Saturday, Dec 13, 2008

Book Review: Holidays on Ice

David Sedaris Is Just Plain Crazy…

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I just finished up When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris.  I was fortunate enough that Hachette Book Group sent me Holiday on Ice, as well.   It’s a much smaller book with a cover that I am totally in love with.  I didn’t know quite what to expect in cracking open the second book by him… but, I was looking forward to this quick read.

The Review:

Title:  Holidays on Ice

Author:  David Sedaris

Author’s Website:  http://www.barclayagency.com/sedaris.html

Publisher:  Little Brown, a Division of Hachette Book Group USA, Inc.

Publisher’s Website:  www.hachettebookgroupusa.com

Type:  Short Stories

Number of Pages:  166 hardback

ISBN #: 978-0-316-03590-3

This book contains twelve short stories… like the 12 Days of Christmas!  The first story, “SantaLand Diaries” was my favorite of the bunch.  I wonder if this story is a true story based on David’s true experience.  Basically, he takes a job as an elf (he’s 5’5″ tall) at Macy’s for the holidays.  This story gives the view of what it would be like to work in Santa’s Village in the mall.  I loved the part when Phil Collins was in-line to see Santa with his kid.  Also, I really enjoyed David’s rendition of describing overly detailed parents about their photography of their kid(s) on Santa.  He describes them as practical cinematographers having their kids pose in all kinds of ways for the “professional” looking photo.  I died… that’s so true with some parents.

I also really liked “Us and Them,” a short story about “keeping up with the Jones’es” at the expense of your own well-being.  That story is hilarious!  “The Cow and The Turkey” is a sweet little story at the end of the book  about barnyard animals who have a Secret Santa RoundAbout.  “Seasons Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!” was a bit of an odd story, but a memorable one from the book.

After reading When Engulfed…, I can say that this book is what you’d expect out of a David Sedaris book.  He definitely has a signature style to his writing that his readers can count on when purchasing his books.  He is a very sarcastic writer… and his humor is intelligent.

Sher’s “Out of Ten” Scale:

Like When You Engulfed In Flames, I am giving this book an 8 out of 10.  

On the Library Thing & Amazon.Com Rating:  ♥♥♥ and 1/2♥

Where To Buy The Book:

Click here to purchase this book for $11.55 at Amazon.Com

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