Books like Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

A globe-trotting masterclass in finding the hilarious, grotesque, and surprisingly tender details hidden in everyday life. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls.

absurd
prickly
amused

01
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
David Sedaris · 2008
A masterclass in turning everyday mortifications and neurotic spirals into sharp, surprisingly tender comedy.
Shares:
- wry
- sardonic
- self-deprecating
- observant
02
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
David Sedaris · 2004
A hilarious, sharp-tongued exploration of the inescapable, absurd, and ultimately endearing trap of family.
Shares:
- absurd
- prickly
- wry
- self-deprecating
03
Consider the lobster, and other essays
David Foster Wallace · 2005
A dizzying, hyper-articulate plunge into the absurdities and moral anxieties of modern American life.
Shares:
- wry
- observant
04
I was told there'd be cake
Sloane Crosley
A wry and hilarious celebration of well-intentioned haplessness in the modern city.
Shares:
- wry
- self-deprecating
05
Don't Get Too Comfortable
David Rakoff
A bitingly funny, Wildean grand tour through the absurdities of American overconsumption and the special circle of gilded-age hell we've built for ourselves.
Shares:
- absurd
06
A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again
David Foster Wallace · 1997
A hyper-articulate, deeply neurotic plunge into the surreal and exhausting landscape of American leisure.
Shares:
- absurd
- sardonic
- self-deprecating
07
Notes from a Big Country
Bill Bryson
A hilarious, slightly cranky re-acclimation to American life through the eyes of a returning expat.
Shares:
- amused
- wry
08
Furiously Happy
Jenny Lawson
A wildly tangential, laugh-out-loud manifesto on fighting crippling depression with weaponized absurdity.
Shares:
- absurd
- irreverent
09
The World According to Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
A boisterous, laugh-out-loud tour through the absurdities and eccentricities of modern life.
Shares:
- amused
- wry
- irreverent
10
The Polysyllabic Spree
Nick Hornby · 2004
A laugh-out-loud, highly relatable chronicle of the eternal battle between the books we buy and the books we actually read.
Shares:
- wry
- self-deprecating
11
The road to Little Dribbling
Bill Bryson
A hilariously grumpy yet deeply affectionate stroll through the eccentricities of modern Britain.
Shares:
- wry
- observant
12
Metropolitan Life
Fran Lebowitz · 1978
A sharp, witty collection of essays capturing the absurdities and customs of city living.
Shares:
- wry
- observant

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