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Audio CD Description Holidays on Ice is a collection of three previously published stories matched with three newer ones, all, of course, on a Christmas theme. David Sedaris's darkly playful humor is another common thread through the book, worming its way through "Seasons Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!" a chipper suburban Christmas letter that spirals dizzily out of control, and "Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol," a vicious theatrical review of children's Christmas pageants. As always, Sedaris's best work is his sharply observed nonfiction, notably in "Dinah, the Christmas Whore," the tale of a memorable Christmas during which the young Sedaris learns to see his family in a new light. Worth the price of the book alone is the hilarious "SantaLand Diaries," Sedaris's chronicle of his time working as an elf at Macy's, covering everything from the preliminary group lectures ("You are not a dancer. If you were a real dancer you wouldn't be here. You're an elf and you're going to wear panties like an elf.") to the perils of inter-elf flirtation. Along the way, he paints a funny and sad portrait of the way the countless parents who pass through SantaLand are too busy creating an Experience to really pay attention to their children. In a sly way, it carries a holiday message all its own. Read it aloud to the adults after the kids have gone to bed. --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews A new Christmas classic... Holidays on Ice: Stories was my first exposure to David Sedaris, and this collection of 6 holiday essays is the funniest book, ever. With Sedaris, nothing is sacred about the holidays. He lampoons working at Macy's as a Christmas elf, holiday newsletters, school pageants, and excessive gift giving. Some of his humor is side-splitting, tears rolling down your cheeks funny. SantaLand Dairies, about Sedaris working at Macy's in SantaLand is the funniest and the longest story of the bunch. How Sedaris kept himself sane while parading around as an elf will have you laughing out loud. Other stories are written with a deeper, darker, more satirical wit. One story, Seasons Greetings to Our Friends and Family, was a little too morbid for my taste. But all the stories are good, and all of them make us realize how over-the-top our Christmas celebrations have become. I listened to this book on CD, which made it even more enjoyable as it's read by the author. Simply reading the book will cheat you out of hearing Sedaris mimic Billie Holiday singing Away In A Manger. So in addition to the three or four other Christmas "classics" that I enjoy reading each year, I now have a new one to add to my list. A Great Introduction to Sedaris David Sedaris could be one of the funniest writers of our generation. His semi-autobiographical essays make me laugh out loud. Sedaris views the world through cynical, yet witty eyes. His brutal commentary on society makes one blink and then chuckle. The Santaland Diaries is one of the 6 essays in the book, and by far the best. This biographical tale of Sedaris' time as a Christmas elf in a department store is critical of himself, parents, the tiny children and Santa himself. Now made into a hit play that tours the nation, especially at Christmas, there's nothing like reading Sedaris' first hand account of slightly bored, slightly crazy out of work actors struggling to make a buck. Dinah, the Christmas Hore, is my other favorite holiday offering in this collection. This tells the story of Sedaris' sister, who brings an unexpected guest to the family's holiday celebrations. Suddenly, David sees everyone in his family in a whole new way--sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it's not. In the end, David Sedaris comes through with another winning collection. Every book he writes is funny, but this one makes an especially nice gift. Besides HOLIDAYS ON ICE, another recent Amazon purchase I enjoyed was THE LOSERS' CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez, a truly lively, funny book. Decent Some of the stories are absolutely hilarious while others are so-so. If you love Sedaris, you'll probably be a little disappointed as it's not as good as his other work. It'd be a good break from holiday stress.