Tom Lynch

The line is out the door, and the building's been filled since early afternoon.

Author David Sedaris rests at Barbara's Bookstore in Oak Park and greets hundreds of fans who anxiously await his signature on the title page of his newest, "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim." The old, the young and the shoppers who have wandered into a madhouse all stand, sweating due to the extreme heat in the store, in total amazement. And he hasn't even read yet.

"We're taking Mama D in to get the Corky test," Sedaris yells in a mimic North Carolina drawl in an effort to encapsulate his brother's emotion while he takes his pregnant wife in for an ultrasound, from the story "Baby Einstein." The crowd roars and hollers. More accents fly from the confident Sedaris--more Southerners, nurses, his father, himself--until the story's over and the applause tears through the room. "I'll sign some more books over there," Sedaris says, referring to the kid's book section where more fans congregate around his table. "There are so many people though. Normally I sign your name at the top and my name at the bottom, and then I write a bunch of bullshit in between. But I don't think there's enough time, so I'll just write your name and my name, and you can write your own bullshit."

Sedaris barrels through the crowd toward the table, and each person has a long wait in line to think of the perfect bullshit to write.

(2004-06-09)

Also by Tom Lynch

Tip of the Week
Something tells me there isn't much keeping this band from being an all out gross-fest of hippie sweat, sandals and psychedelic pedals, but for the time being, the indie pop works
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Dressed for success
His newest, "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim," follows the Sedaris-patented formula--twenty-two separate stories, almost all recollections of a basic childhood and adolescence made nutty with the addition of an adult's sarcasm
(2004-06-02)

Tip of the Week
Various contributors investigate ideas of the new "female power" with intimidating knowledge of pop culture, politics, gender, and race
(2004-05-25)

Tip of the Week
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Tip of the Week
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Calvin Johnson's solo act
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Movie moan
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Tip of the Week
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Author Visit
(2004-05-05)

Dancing Swede
(2004-05-05)

Tip of the Week
(2004-04-27)

Ugly funny
(2004-04-27)

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