Partly Cloudy Patriot

I absolutely love this book.

I bought it on CD to listen to during my drive from Reston to Atlanta, and I loved it then. Yesterday, I listened to it as I unpacked everything we own — ok, I didn’t actually unpack everything, but I started — and I love it even more.

First, Sarah Vowell’s pieces on public radio’s This American Life are always dryly funny, and this is the concentrated essence of that wit and humor.

My FAVORITE parts were:

• On the second CD, in an essay on the New German Cinema, Vowell talks about how she was such a young fogey, she actually became less mature as she got older, and how in her mid-20s, she discovered fun. Ring any bells???????
• Several essays discuss being a nerd, nerds in the media (Hello, Willow & Giles!) and one advises Al Gore on how to use his nerdy characteristics more effectively, by being self-deprecating.
• Vowell’s take on being a patriotic American while disagreeing with many policies of the US government and the President were inspiring. Her essay on media and teenagers in New Hampshire during the 2000 campaign was written the way I wish I wrote. Her letter to Congressman Mike Synar was so sweet and moving — I hope new Members of Congress read it and it inspires them to treat young people with respect and care.

I wish the CD had a table of contents and essay titles. I’d like to be able to read some of these, instead of just listening to them. But the content is fabulous, and I expect I’ll listen to pieces of it again.

I wish I knew which political discussion listservs Vowell participates in — I’d like to join in those discussions.