Oooh. Just finished this a few days ago. Quick and easy.

I’ve never bought or borrowed audiobooks, simply because of my belief in the superiority of books in printed format. Yet, I think that the next time I want a little David Sedaris, I want to listen to him read his own stories. This makes sense because I think he had a theatrical background before he became famous as an NPR humorist. Many of the stories make good monologues.

Early in the Christmas season, I woke up to him reading “The Santaland Diaries” on the radio. But then I fell back asleep. This has nothing to do with his performance or writing, but my own biological dictates. I set my clock radio at a moderately loud volume, so if I fall back asleep that means my body really still needs rest. Every once in a while I would hear Sedaris’ voice penetrating my subconcious. Once, I nearly woke up by his singing, Billy Holliday style.

This has happened to me twice for the past two years.

I decided to read Holidays on Ice so that he could stop invading my subconcious mind every Christmas season. We all like David’s little Macy’s elf story. But I also have my favorites. I liked the one about the mall cafeteria worker with a strong imagination. I also enjoyed the savage satire of “Christmas Means Giving”. This tall tale made me think.

Underneath the author’s persona as the fluffy funny guy, he really is a moralist. He bemoans the modern American lifestyle of frantic consumerism during the holidays while calling for more of the spirit of true giving.

Many years ago, I heard David Sedaris on the radio, reading selections from his “Santaland Diaries” about his Christmas job as an elf in Macy’s department store. I thought it was quite hilarious. Then several years ago, I bought this book on tape as a Christmas gift for a good friend who loves comedy. After listening to the tapes, she didn’t seem very enthusiastic, and gave them back to me. Ever since then, I’ve worried about what was on the tapes, imagining something horribly obnoxious or obscene, that had really offended her. But I never actually got around to listening to the tapes myself. Finally, after finding the tapes earlier this month, I decided to listen to them. Thankfully, I didn’t find anything horrible or embarrassing.

A collection of 6 Christmas stories (3 were published previously, and one of those has been performed across the country in play form) by uber-funny man David Sedaris. I’d read this 6 years ago when the hardback arrived at my library.
My 2 favorites of this collection are
“Santaland Diaries” (his misadventures as a Macy’s elf in New York) and “Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol” (theater critic does elementary school holiday productions).
I hope to attend “Santaland Diaries” regularly, and may even start a “holiday story-reading” tradition around the campfire this Yule.

[originally posted on BookCrossing, May 2003]