David Ellis Dickerson

(Disclaimer: I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads contest.)

I feel like I should have enjoyed this book more than I should have. By all things considered, I should have -- in a book blurb, [a:David Ellis Dickerson|3255461|David Ellis Dickerson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] was favorably compared to [a:David Sedaris|2849|David Sedaris|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1213737698p2/2849.jpg] (a beloved favorite of mine); he grew up a fundamentalist Christian and became disillusioned; and he enjoys the language with which he writes so much that it borders on the fringe of ultimate nerdiness. All of these I could respect and relate to in the same book.

However, Dickerson is no Sedaris, although I must give credit where it's due: I did find House of Cards a thoroughly entertaining read, and there were many a parts in which I found myself guffawing (most notably, with the jokes that language nerds fully appreciate and will never find tiresome).

House of Cards is a beautifully-written memoir, but like I said, I didn't like it as much as I should have, as much as I expected. Even now the only memorable sections were during the break-up with Jane and the instances of backstabbing, passive-aggressiveness by what seems the entirety of the company. Perhaps they were the only parts in which I felt connected to the author's experiences; perhaps I'm merely at a loss to identify with the social ostracization due to an intelligence no one around you understands -- but that's a personal disconnect. Dickerson is in a league (nearly) all his own in intelligence, and that I can, at least, certainly admire.

Overall, House of Cards was a diverting read, as well as quite uniquely informative; it's not everyday, after all, that you're able to learn the inner-workings of a greeting card corporate machine and the writers that fill their hallways.

That said, I wish David happiness and luck in his new home of Florida (or wherever he may be now). He's certainly the type that will embrace that fortune and happiness with the enthusiasm it deserves.… (mehr)

This was way better than I expected. I could relate to the author better than I expected since I am girl, although when he dumped his fiance and didn't even realize he was being an ass about it all I definitely was not on his side! I am not nearly as good at writing as he is, so part of the time I was thinking how similar I am to him then other times I was thinking how I would like to be like him (academically/professionally).

Several times throughout the book I was shaking my head at him, like how could he not realize from even the first "you talk too much" comment that he was in trouble--I guessed it right away, and felt bad for him each time he did something that was going to get him in trouble. Or when he decided to search for Mardi Gras pictures, I was begging him to please stop before it was too late. Then it was. Although, if I were a gross boy and then got called out on it, I would have wanted to know how they found out, if it was really caught on camera.



*received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads… (mehr)