01 March 2007

Tre

Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs (4/5)

Unlike Augusten Burroughs' earlier memoirs, Running With Scissors and Dry, Possible Side Effects is a collection of vignettes from periods throughout his life spanning from childhood to a recent book tour. It retains his biting wit while feeling lighter than the previous two books I read.

In Possible Side Effects, you get to join Augusten as he relates a creative approach to dealing with bad drivers, his idea of camouflage as a child, the fun to be had with personal ads (your own and other's), peeping at Uma Thurman, dealing with incontinent dogs, addiction to nicotine gum, and many other short tales. Hanging out with Augusten via his stories is an entertaining place to be: his uncoolness is cool.

One year ago at TTaT: photo block, March is Viggo, Life at 16: The License Test
tags: , ,

3 comments:

  1. i'll have to check that out. i've enjoyed all his books thus far. did you see the movie?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm in the middle of Running with Scissors. I LOVE it! His mother's shrink is a fruit cake.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sizz: I really enjoyed the movie (I saw it before I read RWS though). It switches who said or did what a little bit, and of course everyone is better looking than they are in the book, but it definitely gives you a feel for the craziness and absurdity of it all.

    I'm also on an Evan Rachel Wood kick these days- she's so good!

    Mel: I loved that one too. You just know there are more shrinks like him out there.

    ReplyDelete