David Sedaris, New York Times best-selling author and Grammy nominee, will be on the University of Memphis campus Saturday for a book reading and question and answer session.
"An Evening with David Sedaris" will begin at 8 p.m. in the Michael Rose Theatre. Sedaris will read from his new book "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls," which will hit bookshelves April 23.
Jennifer Kay, general merchandising manager at he University of Memphis Official Campus Store and Café, and her sales team have set up a shelf in the store flaunting Sedaris' best work, including a book of animal-themed short stories titled "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk," which Sedaris hosted a signing for in 2011 at the Booksellers at Laurelwood.
"We have sold some of his books but not as much as we would like," Kay said.
The bookstore has set up a drawing where students and faculty can enter to win a ticket to the event. The store will pick two winners sometime today.
Sedaris' books have been criticized for their somewhat hyperbolic recollections of his childhood and life adventures, including briefly living in a nudist colony and hoodwinking classmates at a sleepover to sit on his lap in the nude after losing a poker game.
"I met Sedaris at a book signing here a couple of years ago, and he was very nice and giving, especially considering how tired he must have been," Scott Graves, a sales associate at the Booksellers at Laurelwood, said. "I told him a joke, and he shot back an even nastier one, something about a corvette that I would never repeat in front of my mom."
Graves said that although he wrote about the struggles of having a lisp as a child in his memoir "Me Talk Pretty One Day," Sedaris has hardly a trace of it now.
"Even if you have read his books, it is definitely worth the time and money to buy them on audio because he reads it to you," Graves said. "The timing of how he sets up the jokes is impeccable. It is like seeing your favorite artist in concert."
Graves has worked at one of Sedaris' shows before and said he encourages his audience members to tell him a joke.
"He is not so much one to condone jokes with racial slurs as he is those that are bawdy and full of sexual innuendo," Graves said. "To him, sexual boundaries are no big deal."
Perhaps due to the graphic nature of his work, teachers are sometimes reluctant to use his material in the classroom.
"I read his book 'Holidays on Ice' and thought it was hilarious," said Kyle Macneir, a sales associate at Book Traders. "I do not see why teachers would have a problem. He is joking about everyday life problems."
Sedaris is often compared to authors like Dave Barry and Augusten Burroughs in evaluating the comedic quality of his work.
"I think Sedaris is one of the best humorists on the planet," said Eddie Burton, general manager of the Booksellers. "I think he is funnier than Burroughs intentionally. I do not think Burroughs tries to write in a humoristic fashion."
Kay said that Sedaris will not leave the stage until he has answered everyone in the audience.
"He is not going to leave until everyone who wants to speak with him does," Kay said. "We are going to be there all night."
The bookstore will be selling Sedaris' previous works Saturday, and "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" will be on sale starting Tuesday, April 23.
