In her follow-up to the best-selling I Like You (2006), Sedaris once again invites us all to remember the “good old days” with her off-the-wall crafting and entertaining suggestions. “Did you know that inside your featureless well-worn husk is a creative you?” she asks. No doubt drawing on and making light of the current economic atmosphere, she notes, “Being poor is a wonderful motivation to be creative”; and most crafts are made with found or salvaged materials. More a vehicle for Sedaris’ knack for farce and costume than a real how-to guide (unless the formula for a “wizard duck costume” marks the realization of your wildest dreams), it nevertheless contains a few useful facts, ideas, and recipes. The true joy of this book lies in its hilarious and amazingly well-styled photo spreads, many featuring Sedaris in one of her uncanny disguises, including a teenager, an elderly shut-in, and Jesus. She devotes equal time to instruction on making homemade sausage, gift-giving, crafting safety, and lovemaking (aka “fornicrafting”). Those looking to make conventional crafts, obviously, should look elsewhere. Everyone else should sit down, have a laugh, and make your very own bean-and-leaf James Brown mosaic. The author and her brother have a considerable following among hip readers of humor, and the appeal of this book will certainly transcend the world of crafters. --Annie Bostrom
Sedaris often defies description. So does her book, SIMPLE TIMES, a hyperkinetic hodgepodge of "Crafts for Poor People" celebrating traditional American handicrafts, as well as diversions like keeping pet rabbits and making mint juleps. ...the book's sheer visual exuberance and wide scope make it obvious that Sedaris is a dedicated follower of the pipe-cleaner arts. While SIMPLE TIMES may not be for the dour D.I.Y.-er to whom crafting is a competitive sport, it has strong potential as a gift for anyone who's ever collected hats crocheted together, or Barbie dolls in knitted antebellum dresses designed to cover an extra roll of toilet paper - or simply for fans of Amy Sedaris and her idiosyncratic sense of humor. (
The New York Times Book Review )
"If there was any doubt that Amy Sedaris is a kookier, kitschier version of Martha Stewart in the four years since the release of her best-selling, "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence," get out your Popsicle sticks, toupee tape and clamshells. Sedaris proves her place as a domestic maven for today's irony-loving do-it-yourselfers with her latest book. "Simple Times" is steeped in '70s campiness, with a youthful, can-do attitude walking through an extensive list of projects, neatly indexed in the back, from Acorn Crafts to Macaroni Alien Mask and Yesterday's Newspaper Scuffs. "Simple Times" is an ideal gift for the crafter who has crafted everything." (
The Associated Press )
"A wildly cheeky guide." (
InStyle )
"Imagine a Girl Scout jamboree suddenly overtaken by a band of circus freaks. That's roughly the effect of "Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People," the colorful new craft book by comedian Amy Sedaris." (
The Wall Street Journal )
"Hilarious." (
The Miami Herald )
"The funny new book we're loving . . . Had us cracking up from the first page . . .The entire guide is written in that laugh-out-loud style, making it a fun read even for those who have no interest in crafting. But for people who
are into crafting, the book is a gold mine of ideas." (
Cosmopolitan.com )
"Will leave readers in stitches . . . Her hilarious and hilariously illustrated guide has sections on crafting while angry, crafting for the criminally insane and crafting while amped up on amphetamines." (
The Boston Herald )
"In step with her hilarious how-to debut . . . provides a jolt of laughter that anyone can use in simple times like these." (
Instinct Magazine )
"In this laugh-out-loud book, Amy Sedaris, one of the funniest humans on the planet, confronts the hard-hitting craft questions that other books refuse to even acknowledge . . . With the hectic holiday season almost upon us, this nifty book could be your lifeboat to sanity, or maybe not. Regardless, it is fun and every bit as amusing as Amy's previous bestseller." (
The Tucson Citizen )
"Sedaris crams 21 chapters with wickedly funny projects, sage counsel and painstakingly detailed photographic spreads." (
Bookpage )
"Hip and hilarious." (
The Buffalo News )
"Recommended . . .The humorist, satiric hostess and hilarious disguise artist offers left-field crafting tips for weird costumes, irreverent samplers, and more for these, our lean economic times." (
The Wichita Eagle )
"Just like her previous book, "Times" is colorful and instantly funny. It's perhaps the only book you'll ever read with tips on how to make both good love and good sausage. Separately, of course." (
The News & Observer (NC) )
"Amy Sedaris proves she has her finger on the pulse of the domestic-arts world - especially for those on a budget- with her latest book . . . it's vintage Sedaris, combining sweet intentions with gross-out humor." (
Madison.com )
"A subversive, hilarious take on the made-by-hand movement." (
The Orlando Sentinel )
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