David Sedaris speaks tonight

Best-selling author David Sedaris will return to the IU Auditorium at 8 p.m. tonight. \nHis performance will feature his latest works, as well as an opportunity for audience members to ask questions, according to a press release for the event.\nSedaris is well-known for both his books and his comedy performances. He is a regular contributor to the radio program “This American Life,” and he writes for Esquire and The New Yorker Magazine. He is the author of several books, including “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.”\nGraduate student Katie O’Keefe said she’s been a fan of Sedaris since she was an undergraduate, when one of her friends took her to his last show at the IU Auditorium. \n“I had never heard of David Sedaris before and didn’t really know what to expect,” she said. “After a few minutes into the show, I was hooked. I think it’s his blatant cynicism that’s so hilarious. He builds his career saying what everyone else would say if they weren’t so restrained.” \nAlumna Lora Conrad, who saw him last year in Cincinnati, said no one is safe from his wit during the question and answer session.\n“He made fun of my grandma in front of hundreds of people,” she said in an e-mail. “She asked him a stupid question. ... My grandma is a literary genius, but he didn’t let her off the hook for a second.” \nFans said they often recommend Sedaris’s work to others. \nEduardo Fernandez, a graduate student, said he first heard Sedaris on National Public Radio and instantly became a fan.\n“It prompted me to pick up “Naked” on audiobook while driving to Atlanta,” he said in an e-mail. “Sedaris and (Kurt) Vonnegut are the only things that kept me awake.”\nFernandez, who is attending the show today, said he plans to convince a “small horde” of graduate students to come with him as well. \nGraduate student Georgia Millward said she fell in love with Sedaris’ stories on “This American Life,” which led her to read his books. She said he’s even funnier in person.\n“I definitely recommend seeing him in person, which I have done twice, because his stories are 10 times as funny when he is reading them aloud,” she said in an e-mail. \nTickets for David Sedaris are $25 to $40 for IU students and $42 for the public. They are available for purchase at the IU Auditorium or through Ticketmaster.