn. It's not his fault. He's never purported to be an actor, but for some reason here he is. I guess it's supposed to be a selling point that an author reads his own work, but what about when the author reads adult material as if he's reading to a group of schoolchildren? (And not ironically, either.) It's like a jr. high school play, where you sometimes have to strain to understand what the speaker is saying. Even though it's in English, words are sing-songy or run together, the pauses plentiful and misplaced, and emphasis is placed on every second or third word.
JE-sus.
I wish someone had had the sense to be honest with Mr. Burroughs and suggest hiring voice talent after hearing the first set of his recordings. As it is, I had to give up somewhere in the middle of the second essay. I couldn't stand to hear his excellent source material bungled so badly.
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2: I love this book!
This is by far one of the funniest books I have ever read. After reading Possible Side Effects I decided to buy as many books by Augusten Burroughs as I could.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with a twisted sense of humor. You will laugh out loud and repeat the stories to your friends, I promise.
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3: Good, but...
I am sure that this was a writers device, but right about when the stories got really interesting, they ended. Overall, I really enjoyed the book.
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4: Another laugh-fest from Augusten
I was a little worried when I started reading "Possible Side Effects," because the first couple of chapters are kind of slow going. However, I am a big fan of everything Augusten Burroughs has ever written, and this book is no exception. It didn't take long for the pace to pick up and for me to start laughing my ass off. This book isn't a full-length memoir like "Running with Scissors" or "Dry." It's a collection of humorous stories, very similar to "Magical Thinking." Burroughs shares stories from his disturbing childhood all the way through to his present-day, slightly more normal (but still incredibly quirky) life. The stories aren't arranged in any particular order, and there are some really, really good ones in here. My hands-down favorite chapter is "Moving Violations," which describes the author's experiences driving around with his friend Druggy Debby during his teenage years, startling bad drivers by flashing them with enlarged photos of hard-core porn. (I laughed so hard reading that part, my husband actually stepped away from his computer game to see what the hell what was so funny. That is HUGE.)
If you want to read a book written by America's funniest and cleverest writer, "Possible Side Effects" is for you.
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5: Excellent
I love this guy's writing style. Very entertaining, comfortable reading, very funny. I just hope some editor does not screw up his conversational writing style.
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