Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780312315955
ISBN: 0312315953
Label: Picador
Manufacturer: Picador
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: October 01, 2005
Publisher: Picador
Release Date: September 15, 2005
Studio: Picador

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com Review:
It’s best to know this from the start: Augusten Burroughs is mean. Augusten Burroughs is also outrageously X-rated. If you can get past those two things, Burroughs might just be the most refreshing voice in American books today, and his collection of acerbic essays will have you laughing out loud even while cringing in your seat. Whether he is stepping on the fingers of little children or giving you the blow-by-blow on a very unholy act, Burroughs manages to do it in a way that fills conflicted fans with both horror and glee.

Spanning from the surprisingly Machiavellian portrayal of his role in a Tang commercial at age seven to his more recent foray into dog ownership, Burroughs has what seems to be an endless supply of offbeat life experiences. Much like earlier David Sedaris collections (Barrel Fever or Naked), there are occasional fits and starts in the flow of the writing, but ultimately, Magical Thinking is worth reading (and re-reading). If you’re familiar with Burroughs's memoirs, Running with Scissors, and Dry, you may find parts of Magical Thinking repetitive, since these essays bounce around in time between the other two. In fact, in an ideal world, this collection would have come first, as it offers an excellent introduction to Burroughs's fascinating life. --Vicky Griffith

Product Description:





Rating: - HIlarious
Augusten Burroughs has lived a fascinating life, made more hilarious and fascinating by his story telling. It is a great introduction to his life and writing, although it was not the first to be published. His humor is self-deprecating and sometimes mean, yet still charming, witty and fun. We've all wanted to be able to be as forthright as Burroughs and this is a great way to live that vicariously through him.

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Rating: - Graphic Animal Torture is Comedy?
Ooookay. I'm glad I checked this one out of the library instead of wasting money on it.

I've previously enjoyed Burroughs' work. (Sellevision, Dry, Running With Scissors.) So I recognized the first chapter, with the admen for Tang coming to Burroughs' school) as something previously published in another book. I feel a little ripped off when I invest money and/or time into consuming the same content in multiple works.

And then came the "Rat/Thing" chapter, in which Burroughs ... Read More

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Rating: - Very good book
I bought this book for my boyfriend and he LOVED the book, of course his sense of humor is close to the authors, but if you like the author you'll love the book!

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Rating: - Works Comedic Magic
I was standing in the bookstore aisle plucking books from the shelves and flipping pages when I came across 'Magical Thinking' and this line, "The year I snuck an interracial lesbian couple into the background of an American Airlines ad..." I read some more. I could have read the entire book while standing there. But, my whooping laughter would have disturbed my fellow readers. Burroughs puts on paper what most folks block from conscious thought. He presents such a can't-make-this-stuff-up life that one ... Read More

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Rating: - Intriguing, a little disturbing
Augusten Burroughs does not come across as what you'd call a "nice person," but he's so very honest, funny, and sometimes self-deprecating that the reader can't help being on his side, as he battles a crazy cleaning lady, kills a mouse in his tub, and moves in and out of quasi-relationships with gorgeous, but unsuitable men. And frankly, he appeals to that deep, dark, mean corner we all have suppressed inside, that place where we want to make a snide comment about someone's fatt butt or stupid hairdo. ... Read More

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