-
Themes and Variations
- An Essay
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 30 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $1.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Happy-Go-Lucky
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky opens, he is learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed to ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes. But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most.
-
-
Great except for an audio glitch
- By Rynnkins on 06-01-22
By: David Sedaris
-
David Sedaris
- Live for Your Listening Pleasure
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 1 hr and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
LIVE recordings of new, previously unreleased David Sedaris stories!
-
-
Good but short
- By Dennis on 12-01-09
By: David Sedaris
-
David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 1 hr and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you are driving, pull over. If you are at work, close your door, unless you don't mind your colleagues seeing you doubled over, in tears, on your office floor. With this recording, taped before a delirious sold out audience at Carnegie Hall, you are there as David Sedaris performs new stories from his upcoming book. A parrot who mimics an ice maker, lovers quarreling over a rubber hand, and a Santa Claus who moonlights from his job as bishop of Turkey, the cast of characters is like no other.
-
-
Just Like Being There
- By Rick on 06-27-12
By: David Sedaris
-
Barrel Fever and Other Stories
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In David Sedaris' world, no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Lebowitz, and the National Enquirer, Sedaris' collection of essays is a rollicking tour through the national Zeitgeist: a do-it-yourself suburban dad saves money by performing home surgery; a man who is loved too much flees the heavyweight champion of the world; a teenage suicide tries to incite a lynch mob at her funeral; a bitter Santa abuses the elves.
-
-
Be warned- Santaland Diaries is NOT included
- By David on 06-05-12
By: David Sedaris
-
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once again, David Sedaris brings together a collection of essays so uproariously funny and profoundly moving that his legions of fans will fall for him all over again. He tests the limits of love when Hugh lances a boil from his backside, and pushes the boundaries of laziness when, finding the water shut off in his house in Normandy, he looks to the water in a vase of fresh cut flowers to fill the coffee machine.
-
-
Don't Start with this One
- By Elvie on 04-28-16
By: David Sedaris
-
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Edited by David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, Cherry Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories, some classic, others impending, selected and introduced by David Sedaris.
-
-
Beautiful Stories Great Voices
- By Christine Currie on 02-07-16
-
Happy-Go-Lucky
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky opens, he is learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed to ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes. But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most.
-
-
Great except for an audio glitch
- By Rynnkins on 06-01-22
By: David Sedaris
-
David Sedaris
- Live for Your Listening Pleasure
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 1 hr and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
LIVE recordings of new, previously unreleased David Sedaris stories!
-
-
Good but short
- By Dennis on 12-01-09
By: David Sedaris
-
David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 1 hr and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you are driving, pull over. If you are at work, close your door, unless you don't mind your colleagues seeing you doubled over, in tears, on your office floor. With this recording, taped before a delirious sold out audience at Carnegie Hall, you are there as David Sedaris performs new stories from his upcoming book. A parrot who mimics an ice maker, lovers quarreling over a rubber hand, and a Santa Claus who moonlights from his job as bishop of Turkey, the cast of characters is like no other.
-
-
Just Like Being There
- By Rick on 06-27-12
By: David Sedaris
-
Barrel Fever and Other Stories
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In David Sedaris' world, no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Lebowitz, and the National Enquirer, Sedaris' collection of essays is a rollicking tour through the national Zeitgeist: a do-it-yourself suburban dad saves money by performing home surgery; a man who is loved too much flees the heavyweight champion of the world; a teenage suicide tries to incite a lynch mob at her funeral; a bitter Santa abuses the elves.
-
-
Be warned- Santaland Diaries is NOT included
- By David on 06-05-12
By: David Sedaris
-
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once again, David Sedaris brings together a collection of essays so uproariously funny and profoundly moving that his legions of fans will fall for him all over again. He tests the limits of love when Hugh lances a boil from his backside, and pushes the boundaries of laziness when, finding the water shut off in his house in Normandy, he looks to the water in a vase of fresh cut flowers to fill the coffee machine.
-
-
Don't Start with this One
- By Elvie on 04-28-16
By: David Sedaris
-
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Edited by David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, Cherry Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories, some classic, others impending, selected and introduced by David Sedaris.
-
-
Beautiful Stories Great Voices
- By Christine Currie on 02-07-16
-
Holidays on Ice
- Featuring Six New Stories
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favorites as the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two very competitive families, are Sedaris's tales of tardy trick-or-treaters ("Us and Them"); the difficulties of explaining the Easter Bunny to the French ("Jesus Shaves"); and what to do when you've been locked out in a snowstorm ("Let It Snow").
-
-
Best When In SantaLand
- By Dave on 12-06-11
By: David Sedaris
-
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Always a Sedaris fan, but this isn't his best
- By Joshua on 04-29-15
By: David Sedaris
-
Me Talk Pretty One Day
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Sedaris' collection of essays - including live recordings! - tells a most unconventional life story. With every clever turn of a phrase, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other to every unforgettable encounter. You can also listen to Sedaris in an interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air.
-
-
Great Sedaris - Not for everyone
- By Michael on 06-05-20
By: David Sedaris
-
Calypso
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And it's as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation - and dark humor - toward middle age and mortality.
-
-
Excellent, as always
- By Ruthie on 05-31-18
By: David Sedaris
-
A Carnival of Snackery
- Diaries (2003-2020)
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Tracey Ullman
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If it’s navel-gazing you’re after, you’ve come to the wrong place; ditto treacly self-examination. Rather, his observations turn outward: a fight between two men on a bus, a fight between two men on the street, pedestrians being whacked over the head or gathering to watch as a man considers leaping to his death. There’s a dirty joke shared at a book signing, then a dirtier one told at a dinner party - lots of jokes here. Plenty of laughs.
-
-
Tracey Ullman?
- By Kelley R. on 10-05-21
By: David Sedaris
-
The Best of Me
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For more than 25 years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to listen without laughing.
-
-
Almost No New Material
- By Lizardectomy on 11-05-20
By: David Sedaris
-
Naked
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the hilarious, strange, elegiac, outrageous world of David Sedaris. In Naked, Sedaris turns the current mania for the memoir on its proverbial ear, mining the exceedingly rich terrain of his life, his family, and his unique worldview, a sensibility at once take-no-prisoners sharp and deeply charitable.
-
-
Not the whole book
- By Gabriela on 03-09-13
By: David Sedaris
-
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his newest collection of essays, David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives, a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is another unforgettable collection from one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Dina on 06-24-04
By: David Sedaris
-
Theft by Finding
- Diaries (1977-2002)
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For nearly four decades, David Sedaris has faithfully kept a diary in which he records his thoughts and observations on the odd and funny events he witnesses. Anyone who has attended a live Sedaris event knows that his diary readings are often among the most joyful parts of the evening. But never before have they been available in print. Now, in Theft by Finding, Sedaris brings us his favorite entries. From deeply poignant to laugh-out-loud funny, these selections reveal with new intimacy a man longtime fans only think they know.
-
-
A softer, sweeter Sedaris
- By Pamela J on 05-31-17
By: David Sedaris
-
How Y'all Doing?
- Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived
- By: Leslie Jordan
- Narrated by: Leslie Jordan
- Length: 4 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When actor Leslie Jordan learned he had “gone viral,” he had no idea what that meant or how much his life was about to change. On Instagram, his uproarious videos have entertained millions and have made him a global celebrity. Now, he brings his bon vivance to the page with this collection of intimate and sassy essays.
-
-
What more could you want?
- By Barry Benedict on 04-27-21
By: Leslie Jordan
-
The Way I Heard It
- By: Mike Rowe
- Narrated by: Mike Rowe
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emmy-award winning gadfly Mike Rowe presents a ridiculously entertaining, seriously fascinating collection of his favorite episodes from America’s number-one short-form podcast, The Way I Heard It, along with a host of memories, ruminations, and insights. It’s a delightful collection of mysteries. A mosaic. A memoir. A charming, surprising must-have. Mike Rowe’s The Way I Heard It collects 35 fascinating stories “for the curious mind with a short attention span”.
-
-
I could listen to Mike read all day. And I am!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-15-19
By: Mike Rowe
-
Fraud
- By: David Rakoff
- Narrated by: David Rakoff
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The wry and the heartfelt join in David Rakoff's prose to resurrect that most neglected of literary virtues: wit. As he finds himself in all the far-flung hinterlands of our culture, this fish out of water winds up satirizing himself more than his subject matter, to hilarious effect.
-
-
OMG Laugh Out Loud
- By Suzn F on 08-16-12
By: David Rakoff
Publisher's Summary
An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller.
In this surprising essay, international bestselling humor writer David Sedaris shares the rewards of a book tour and his devoted readers’ worst-kept secrets.
Dismissed by a bored author at a book signing, a betrayed young man named David Sedaris made a vow. Someday, when it was his turn at the table, he’d connect with his readers. The experience has been even more revealing than he’d hoped.
In this hilarious and perceptive essay, the celebrated humorist reflects on the unusual patterns of forced socialization between author and audience, and the obligations and sometimes surprising returns of not-so-chance encounters with strangers: jokes, secrets, insights, and even charity.
Critic Reviews
“Author David Sedaris delivers this honest, funny essay with his usual flair…This is a short look at the crazy world we live in by one of its most talented observer-humorists.” (AudioFile Magazine)
More from the same
What listeners say about Themes and Variations
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- N. Charest
- 04-28-20
It’s true!
Sedaris really does talk to every single person in line after his events. And Portland beggars are exactly as he describes. And, yes, I take my bra off the instant I don’t need it.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Terry
- 05-28-20
Quintesencial David Sedaris
I love David Sedaris and this short performance made me laugh about 6 times! Highly recommended.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Max Clark
- 12-02-21
Rehashed stories from other sedaris books
These are the same stories that have already been published. Why not include that in the description
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lili
- 05-25-20
Only whets the appetite for his next book
I believe this is a first, a single Sedaris essay released on Audible. It was a much needed surprise as I assume his next book is still a ways off. For us Sedaris fans it's always difficult waiting until his next book comes out as we, well, I, usually finish his books within about 72 hours after they drop. So the wait is long.
Loved this funny, personal, essay. I love how he talks to people....cab drivers, people in line at Starbucks, people who come to his signings and performances. Insights gathered, he filters them through his quirky brilliant eye, and voilà we get a new book. Now if he could just speed the whole thing up and write faster?
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Phyllis
- 05-09-20
No Subways in Milwaukee
The story about the $50 is fabricated of impossible settings. “Stumbled on a subway” could not happen in Milwaukee as there are no subways. Calls into question his entire autobiographical genre. What else is fabricated out of imagination?
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K. Turner
- 05-12-21
No Boundries
This is sick! Do not waste your time, energy or $$ Of all the things to tell stories about the needs of the homeless. This one missed the mark 100%
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 666 Affiliate
- 03-30-21
hated it.
I loved reading When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I hated this. It felt disingenuous and like a capitalist money grab, which is weird because it was free. IDK, I just didn't enjoy it.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Angie
- 09-29-20
Awful variations on awful themes
The content has no literary value, it is just a collection of poor taste stories.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kico M
- 08-23-20
Short and still boring
It is not a book, but a short and very boring story. Do not waste 30” of your day.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- GodGirl101
- 06-28-20
Just 30 minutes… And if you saw him in person it’s the same stories
Don’t get me wrong… This is a talented author. I love all of his books. However I saw him this fall in Kalamazoo… And this is merely 30 minutes… I heard it all when I saw him in person so it was completely a repeat. Don’t spend the dollars if you Saw him in person recently. Or the one credit. I should get a refund. #StillLoveYouDavid
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 08-14-20
Hilarious and thought provoking....
David Sedaris is a genius. Listen to this. I hope you'll laugh and also enjoy the insights he describes into the workings of our civilised yet instinctive minds. So honest.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Robyn
- 05-19-20
Laugh out loud
Everytime! WHAT a storyteller. David is a wonderful writer and there isn’t a publication of his I haven’t totally devoured straight away and enjoyed thoroughly
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- ClareBC
- 05-15-20
Lyrical and compelling
The storyline is gentle, the language beautiful. This is a book to be drawn into, I felt I was there with sights, sounds, sensations. I resisted the book for months thinking it would be worthy and heavy. However, once I started, I was so reluctant to let it finish. On Audible, it was therapeutic and I was transferred to another time.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 05-03-20
Hilarious
Sedaris on perfect form again in 30 hilarious minutes that'll make you feel warm inside. Inside where? you can figure out after listening.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 01-01-21
Brilliant Brilliance
Loved it from tip to toe elbow to elbow—great cadence, Rolling humour and a touch of profundity. I LOVED IT!!!!!!!