American Thighs: The Sweet Potato Queens’ Guide to Preserving Your Assets

Browne begins her recording warning listeners, “I hope you are not looking to, like, learn a bunch of facts.” This “sort of handbook and memoir for the hot and flashy” is a laugh-out-loud guided tour for listeners who are ready to embrace their upcoming geezerdom. Browne is a relaxed narrator with a soft purr of a voice; she doesn’t have to do any vocal mugging to elicit peels of laughter from listeners. Because she writes her books exactly as she speaks, she’s the perfect narrator, with expert deadpan comedic timing. Some of the most hilarious passages have Browne getting sidetracked from her original thought and finding herself swept down memory lane (like using a restroom without touching anything). Browne advises “live every day like you’ve got all day tomorrow to apologize” and “failure to frolic is a major cause of regret later in life, so if you’re behind on it, catch up!” New listeners will want to catch up on Browne’s backlist. A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 20). (Jan.)