Telling a tale with humor tickles my funny bone. You just have to laugh even at the things that make you cry.

Rating - 7.7

Marginally better than Running with Scissors but it raises the question of America's fascination with rehabbing, homosexuals (Sedaris, Frey, Burroughs) & all their issues - maybe it provides a feeling of superiority

More light-hearted with some nice stories but you also wonder how Burroughs was able to enter & ascend in the advertising industry (based on his past & abuses); Should I consider writing a memoir?

Oh my God, what a shithead. And thus ends this phase!

I read this on the crapper, and still found myself wishing that it were something else. Augusten Burroughs was recommended to me by one of my more self-indulgent friends, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the fluffiness of the subject matter in this collection of personal anecdotes. Yes, they were sort of funny and sort of clever, but basically this guy is a less witty version of David Sedaris.

It took me a while to get into this book, but I was giggling madly by the second half of the book. Augusten Burroughs has a cruel streak a little wider than mine, and I like to think that if I stepped on a little girl's hand, I would have the devious nature to walk away and pretend it never happened. I can't wait to read more of his stuff!

Not as absorbing as his first two memoirs, this one feels like it was squeezed out of the same fruit. Still juicy, though. I was bored by the persistent focus on a new boyfriend, which might have felt more fresh in 2005 when it was politically expedient for well-to-do gays to demonstrate the conformity and banality of their domestic arrangements. Speaking of 2005, there are a small handful of bum notes that probably wouldn't have raised eyebrows at the time. The characteristically quippy narration and sardonic observations about life in New York, eccentrics, and late capitalism made it an amusing, easy read.

3.5 stars

This is an interesting book of short stories. Well ..... stories isn't exactly the right word, but I can't really pin which word I should use ....... not stories .. musings, maybe? ......no, no ...not musings ..... um, diary entries? .......... no. ...........not exactly diary entries, but closer I think. Actually - more like written self-therapy journal entries - which is probably the essence of this exercise!!

So how did I feel about this collection of stories you ask? Hmmm. So how did I feel about this collection. Well, it was a mixed bag of stories and my feelings were about the same. It was all over the map for me. Sometimes I was snorting out loud and laughing uproariously. Other times were just plain squirmy for me. The awkwardness was wayyyyyy too uncomfortable. The rawness was like flayed skin and some things were funny, but not really a light humor at all. Thankfully the end stories were the lightest ones and I was grateful for that. My favorite one was the one that this book is titled after - Magical Thinking.

I get magical thinking actually. Personally, I know it works. I can't tell you how many times I've thought of someone only to have them call me or contact me shortly afterwards. It's a weird feeling and I won't call it coincidence either because it's just happened too many times to say that it's not magical. I also believe in karma - the old 'what comes around, goes around'. That is an absolute in my life too. So I've usually just let things run their course - the old 'let go, let God' idea. It happens. The trick is to know that it will and not worry things to death. I'm still working on that.

Anyways, an interesting book with some uncomfortable spots and lots of great funny moments. Well worth the read.

Fucking awful.

Why anyone ever gives this more than one star, well, it doesnt deserve the discussion.

Hes not a good writer. Hes narcissistic and not in a lets sit down and laugh about it sort of way.

Please, dont ever read him.

I got this book on a whim after reading all it's praise on the front cover. I mean 237 positive critiques from the worlds most reputable sources can't be all wrong, can they?

Besides, I love David Sedaris, and out of the 237 reviews, 235 of them had a fond comparison.

One of the things that gets under my skin is the way he approaches his homosexuality. It defines him. And he comes across as saying, "I don't want to be defined by my homosexuality, but let me tell you about the catholic priests I've seduced," or "my boyfriend likes big black men with tight butts..." I'm toning it WAY down, and the list goes WAY on... David Sedaris is gay too, but I didn't feel that in his writing it defined who he was. I don't walk away from David's book saying, "memoirs of a gay man," just like if I ever write I would hope people walked away with more than, "*sigh* another straight man's memoirs..."

Not that there weren't funny anecdotes in here. The "rat thing" was great, and I loved the episode with his cleaning lady. But they weren't enough to elevate the book above, "it was ok."

manca l'effetto "novità" che aveva "correndo con le forbici in mano", in cui ci si imbatteva per la prima volta nello stile di augusten burroughs, e qualche volta si tende alla ripetizione, però resta il piacere di guardare il mondo attraverso uno sguardo candidamente acido e una serie di vicende decisamente esilaranti.

I’m not entirely sure what I think of Magical Thinking. I do like the title essay, and I think the essays at the end of the book are stronger than those at the beginning.

Good collection of short stories.