Theft by Finding is an audiobook by David Sedaris, narrated by David Sedaris. The unabridged Audible edition runs 13 hrs 52 mins.
Publisher’s Summary
David Sedaris tells all in a book that is, literally, a lifetime in the making.
For forty years, David Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention-overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers. These observations are the source code for his finest work, and through them he has honed his cunning, surprising sentences.
Now, Sedaris shares his private writings with the world. Theft by Finding, the first of two volumes, is the story of how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet.
Written with a sharp eye and ear for the bizarre, the beautiful, and the uncomfortable, and with a generosity of spirit that even a misanthropic sense of humor can’t fully disguise, Theft By Finding proves that Sedaris is one of our great modern observers. It’s a potent reminder that when you’re as perceptive and curious as Sedaris, there’s no such thing as a boring day.
One of the most anticipated books of 2017: Boston Globe, New York Times Book Review, New York‘s “Vulture”, The Week, Bustle, BookRiot
An NPR Best Book of 2017
An AV Club Favorite Book of 2017
A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2017
A Goodreads Choice Awards nominee
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 13 hrs 52 mins
- Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
- Release year: 2017
- Audible category: LGBTQ+ / Biographies & Memoirs / Literature & Fiction
Listener Ratings
Theft by Finding holds an average listener rating of 4.4/5 from 6900 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.7/5
- Story: 4.3/5
- 5-star ratings: 65% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “Great Listening!! Also nice sleep aid!!”
Ok! I like what I had read by Sedaris before buying this. I enjoyed this as well!
I do recommend if you like Sedaris, his style, and/or if you like the inside story of someone’s life. I found the sociocultural climate that accompanied the times over which this stretches. Example – hitchhiking to get places in the 1970’s.As a bonus, I have found that Sedaris’ voice is so smooth, calming and nicely paced, and it is a great sleep timer listen to help fall asleep.
So I definitely recommend
— Nancy J. Martin, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “So Happy, Loved it!”
First of all, I am a very serious fan of David Sedaris and it would be sacrilege for me to rate it anything less than 5 stars.That being said, because I have read all his other books and am already acquainted with his personality and life, Theft By Finding felt like being reacquainted with and old friend. This book is different than the others and shouldn’t really be compared to his previous memoirs. It’s a different kind of animal but, I expected it to be.
After all, these are his actual diary entries and that’s the context. This is great if you are familiar with his work because fragments or seedlings of his previously critically acclaimed stories pop up here an there in this book. It also painted a fuller picture of David’s life and I enjoyed noticing how much he evolved from the first entries to the last.
I can’t wait to read it again❤️
— WD Latham LLC , Audible listener
3/5 stars — “slow beginning then picks up at the end”
I downloaded because I enjoy Sedaris and find his material is enhanced when he reads it himself. I found the beginning to be slow because all he talks about is being broke. Things pick up in the middle and end. I dislike certain production aspects…if Sedaris mentions that a woman farted in a restaurant, they insert a fart noise. It’s unnecessary and distracting – we all know what a fart sounds like. Also, they break each chapter with music – they play it over David while he’s talking the last few minutes of the chapter. Just leave the story alone.— MamaK, Audible listener
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