Like other humorous essayists turned NPR commentators turned bestselling authors, David Rakoff is funnier on the air than in print. Following in the footsteps of Andrei Codrescu, Marion Winik, and especially David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell, Rakoff has a recognizable stylistic voice on radio that doesn't always come through as clear or as funny on the page. I first became aware of Rakoff and his book, Fraud, from his Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross. But on reading the essays I realized I'd heard several of them before on This American Life. Canadian, Jewish, gay and a Manhattanite, Rakoff seems to have positioned himself to certain magazine editors as the person to send when you want a jaded outsider's view of Christmas in Maine, Hollywood New Age gurus, or the Loch Ness Monster. He also writes more poignantly from his experience as a young cancer survivor and an invisible Canadian immigrant to the U.S. But without the literal and figurative voice (and aggressive editing) of radio, some of these pieces come off as adequate magazine page-filler when they could be more.

I heartily recommend any of Rakoff's contributions to the This American Life audio archive. But the book... maybe not so heartily.