About this Event
New York Times bestselling author David Sedaris discusses and signs his latest book The Land and Its People, a collection of essays where Sedaris reflects on what it means to be a foreigner, a brother, and a lifelong friend.
ABOUT THE LIVE EVENT
- Registration via Eventbrite is required.
- All tickets will include one (1) hardcover copy of The Land and Its People.
- Books will be distributed at the venue on event night.
- Signing line will follow the presentation.
- You may bring backlist titles to be signed.
- No photos or videos allowed.
ABOUT THE BOOK
In The Land and Its People, Sedaris investigates what it means to be a traveler, a brother, a lifelong friend. Trying on the role of caretaker after his boyfriend Hugh’s hip-replacement surgery, he both succeeds and fails. He covers ground with his friend Dawn and challenges her to eat a truck tire. A ambivalent Duolingo bot becomes his unlikely confidante as he attempts to describe his family in a foreign language. Ever adding to his list of “Countries I Have Been To,” he rides a horse named Tequila in Guatemala, buys a bespoke priest’s cassock in Vatican City, and goes on safari in Kenya without taking a single photo.
Time takes its toll: scrolling through his address book, he counts those he couldn’t bear to outlive, and realizes how many are already gone. He is bitten by a dog and insulted by a wee train passenger. A woman on the street late at night either sexually harasses him or doesn’t. It’s easy to agree with the lady waving a sign that reads, “Enough Is Enough.” And yet, life holds much to delight in: the massive testicles of a ram, a trip abroad with his sisters, a really excellent reptile video, a pair of well-made cotton underpants.
Throughout these essays—at once acerbic and tender, playful and profound—Sedaris shows how much there is to marvel at when you keep your head up and your eyes open, observing with warmth and curiosity our fascinating human species and the lands we inhabit.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Sedaris is the author of fifteen previous books, including Happy-Go-Lucky, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and BBC Radio 4. In 2019, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, the Jonathan Swift Prize for Satire and Humor, and the Terry Southern Prize for Humor.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 South McClintock Drive, Tempe, United States
USD 36.69











