Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

By: David Sedaris

Narrated by: David Sedaris

Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Humor, 2014

From the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new collection 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. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in the English countryside or marveling over a disembodied human arm in a taxidermist's shop, Sedaris takes us on side-splitting adventures that are not to be forgotten.

©2013 David Sedaris (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Sedaris is the preeminent humorist of his generation." ( Entertainment Weekly)

love love love

OMG he makes me giggle constantly ! I live his sense of humor and way with words.

laugh out loud funny

listened to this gem a ew times to moutain and on road trip to pagosa from Seattle. laughed so hard a couple times woke up my sleeping pup in truck. great read. loved it.

Not My Favorite But I'm Still a Fan

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I read the book first but really enjoy listening to DS read his work. This is a good addition to my library.

Would you recommend Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls to your friends? Why or why not?

Probably not. I'd recommend his other stuff much more highly. This book is a little dark.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narration did not need improvement IMO.

Was Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls worth the listening time?

I could have skipped this one but I'm glad I gave it a chance.

FUNNY, FUNNY, FUNNY AND FUNNY

I enjoyed every minute of this book, you will too. Sedaris is a genius in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Solid Gold

The only thing that could improve the dead tree version of this book, which I already own, is to hear it narrated by its author. Thank you, Mr. Sedaris.

Would have been miffed if I had paid for this.

I selected this book as a freebie, to try out Audible. I felt that I had to say that straight out, even though it makes me seem like an ungrateful jerk. Got this book FOR FREE by an author I enjoy, and here I am giving it two fours and a three. That being said, I leave it to you to decide if I should have written this.
I enjoy Sedaris' writing.Well, I guess I enjoyed his earlier stuff a bit more.
Some of the essays in this new book struck me as very mean spirited, meant to shock for shock's value only, but that's just my opinion, as a gun-loving Libertarian who supports gay marriage.
Don't get me wrong, the chapter about China, dealing with the bizarre food and people defecating and hawking up mucus wherever the whim took them was truly hilarious.
The chapter on Obama was fantastic, and I didn't even vote for him.
But then towards the end, some of the satire struck me as just plain...boring.
HOLIDAYS ON ICE has an essay dealing with a family's Christmas letter to their friends and family. Filled with truly horrendous stuff, but it makes me laugh out loud. It was narrated by a very talented actress, Ann Magnuson. I love hearing David perform his work, but maybe he should have asked his sister Amy to help?
I completely understand that he's angry about gay marriage not being the law of the land. But the tide is turning. Minnesota just made it legal.
Some of these tales made me feel as if I was being punished for something I didn't do.
Not a terrible book, but kind of a let down after the great WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES.
I keep reading and re-reading this review. It's just my opinion, but to paraphrase David himself, I feel like I've kicked a kitten.

Listen to the credits

Any additional comments?

Other reviewers complain that it's not as fresh as his older works, but its good moments are great. The dog poetry would do Ogden Nash proud. Even the production credits at the end had me laughing out loud.

Great stories, but many recycled from other media.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I love all these Sedaris gems, but had heard several of them before on such shows as "This American Life," and "The Moth."

Sedaris comes through again!

I've enjoyed David Sedaris for a long time now, and this book is no exception. It holds true to what one expects from Sedaris: it's clever, cutting, funny, and when you often least expect it, poignant. It's not quite as purely flat out funny like some of his other autobiographical experiences, but there's enough here to give his many fans a feeling of being back with their old buddy, and enough pure witty moments to gain converts. This is also one of those books that I think you can appreciate even more if you listen to each of the stories with a break in between. Too much snarky can be tiring, but it's always fun.

Some good some boring

There's some really enjoyable chapters in this. Enough that it was well worth the $5 I got it for on sale. There's a few places that were boring. There's a few places that would probably be funny to someone else.

Outside of being funny there's a lot of enjoyable insight in these essays and the writer does a good job as the narrator.