Book Review: Holidays on Ice

Holidays on Ice
By David Sedaris

All I knew about David Sedaris is that he was regarded as hilarious by lots of people I respect and admire. They spoke of hearty belly laughs and tears caused by mirth as they read. Well, I finally confirmed that indeed Mr. Sedaris IS freaking hilarious. Was that almost a rhyme? I think it was.

Holidays on Ice was part of a recent trip to the library after I was frustrated with the books I had on hand at home. I looked up the ole Pinterest Reading list and planned my reading bounty. I figured Holidays on Ice would be a perfect December read and intro to the author.

It is a small book, but it packs a lot of entertainment punch. The "SantaLand Diaries" is probably one of the funniest things I have ever read in my life. I'm told that Sedaris's reading of it on This American Life is wonderful and I can't wait to make some time for that. I love his voice on the page, his humorous perspective on the mundane and his natural creativity. This was another one of those books that made me ashamed I'm not writing every single day.

Anyways, I loved this holiday-themed essay treat and highly recommend it! I also look forward to getting into more of Sedaris's books.

Storytelling at themoth.org

I'm listening to this excellent episode of This American Life. The theme is "Tough Room" and there's 2 funny stories, a more serious story and what sounds like a stand up comedy routine. The first deals with The Onion, which is probably one of the funniest publications, print or otherwise, ever. The second is a story of a girl who tells tarro at age 15. The next is a story of two Mormon's trying to convert people in the middle of Manhattan. And finally, the last segment is a journalist who talks about how he got into and stayed in journalism. The last story includes one of the funniest stories I've ever heard come out of a newsroom.

At the end This American Life, the announcer said that you can find more audio stories at The Moth. The stories are from a whole, huge spectrum of speakers, ranging from top-notch authors to EMS workers to ex-smokers. As if I needed more podcasts in my life - sheesh! Pardon if I'm really behind on the times on this little online gem, but this was such a great find for me that I had to share.

Anywho, to listen to Malcolm Gladwell, senior staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, and the other stories, you'll have to download the podcast from iTunes (that's how I got it, anyway) or click on this link to figure out another way to get it free: http://thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Podcast.aspx.

To get a synopsis and more info on the show, go to This American Life: Episode 248, Tough Room.