Sooo much better than [b:The Wordy Shipmates|2845287|The Wordy Shipmates|Sarah Vowell|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SzjsTlv0L._SL75_.jpg|3093704]. It's classic Sarah Vowell: humor mixed with history and a liberal smattering of sincerity.And she quotes one of my favorite television writer/producers, Doug Petrie! She doesn't mention his last name, but she talks to him for the chapter on Al Gore and another well-known nerd, Willow from Buffy. ( )

Some of the selections are a bit random and don't really fit with her writings of political satire. Other pieces are simply laugh-out-loud funny (which is interesting when listening to this on an airplane). I listened to this on audio book and it took a little bit to get over her teenager-with-a-bad-head-cold voice. But the funny bits are funny regardless. ( )

This was okay. She gets on my nerves. ( )

I saw Ms. Vowell on The Rachel Maddow show recently and immediately knew I had to read a book of hers. There was just something about her super smart, spunky attitude that intrigued me. This book was no disapointment. It's wonderful. That same smart-ass attitude couple with real smarts comes across perfectly. The book reminds me of the tv show, Seinfeld. It's a book about nothing, yet it's really about everything. ( )

I love Sarah Vowell's literary voice. I really enjoyed her dry humor in each and every one of her anecdotes about everything from history, to politics, to life experiences as a twin. ( )

Sarah Vowell's essays about our country, our history, and our culture are witty and insightful. I liked some better than others. Particular favorites were "Ike Was a Handsome Man" about presidential libraries and "Rosa Parks, C'est Moi" about some people's audacity to compare themselves to Rosa Parks. Reading this book made me want to travel all around the country and visit national parks and small museums about very specific histories. ( )

The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell is a compilation of essays, stories and anecdotes with a theme of liberal politics and history. I’d been meaning to read Sarah Vowell for a while. She’d been mentioned in the same breath with David Sedaris whom I find hilarious and I’d seen her titles on a co-worker’s bookshelf. She’s got good taste which helped sway my thoughts. Throw in some love from Jon Stewart and it seemed that what I was really missing in my life was reading Ms. Vowell. (And what a great name for a writer eh?)

I enjoyed The Partly Cloudy Patriot, though I’m not sure everyone would, particularly if you have a conservative mindset. No, she’s not anywhere near the Augusten Burroughs nor David Sedaris in the out-in-left-left-field department, but she’s not really a moderate either. Let’s face it, she trekked to the Bush inauguration to show her displeasure for the way in which he was elected. Don’t get me wrong, I lean that way heavily myself and in some ways admire those who have the time and inclination to partake in the political discourse. But … I have things to do too.

Read my full review on the Used Books Blog:
http://usedbooksblog.com/blog/the-par... ( )

I love Vowell's writing. This is a book of smart, funny, poignant essays, about politics, family, history, New York, Montana, popular culture. She has a remarkable way of stating strong opinions and yet keeping an open mind; you just know she could dialogue with anyone.

Vowell can clearly express, for example, how really bad Bush is for the US (and the world) without coming right out and saying how really bad Bush is for the US (and the world). I aspire to be her. Or at least to write like her. At the very least, I wish I'd had her for a history teacher.

This is my second Sarah Vowell; I listened to the audio version of Assassination Vacation last year, which is also stellar. She's moved onto my Favorite Authors list. ( )

I love Sarah Vowell. She writes in a truly accessible way, both entertaining and educating. This book mostly covered history and politics and after reading it I want to learn more about both. She's funny, honest, and smart. She's pretty much the writer I long to be. ( )

http://avidbookwoman.wordpress.com/20... ( )

I enjoyed this audiobook - a bit of a change from my normal reading, but a very nice listen. The essays aren't all directly about patriotism per se, but they can all tie back in some way to what it means to be an American (with the exception of one essay on Tom Cruise which was not bad on its own merits, but was jarringly out of place in this collection.) The essays are largely lighthearted if not always exactly humorous, yet they manage to hit some pretty serious subjects and sources of strong emotion. However, they also never veer into the territory of lecturing you for not being a good enough patriot, unlike the similarly-themed (but very differently toned) Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver. This book was not particularly good for listening to as I went to sleep - I need more of a story and less of Sara Vowell's unique voice for that - but was otherwise nice to have discrete chunks of essays. Overall, like Assassination Vacation, this book was very enjoyable given how far outside my normal range of reading interests it falls. ( )

A collection of Sarah Vowell’s amusing and inspiring essays about patriotism, its good and bad sides. ( )

I love Sarah Vowell, and checked this book out after reading Assassination Vacation. I learn so much from reading her, and laugh, and learn to embrace my inner nerd. ( )

I enjoyed this book a lot. I've been a Sarah Vowell fan for a number of years, having first heard her reading her own stories on NPR's This American Life. Her unusual voice and slight lisp give her a distinctive sound that somehow endears me to her words even more.

In reading these essays and short stories about life in America, I frequently found myself chuckling out loud and thinking about my own take on what it means to be a citizen in this vast and varied country. I especially appreciate Ms. Vowell's ability to cherish her iron-clad, lefty convictions, while writing with love and tenderness about family members whose convictions land solidly on the other end of nearly every spectrum. It takes a person of strength and humility to accept and even love people whose views fight against your own at every turn.

I didn't love every piece in this book, but I enjoyed most of them a great deal. Also, I loved that each essay was a bite-sized morsel, easily polished off on the train to and from work. It's so satisfying to read something to the point of completion, without the mental, emotional, or time commitment of more than 45 minutes at a shot.

Give Sarah Vowell a try. You'll like her! ( )

I've enjoying the work of Vowell lately. It's fun to back and listen to her PRI broadcasts on This American Life. ( )

My first, and so far only, trip to the largest mall in the United States was marked by a number of events: sore feet, exhaustion, caffeine overindulgence, crappy mall food and the impulse purchase and subsequent reading of "The Partly Cloudy Patriot." A smart, witty trip through a variety of different topics, the book is part historical travelogue, part family memoir and part cultural study. Vowell writes with wit and insight about such scattered issues as Tom Cruise, The French Revolution and the 2000 presidential inauguration. Her best work comes from her various forays into history, particularly her visits to different historical locations, tackling both the history of the place and its current state as a tourist stop. One of the best humorists out there.

(This review originally appeared on zombieunderground.net) ( )

i love it! here voice is so distinct and on target! ( )

Witty musings on politics, history, and patriotism from This American Life darling Sarah Vowell. Sarah Vowell is the closest to a female David Sedaris I've found thus far; it's as though someone took David Sedaris's self-deprecating wit, mixed it with Eddie Izzard's knowledge of history, and then set the combination loose on your average band geek. Or something. I love Sarah Vowell's extreme nerdiness, and this was a very enjoyable book. ( )