Radio On

Book #18 was Sarah Vowell's first full length book Radio On: A Listener's Diary. If you are already a full fldged Sarah Vowell fan, I'd recommend it - it's a good book full of examples of her raw style and prose, and, as such, could never be all-out bad. But, it's certainly not anywhere near my favorite work by Ms Vowell. Radio On is a diary of her listening to the radio for a full year in the 90's. She tried to listen to the radio for at least a bit of time every day, and by the end of the book she grouses incessantly about how much she hates doing it. You can hardly blame her - she listens to a range of radio, and I think most people would agree that much of what's on the radio is pretty tough to listen to (radio call in shows about relationships, annoying DJs, endless commercials... Long live KEXP).

But, having said that, there is a part of you (or at least me :) as a reader that feels semi-guilty about putting her through this and semi annoyed that she keeps reminding you how much she hates writing about this for *your* reading pleasure.

The book is also a lot more personal. Even in her autobiographical This American Life pieces, they aren't really all that personal. This book is exactly the opposite - you really feel like you know Ms Vowell as a person (cantankerous, at times, funny at others) by the end of the Diary. Which is why, if you are already a Ms Vowell fan, it's probably worth a read. You can really see the beginnings of her extremely unique writing style as it gestates, and that's a lot of fun. But if you've never read Ms Vowel''s work and you're trying to decide if it is to your taste or not, I'd start somewhere else. Take the Cannoli, Partly Cloudy Patriot, and (I'm hoping) Assassination Vacation are all more emblematic of her newer more codified style and, as such, are slightly better first timer reads.

Plus, the Radio On cover is terrible. I mean, come on. White on Black with a dial emblem? Ick.