Audiobooks narrated by David Rakoff

"From wild and wacky to knee-slapping, laugh-out-loud fun, these humorous tales represent some of the best of recent seasons of the hit public radio series Selected Shorts. Comedian Wyatt Cenac gives a killer performance of Simon Rich’s hilarious tale of woe from the point of view of a condom in a young man’s wallet. Alec Baldwin gives a delightful over-the-top performance of James Thurber’s wonderfully silly classic tale of the day everybody in a small Ohio town thought the dam broke. Joe Meno’s playful and poignant “People Are Becoming Clouds,” slyly performed by Criminal Minds’ Kirsten Vangsness, tells the story of a wife who simply laughs and turns into a puff of soft white vapor every time her husband tries to kiss her. David Rakoff reads Dave Eggers’ sweet, good-humored story in which a father recounts to his son, while making dinner, how his parents saved the world together. Selected Shorts’ founding host Isaiah Sheffer recounts two tales: New Yorker contributor Ian Frazier’s wacky suggestion for young men today in “Dating Your Mom,” and David Schickler’s raucous tale of a family catering company’s crazy and delicious escapades in “Wes Amerigo’s Giant Fear.” With stories that cover all types of humor, this assorted collection of memorable stories is sure to leave listeners grinning."

Dave Eggers, David Schickler, Dorothy Parker, Ian Frazier, James Thurber, Joe Meno, Kevin Barry, R.T. Smith, Simon Rich (Author), Alec Baldwin, Christina Pickles, Dana Ivey, David Rakoff, Isiah Sheffer, James Naughton, Kirsten Vangsness, Wyatt Cenac (Narrator)

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Thalia Book Club: Julie Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic

Julie Otsuka (Author), David Rakoff, Rita Wolf (Narrator)

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Are We There Yet?

"A lot can happen on the way from one place to another, especially when an overnight flight makes for an unexpected romantic encounter between strangers seated together; a trucker finds life beyond the ranch where he grew up; and a bored Midwestern housewife tries to escape Kansas City. This anthology of tales about people in transit features Stuart Dybek's 'Pet Milk', read by Keith Szarabajka; Martha Gellhorn's 'Miami-New York', read by Joanna Gleason; Edward P. Jones' 'An Orange Line Train to Ballston', read by Sonia Manzano; Annie Proulx's 'The Trickle-Down Effect', read by James Naughton; Dorothy Thomas' 'The Getaway', read by Mia Dillon; James Thurber's 'A Ride with Olympy', read by David Rakoff; and Eudora Welty's 'No Place for You, My Love', read by Andrea Marcovicci."

Annie Proulx, Dorothy Thomas, Edward P. Jones, Eudora Welty, James Thurber, Martha Gellhorn, Stuart Dybek (Author), Andrea Marcovicci, David Rakoff, James Naughton, Joanna Gleason, Keith Szarabajka, Mia Dillon, Sonia Manzano (Narrator)

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Lots of Laughs!

"Selected Short's most popular volume! Over three hours of stories to tickle your funny bone. - Nicholson Baker's 'Subsoil' performed by Thomas Gibson A darkly comic thriller about a tractor historian besieged by man-eating potatoes. - David Schickler's 'Jamaica' performed by Isaiah Sheffer A man with his head stuck between the banisters has no choice but to listen in on his wife's 'Gorgon Book Club.' - Neil Gaiman's 'Chivalry' performed by Christina Pickles A delicious tale of an elderly British matron who buys the Holy Grail at a rummage sale. - Leonard Michaels' 'Nachman from Los Angeles' performed by David Rakoff A wonderfully silly tale of misadventure on a college campus. - Etgar Keret's 'Fatso' performed by John Guare An offbeat romance with a very comic nightly ritual."

David Schickler, Etgar Keret, John Updike, Leonard Michaels, Neil Gaiman, Nicholson Baker, Ron Carlson (Author), Charles Keating, Christina Pickles, David Rakoff, Isaiah Sheffer, John Guare, Laura Esterman, Thomas Gibson (Narrator)

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Fraud

"You've heard him on This American Life! Now read his book! Wherever he is, David Rakoff is a fish out of water. Whether impersonating Sigmund Freud in a department store window during the holidays, climbing an icy mountain in cheap loafers, playing an evil modeling agent on a daytime soap opera, or learning primitive survival skills in the wilds of New Jersey, Rakoff doesn't belong. Nor does he try to. Still, he continually finds himself off in the far-flung hinterlands of our culture, notebook or microphone in hand, hoping to conjure that dyed-in-the-wool New York condescension. And Rakoff tries to be nasty; heaven knows nothing succeeds like the cheap sneer, but he can't quite help noticing that these are actual human beings he's writing about. In his attempts not to pull any punches, the most damaging blows, more often than not, land squarely on his own jaw--hilariously satirizing the writer, not the subject. And therein lies David Rakoff's genius and his burgeoning appeal. The wry and the heartfelt join in his prose to resurrect that most neglected of literary virtues: wit. Read the blurbs again on the back. They signal the arrival of a brilliant new American essayist. (Okay, Canadian.)"

David Rakoff (Author), David Rakoff (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by David Rakoff