Road Trip Album Picks: David Cross' "I Drink For a Reason" Audiobook CD

WHAT: Book read by the author, with special guests
LABEL: Hachette Audio, 2009
GOOD IF YOU LIKE: Comedy, David Cross' stand-up albums
WHERE TO FIND IT: Better book stores
LENGTH: 6.4 hours (6 CDs)

If you're too rude and lazy to read, or if you just really like spoken-word comedy releases, you should be glad that David Cross released "I Drink For a Reason" as a CD set as well as a printed book. If 6 hours of Cross seems like too much, he brings in special guests including Jon Benjamin, Kristin Schaal, and the band Les Savy Fav.

For you road-trippers, this is a fantastic driving companion. Each chapter is read with the tone you expect from the comic's stand-up albums, except it's missing the audience. Cross also constantly berates the listener for not having purchased the actual book version, referring to the listener as lazy, selfish, and rude. We do not dispute these claims.

The album adapts the book with numerous changes to better reflect the medium, constantly reminding you that this or that would be better on the printed page, which really adds to the whole presentation. Cross informs the listener which page they might be on, adds audio footnotes, and reminds you that the world you live in is full of awfulness and will likely never, ever become a wonderful place. (Again, this is a comedy.)

Fans of Mr. Show with Bob and David and Cross' earlier stand-up will find this to be a special treasure, loaded with venom at book signings, bloggers, and those too lazy to read. At roughly $30, comedy fans should find this a bargain. Odds are listening through it in its entirety once may be enough, but given that it's six hours long you'll probably be fine with that. David Cross the comedian and David Cross the author are two very similar creatures-- if you liked his previous comedy CDs, or you're already one of the author's devoted fans, this is an easy purchase.

If we had any gripes about the release, it would be that it's almost overstuffed. Audiobooks tend to be quite long, and this one is like listening to eight or nine stand-up albums in a row. It may be too much for you, but if hearing about scrapbooking conventions in Novi, MI doesn't do it for you the content may not be what you're after anyway.

Cross fans: get it. Everyone else: get his other albums, become a Cross fan, and then get the book or this audio book. It's basically The David Cross Manifesto, but there's clearly a good market for this.