Sarah Vowell reels readers in with her book, Take the Cannoli by sharing her personal stories about her life as a young woman.  I specifically chose to read this book because I knew it was going to be a series of memoirs about Vowell’s life. This sparked my interest because I enjoy books that are on a personal level. In this book particularly, Vowell shows young readers just how goofy you can be and still be proud to be in your own skin. Being someone that is also like that, I can relate to many of Vowell’s childhood memoirs.

In the first of two stories that I read last night was a  story called “Shooting Dad.”  In this memoir, Vowell shared the memories of her dad being a biased republican and his love of American culture. Shooting guns was his favorite pastime, along with shooting crows out in Bozeman, Montana.  She also made it clear how different she and her father were, which often resulted inconstant bickering and quarrels. What is so inviting about this story, is how “normal” Vowell makes herself out to be -- a normal high school girl who doesn’t get along with her parents. The tables turn when Vowell expresses a mature nature  for her age, and her dad is painted to be quite childlike. Towards the end of the story Vowell also shares the most heartwarming part of the story, on how she wishes to be a better daughter to her father, as well as a better twin sister. She decides that she won’t be selfish, and join her father in the thing he loves most. That did not mean she agreed with being behind a gun, but just that she loved her father despite their differences. This gives something a young reader anywhere someone to relate to.

The second of the two stories, "Music Lessons," Vowell makes herself even more relatable to an adolescent anywhere. She talks about her days in the high school marching band and how much her ginormous obnoxious fur hat complimented her personality as “having the confidence of a puppy walking on a beach ball.” This story sheds a bit of comic relief and gives the reader a good giggle. She also tells readers that she didn’t even get much playing time while in the band, and how she spent most of her time making weird observations no one else would notice. The great thing about Take the Cannoli, is that each story is different. Each memoir makes a certain point that Vowell is aiming towards her readers. Whether it’s “JUST BE YOURSELF!”, or to love your parents no matter what, readers always are left wanting to read more with personal stories.