Magical Thinking

Augusten Burroughs, bestselling author of DRY and RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, offers a new collection of humorous essays searching for signs of intelligent life in his universe and, usually, not finding it. Magical thinking, according to psychologists, is the belief that one exerts more influence over life events than one actually does, and if magical thinking is a malady, then Burroughs has it. Reading with delicious irony, Burroughs explores the outrageous side of life--his life. There's the hilarious account of Augusten, star-struck teen actor, getting cut from a TV Tang commercial because he wants to "emote" and a seriously bizarre encounter by an older Augusten with an undertaker in a funeral parlor. Burroughs reads well; his perspective is witty, and his essays, appealing and agreeably shocking. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

October 4, 2004
It would be tempting to call these highly personal and uninhibited essays painfully honest, except that Burroughs (Running with Scissors; Dry
) is so forthright about his egocentricity that the revelations don't appear to cause him much pain. He approaches his material with a blithe tone that oozes sarcasm and crocodile tears. But the palpable humor of the writing itself endears listeners to him enough that they won't be completely repelled by even Burroughs's ugliest moments (which include his less than gallant reaction to accidentally stepping on a toddler's fingers in a store). His performance is off the cuff, but even when he's at his least humane, he still comes across as all too human. He adopts the same openness that made his previous memoirs—dealing with his bizarre upbringing and battle with addiction—so successful; now, however, he's focusing on less serious subject matter and displaying failings that are more vain. Burroughs excels in his personifications of others, whether portraying a domineering cleaning woman or an overbearing boss. While some may secretly wish for the death of such a boss, though, Burroughs admits openly and proudly that he believes he can will it to happen. That attitude, which is accentuated by his reading, makes this audiobook a true guilty pleasure. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (Forecasts, July 12).