David Sedaris at Aronoff Center for the Arts

By Jason Gargano for CityBeat

David Sedaris is a rare figure in today’s literary landscape: He transcends his profession of choice. Perhaps more than any writer of the last 20 years, Sedaris is a relatively household name, a guy whose work is likely to line the shelves of pretty much anyone who still feigns to read books. Even people who haven’t read his books are likely to know him via his NPR segments, his frequent speaking tours and his many essays for The New Yorker.

Sedaris, who grew up in Raleigh, N.C., and who now lives with his partner Hugh in London, is known for his slanted humor and sharp wit, a largely first-person essayist/social satirist who isn’t afraid to make fun of himself for our amusement. Take this random observation from his latest New Yorker piece: “Hotel operators so often address me as ‘Mrs. Sedaris’ that I no longer bother to correct them. I’ve been mistaken for a parent, a pickpocket, and even, God forbid, an SUV owner, and I’ve always been able to brush it off.” Expect similar self-deprecating statements to fall from Sedaris’ lips during his latest speaking tour. $40-$53. 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3. Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. 513-621-2787, cincinnatiarts.org.