When You Are Engulfed in Flames

It goes without saying that the latest collection of David Sedaris stories, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, is funny.

His family and boyfriend are not the center of most of the stories, which is unfortunate because those are the stories I laugh at the hardest and reread the most. Most of the stories are about him and random people - someone beside him on a flight, his pot dealer's wife, a limo driver in New York, a random neighbor in France, an obnoxious neighbor in New York.

Don't get me wrong: I'm still sitting on the train, shaking with silent laughter, as I read.

I don't know if I can name a favorite yet, but one that's in the running includes a paragraph where he explains that his washing machine makes him feel good about himself. It says to him, "You've made it, no more laundromat for you," while his stove reminds him every day that he can't cook. To which the bathroom scale says, "Well he must be doing something. My numbers are off the charts!"

More than anything, the stories remind me of the conversations I have with Ben, since many of the stories are about random encounters with fellow travellers who you decide you hate within seconds of them parking their ass next to you on the train.