Expatz 4 lyfe

This fucking guy.

Yesterday, this treasure of a book hit the shelves. Despite having checked up on the price and pre-order status for months, and having had plenty of time to purchase it in plenty of time... I didn't. In my haste to purchase it, I scuttled over to my friendly neighbourhood Barnes & Noble and paid through the nose for my impatience. But oh, was it worth it. That was barely 24 hours ago and I have only 4 chapters left.

I was first introduced to Craig Ferguson when I accidentally tuned into The Late Late Show back in summer of 2006, my first visit to California. When my mum called shortly afterwards, she was very matter-of-fact in telling me, to my surprise, that she used to go out with his older brother. Having discovered my "6 degrees of separation", watching his show gained something of a medicinal quality that quelled my occasional homesickness. In March of 2008, I took a trip to LA with my boyfriend and friend for my birthday, and we attended a taping of his show. Earlier this summer, I read his novel, Between the Bridge & the River. I guess you could say that by this point, I'm a pretty big fan.

American on Purpose is - although I haven't quite finished it - definitely my favourite autobiography thus far. (And he has competition on the horizon, as Dave Eggars' Pulitzer finalist A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is next on my hitlist!) By piecing together as much as one can without having met a person; my collection of sketches of his quirks, tales and accomplishments add up to one man with a heck of a lot of charm and ambition. Having all of his accounts distilled down into one book, multiplied by the speed at which I've consumed it, is a pretty intense experience. It is rare for someone to write with such frankness, seemingly exaggerating no highs or lows and certainly sparing no blushes.

Without sounding too cheesy, all in all it has been a wonderful read. If you - like me - are fascinated with life stories from the writer's perspective, I recommend you pick it up.