I Drink for a Reason

David Cross disdains you for being too lazy to read the print version — would you have it any other way?
Stand-up comic, writer, sketch artist ("Mr. Show") and comic actor ("Arrested Development") David Cross' sojourn into writing translates well into audiobook form; at times, it feels as much a comic album as it does a book. The text itself is a hodgepodge of first- person rants, sensational satirical fiction and list-based humor pieces, cobbled together from the wide span of Cross' career (some even involve explanations of when and how they were originally written).

The tone varies so much that even the most hardcore Cross fan is likely to find it uneven, but there's also so much material that if you find one piece dragging, the next one (and there are many) just might pack the wry punch you were hoping for. The strongest pieces tend to be Cross' own personal essays and the occasions when he aims his barbed tongue at himself and the progressive, liberal subject matter that he's known for. Sensitive listeners beware: this book is not for those who don't care for strong language, sexual subject matter or being mocked for purchasing an audiobook instead of reading the hard copy.