Magical Thinking: True Stories (original 2004; edition 2005)

by Augusten Burroughs

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Member:	ianthes
Title:	Magical Thinking: True Stories
Authors:	Augusten Burroughs
Info:	Picador (2005), Edition: First Picador Edition, Paperback, 304 pages
Collections:	Your library
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Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs (2004)

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▾Member reviews

English (44) Italian (2) Tagalog (1) Portuguese (1) All languages (48)

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Showing 1-5 of 44 (next | show all)

Ok. I really, really wanted to like this book a lot. It was a quick, easy read: a compilation of snippets from the author's life and thoughts. A few of the stories unfolded nicely and others felt like Burroughs was trying a bit too hard to jar the reader. It reminded me of the kid who sticks a pencil in his nose to get everyone’s attention. Vanderbilt Genes and Telemarketing Revenge were two stories that were just right. For me, towards the end of the book it felt like a repeating merry-go-round of darkness that just wasn’t funny, interesting or engaging. (

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MichelleCH | Apr 5, 2013 |

There are few authors who can write autobiographically-based short stories and end with me desperately wanting to befriend them. Not that it would work...I'm a bit more enthusiastic than Augusten Burroughs might care to handle.

I'm starting to lose count of the number of times I've read this. (

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annmariestover | Apr 4, 2013 |

Transferring the books on my spreadsheet to Goodreads

sally906 | Apr 3, 2013 |

Wry, witty, funny, sarcastic, mean (at times)...I adore Augusten Burroughs. His take on the world around him is so sharp. This book covers everything from his childhood obsession with being famous (and then freezing up for a commercial for Tang) to his now domesticated life with boyfriend Dennis. His written is beautiful and his take on the world unique. Love his nonfiction. (

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bookwormteri | Feb 28, 2013 |

Heavily disguised autobiographical anecdotes, neither as funny or as clever as they would like to think. (

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phoebesmum | Nov 20, 2012 |

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Is contained in

Dry / Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs

Set of 3 Books By Augusten Burroughs - Running with Scissors, Dry, Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs

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Canonical title

Magical Thinking

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2004

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Awards and honors

Lambda Literary Award Nominee (Humor, 2004)

New York Times bestseller (Nonfiction, 2004)

Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book (2005.5|Adult Nonfiction Honor Book, 2005)

Amazon.com Best Books (2004)

Epigraph

Magical thinking: A schizotypal personality disorder attributing to one's own actions something that had nothing to do with him or her and thus assuming that one has a greater influence over events than is actually the case.

Dedication

For RobisonService.com

First words

When I was seven, I was plucked from my uneventful life deep in darkest Massachusetts and dropped into a Tang Instant Breakfast Drink commercial.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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▾References

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Wikipedia in English (2)

Augusten Burroughs

Magical Thinking (book)

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

First edition, first printing, flat signed by author, unread in fine condition

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▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0312315953, Paperback)

It’s best to know this from the start: Augusten Burroughs is mean. Augusten Burroughs is also outrageously X-rated. If you can get past those two things, Burroughs might just be the most refreshing voice in American books today, and his collection of acerbic essays will have you laughing out loud even while cringing in your seat. Whether he is stepping on the fingers of little children or giving you the blow-by-blow on a very unholy act, Burroughs manages to do it in a way that fills conflicted fans with both horror and glee.

Spanning from the surprisingly Machiavellian portrayal of his role in a Tang commercial at age seven to his more recent foray into dog ownership, Burroughs has what seems to be an endless supply of offbeat life experiences. Much like earlier David Sedaris collections (Barrel Fever or Naked), there are occasional fits and starts in the flow of the writing, but ultimately, Magical Thinking is worth reading (and re-reading). If you’re familiar with Burroughs's memoirs, Running with Scissors, and Dry, you may find parts of Magical Thinking repetitive, since these essays bounce around in time between the other two. In fact, in an ideal world, this collection would have come first, as it offers an excellent introduction to Burroughs's fascinating life. --Vicky Griffith

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:39:57 -0500)

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▾Library descriptions

"A contest of wills with a deranged cleaning lady. The execution of a rodent carried out with military precision and utter horror. Telemarketing revenge. A different kind of "roof work." Dating an undertaker who drives a mini-van. This is the fabric of Augusten Burroughs's life: a collection of true stories that are universal in their appeal yet unabashedly intimate, stories that shine a flashlight into both dark and hilarious places."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)

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