Product Details
Possible Side Effects

Possible Side Effects
By Augusten Burroughs

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Product Description

From the million-copy bestselling author of Running with Scissors comes Augusten Burroughs’s most provocative collection yet.
This audiobook is approved for consumption by those seeking pleasure, escape, amusement, enlightenment, or general distraction. This audiobook is not approved to treat disorders such as eBay addiction or incessant blind dating.
 
In studies, some people reported inappropriate, convulsive laughter, a tingling sensation in the limbs, and sudden gasping. Fewer than 1 percent reported narcolepsy.
 
Doll collectors may experience special sensitivity, as may discourteous drivers, candy-company brand managers, and nicotine-gum users.
 
This audiobook has been shown to be especially helpful to those with parents, grandparents, life partners, and incontinent dogs. People with dry, cracked skin have responded well to this audiobook, as have people with certain heart conditions.
 
Do not operate heavy machinery while listening to this book, until you know what effects it may have on you.
 
This audiobook is contraindicated in those suffering from certain psychiatric disorders, including---but not limited to---listeners afflicted with anhedonia, which is the inability to experience pleasure.
 
Ask your doctor about Possible Side Effects.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1004519 in Books
  • Published on: 2006-05-02
  • Released on: 2006-05-02
  • Formats: Audiobook, CD, Unabridged
  • Original language: English
  • Dimensions: .1 pounds
  • Binding: Audio CD

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Nostalgia, entertainment and humor are possible side effects of listening to this audiobook. Burroughs delivers a slew of reflections about both serious and mundane aspects of his life. His style of delivery fluctuates from piece to piece so one is never sure what the theme or moral is until he finishes. When he's not highlighting the idiosyncrasies of humanity or his own eccentricities, he romanticizes life in New York City, plots John Updike's death and expounds upon the love of his partner or pets. Though his performance keeps listener's attention, it's far from stellar. He fluctuates with character accents. He voices all of his women in the same tone and quality. His overemphasis with expletives often detracts because it's not usually necessary; expletives will stand out on their own. His youthful voice does help legitimate the stories in that the experiences shared need vibrancy to imply truthfulness. Light and endearing with the occasional somber thought, this audiobook takes hold of listeners from the beginning and carries them through adventures and mishaps that prove worth the trip.
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From AudioFile
Not all writers are suited to read their work aloud. But Augusten Burroughs brings both attitude and gravitas to the material in his new work. Burroughs reminiscences of his early days, and his reproduction of his Grandmother Caroline's Southern accent is both funny and loving. Burroughs uses his insight into the characters in his life to add color and depth. The maturation of the author is reflected in his delivery of pieces on his purchase of a dog he was too drunk to take care of, his purchase of a endearing dog with a bladder-control problem, and the dawning of his realization that everyone is worthy of love. R.O. [Editor's Note: A soundreview is also available at Audiopolis, www.audiofilemagazine.com.] © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Burroughs is the author of the memoir Running with Scissors (2002), a "runaway" best-seller, and an equally popular collection of essays, Magical Thinking (2004). In light of recent publishing events vis-a-vis truth versus truth-stretching in memoir writing, it is interesting to note the author's prefatory comments in this, his latest collection of memoir-essays. He indicates that some events recounted in the pieces have been "expanded and changed" and that some of the "individuals portrayed are composites of more than one person." What follows is a series of funny, extremely eloquent takes on modern life and Burroughs' own particular responses to life's various stimuli. "Bloody Sunday" begins with a nosebleed on an airplane flight from New York to London and then describes his reluctance to get out and enjoy the sights once there. "The Sacred Cow" is a very sweet story about getting a second bulldog, and now both his dogs, the new one and the older one, are "more precious to me than anything." And "Killing John Updike" finds Burroughs collecting Updike first editions before he dies ("If I was going to spend two thousand dollars on a book about a rabbit, that old man better be dead by morning, or I was going to be furious"). Irreverence done to an amusing turn. Brad Hooper
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