Magical Thinking (U)

Praise for Augusten Burroughs"A wrenching, edifying journey...with the added benefit of being really entertaining."- The New York Times Book Review on Dry"Beneath the quick-flowing, funny-sad surface of Burroughs's prose lurks considerable complexity."- Time on Dry"A great read."- Chicago Sun-Times on Dry"Dry is more than a heartbreaking tale; it's a heroic one."- People on Dry"Laughter on the road to sobriety...for aficionados of outrageous black comedy."- The New York Times on Dry"Bawdy, outrageous...insanely funny (quite literally)...a William Burroughs situation comedy."- The New York Times on Running with Scissors"Running with Scissors, as a memoir in the current conventional sense, makes a good run at blowing every other contender out of the water."- The Washington Post on Running with Scissors"Outrageously amusing...wait until you get a load of this guy's material.... He can consider this a fan letter. Grade A."- Entertainment Weekly on Running with Scissors"As funny as it is twisted."- GQ on Running with ScissorsPublishers WeeklyIt would be tempting to call these highly personal and uninhibited essays painfully honest, except that Burroughs (Running with Scissors; Dry) is so forthright about his egocentricity that the revelations don't appear to cause him much pain. He approaches his material with a blithe tone that oozes sarcasm and crocodile tears. But the palpable humor of the writing itself endears listeners to him enough that they won't be completely repelled by even Burroughs's ugliest moments (which include his less than gallant reaction to accidentally stepping on a toddler's fingers in a store). His performance is off the cuff, but even when he's at his least humane, he still comes across as all too human. He adopts the same openness that made his previous memoirs-dealing with his bizarre upbringing and battle with addiction-so successful; now, however, he's focusing on less serious subject matter and displaying failings that are more vain. Burroughs excels in his personifications of others, whether portraying a domineering cleaning woman or an overbearing boss. While some may secretly wish for the death of such a boss, though, Burroughs admits openly and proudly that he believes he can will it to happen. That attitude, which is accentuated by his reading, makes this audiobook a true guilty pleasure. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (Forecasts, July 12). (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.