Sedaris's sidesplitting guide to throwing parties hopes to return readers to the times when the word entertainment was "charmingly old-fashioned, like courtship or back alley abortions." While her tongue is firmly in cheek, novice party-planners will actually find some helpful hints along the way as Sedaris offers instructions and real recipes.

Her tips run the gamut from how to properly freeze meatballs (freeze them on a cookie sheet before putting them into a freezer bag so they won't stick together) and deal with the inebriated ("Better to cut them off rather than pretend it's not happening and then allow them to stay over and wet your bed"). She's a generous but crafty hostess ("A good trick is to fill your medicine cabinet with marbles. Nothing announces a nosey guest better than an avalanche of marbles hitting a porcelain sink"). Etiquette pointers include inappropriate introductions ("This is Barbara, she can't have children") and things to avoid saying to the grieving ("Did she smoke?" "Was he drinking?" "Where were you when this happened?").

Her advice is both practical and hilarious; her instructions on removing vomit stains ends with "or just toss it, chances are you've stained it before." Sedaris's first solo effort (after Wigfield with her Strangers with Candy co-stars, as well as several plays with her brother, David) is an outrageous and deadpan delight, greatly enhanced by her deliriously kitschy illustrations and photos.

AND NOW THE AUDIOBOOK READ BY AMY SEDARIS:

There's no way around it: Sedaris fans are going to have to buy both her lavishly illustrated book and her audiobook adaptation. No one should be forced to decide between enjoying the visual delights of her kitschy photo-filled book or the aural pleasures of Sedaris's wonderfully exuberant narration.

The rubber-faced comedienne proves equally limber vocally with her quicksilver changes from perfect deadpan to goofy dialects. The jaunty musical score and quirky sound effects enhance the production and complement her narration. Sedaris sounds like she's throwing a party in the studio and listeners would be foolish not to RSVP.

The fourth disc contains a PDF file with all 76 recipes for her "15-minute meals in 20 minutes," which were read aloud on the previous discs, in addition to 70 more "Jackpot Recipes." A truly delightful audiobook.

I really enjoy this book. Initially, I kept it on my coffee table, but it now resides on my kitchen cookbook shelf. Sure, there are some seemingly elementary advisories, but I always remember my 6th grade teacher telling us "Common sense is not all that common." I bought this book for myself when I was 25. The only other cook book I possessed at the time was "A Man, A Can, A Plan." I had recently watched the special features on a DVD called "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" where there was a section by Robert Rodriguez. In it, he wants to show us how to make Puerco Pibil. It was the part where he says "You've got to eat for the rest of your life. You might as well eat well." Growing up as a picky eater, sticking to Hamburger Helpers and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Pizza Rolls and Ramen noodles to get me through college, this phrase struck a strange chord in me. I turned to Amy's book because it was simple, comforting, and unassuming. Now at 29, with one Christmas dinner, 5 or 6 dinner parties under my belt, and rave reviews of my menu, my family eagerly anticipates Christmas dinner at my pad. And I will be hot-gluing googly eyeballs to at least a couple of walnuts.

I'm another one who didn't realize this book was a for-real hosting guide, not a book of humorous essays like her brother writes.

Frankly, I wouldn't have picked it up if I'd known that, because I am not the type to throw parties or ever do anything more than the most casual get-togethers for good friends. I barely have enough energy to go to parties.

If I ever had any doubts about my capacity to throw parties, this book ended them. In particular, the quote "You must be radiant" when you welcome your guests. Lol, I've never been radiant in my life, and the idea of trying to present myself that way sounds completely stressful and no fun.

Also, parts of it seemed strangely outdated, even though it was published fewer than ten years ago. Inviting guests individually by phone calls, rather than making a Facebook event? Making money off your guests, even with low-priced items? All those product parties that are the rage these days have made that idea awfully tacky. I don't think your friends want to feel you're inviting them over just to make money off of them. That'll get old quick.

I admit I didn't finish it -- out of the four audiobook CDs, I didn't get through the first two. It was getting sillier and weirder with her suggested themes and food combinations, and just not working for me.

I like you Amy Sedaris. Upon reading this book I quickly implemented the "Fuck It Bucket." A bucket of candy that when life gets you down just say "fuck it" and eat a piece of candy. Life's better with a Fuck It Bucket.

Both Amy Sedaris and her brother David are frequent guests on David Letterman, and write hilarious books. My daughter sent this to me for my birthday, because she knows how much I like funny books. This book is a humorous look at how to throw parties, and good recipes for parties. Plus lots of silly/funny advice on life in general.

I need to make something very clear up front; I am not the target audience for this book. I don't cook (much), I seldom entertain, and I have had exactly one semi-formal party in my entire life. I am a single man who likes his quiet homelife. In spite of these shortcomings, I enjoyed this book very much. Sedaris has a silly deadpan style that you have to read carefully to find the humor, and I like that style very much. She does not typically make her humor obvious, like Moe hitting Curly in the face with a shovel, to prove a point. While I will admit that my definition of humor is so broad that I also enjoy the Three Stooges, in general I want my comedy to be slightly more refined. If you like general humor books you can purchase this with confidence. If you are also a person who likes to entertain, this is a must for your collection.

I just picked this book up again after leaving it on my cookbook shelf for the past year or so. I forgot about the fun children's game ideas. This morning, my daughter and I played a variation on one of the games in the book. I tied her up (binded her hands and legs with scarves) and put a loose blindfold on her. I told her she had ten minutes to slither like a worm to the front door and touch it with her head. She's morbid, and wanted to pretend she was trying to escape a kidnapper, so we tried it that way. She made it out of the blankets wrapped around her, off the bed, out my bedroom door, down the hallway and down the stairs to the front door in less than ten minutes. A proud moment for Mama.
The recipes are cool, too.

Amy Sedaris takes a half serious half humorous look at the lost art of hospitality. While portions of the book were laugh out loud hilarious others were just bizarre and absurd. The one thing I can take a way from this book is add more alcohol to everything.

It may just be that I'm not cool enough for this book, but after I was bored and annoyed by the audibook, I checked out the hardcover copy to scan for recipes. I hated the book much more. I felt that most of her tips were obvious, useless, not as funny as she was trying to be, and overall just dumb. The pictures, although I'm sure there was some creative and artistic brilliance involved in making it just so, were offensively UGLY, making even the recipes I had thought I might like to try look disgusting.

If you're interested in amazing recipes like, "The best rootbeer float: Add 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in your favorite glass and fill with root beer. Serve with spoon and straw.", you'll perhaps just love this book.

It's pretty clear that the name "Sedaris" is synonymous with "hilarious." Amy Sedaris is just as funny as her brother David Sedaris, which is excellent for those of us looking for reliable authors we can remember at bookstores. I love Amy's pairing of advice and humor and find her take on hospitality refreshing and honest. I plan to recommend this book to my friends and I think the audiobook will make an excellent gift come next Christmas.

I LOVE Amy Sedaris! This book is so cute, a tongue-in-cheek entertainment guide with rules on how to throw a party for a variety of guests, including alcoholics (this is an important thing to learn for me, considering my friends), the elderly, and children. With cute pictures, fun ideas for games and ways to make money while entertaining your friends, and lots recipes (though I don't cook, perhaps one day my wife will be able to use this book when cooking for our guests).

If you do like to cook, this book will be especially enjoyable for you, because she does include a ton of recipes for a variety of meals. That part really went above what I really needed... I guess I should have expected it, considering that I found it in the cookbook section of the bookstore.

This light and funny book is full of recipes and more (than you bargain for). The recipes featured a homey and old-school, which I find comforting and a nice addition to my collection. In addition, you will find a tongue-in-cheek guide to entertaining for various types of situations (such as the elderly, while under the influence, etc.) Finally, you can find things in this book that you didn't even know you were looking for, such as feminine cleanliness.

This was a fun book to browse through, however, I am glad that I picked it up at the library instead of purchasing it. I may copy some of the recipes out of it, but in general, this is not a book I would refer to again. However, if you are a fan of Amy Sedaris, you may find this book to be right up your alley.

I've been an Amy Sedaris fan for years, following the exploits of Tattletail and then Dusty, and her tragically-murdered imaginary boyfriend, Ricky. It always made my day when I'd discover that she was slated for a Letterman appearance. Having had the opportunity to enjoy her up close and personal at BlogHer '07, I was tickled to finally be able to get around to reading her latest book.

OK, first of all: You can absolutely trust the recipes in the book. They're for real, and pretty darn good (although her version of hushpuppies doesn't even have the tiniest pinch of sugar in it, but that's a personal thing). Basically, the first half is a hilarious read with tons of great tips on just being courteous (such as doing your shopping during business hours if you do not work from 9-5), and the last half is crammed full of recipes.

I doubt that I will be throwing any totally Sedaris-style parties, or asking guests to buy things from my house, or stealing Vicodin from sick friends, but I will definitely be making good use of (my autographed copy of !!) this book.

Oh, one other thing: This book is particularly useful to city-dwellers. It never would have occurred to me to consider things like how much counter-space my host had when deciding what to take to a dinner-party.