Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 1998.
Description
David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favorites as the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two very competitive families, are Sedaris's tales of tardy trick-or-treaters ("Us and Them"); the difficulties of explaining the Easter Bunny to the French ("Jesus Shaves"); what to do when you've been locked out in a snowstorm ("Let It Snow"); the puzzling Christmas traditions of other nations ("Six to Eight Black Men"); what Halloween at the medical examiner's looks like ("The Monster Mash"); and a barnyard secret Santa scheme gone awry ("Cow and Turkey"). No matter what your favorite holiday, you won't want to miss celebrating it with the author who has been called "one of the funniest writers alive" (Economist).… (more)
Media reviews
LizPhoto
I love David Sedaris as he is one of my favorite authors but this is not one of his best books. You should still read
"Holidays on Ice" because it is funny and will make you smile. Holidays are crazy for everyone, no matter what holidays you celebrate and Sedaris reminds us to laugh at them,
"Holidays on Ice" because it is funny and will make you smile. Holidays are crazy for everyone, no matter what holidays you celebrate and Sedaris reminds us to laugh at them,
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especially ourselves. Show Less
FOR THOSE DREADING THE HOLIDAY SEASON, BESTSELLER SEDARIS (WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES) MAKES LIFE A LITTLE EASIER WITH THIS RE-RELEASE OF HIS UPROARIOUS ESSAY COLLECTION, NEWLY EXPANDED FROM THE ORIGINAL 1997 EDITION.
Publishers Weekly
Here are six Christmas tales sure to please readers new to humorist, playwright and NPR commentator Sedaris--and likely to disappoint his devotees.
User reviews
LibraryThing member tapestry100
Oh, David Sedaris, I know I'm supposed to like your writing. In fact, every single person I know who loves your writing points out that by all accounts, it's exactly the sort of thing that I'd find funny. And I do. Vaguely.
Let me explain. This is the second time that I've read Holidays on Ice. I
It's when he starts in on his fictional stories that he seems to take things just one step too far. The stories always seem to start out funny, but then they just don't stop. He tries to push the envelope of funny and ridiculous every time, and I find myself just skimming through the second half of the story, because it just seems to be the same thing, repeated over and over and over.
Don't get me wrong. I can appreciate the genius that is David Sedaris. I just think that his humor may be one step beyond my comfort zone, and I just have a hard time relating to his style of writing. For his fans, however, I know that this book is a true treasure.
Let me explain. This is the second time that I've read Holidays on Ice. I
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don't remember being all that impressed with it the first time I read it, but it was so long ago, and people's tastes change over the years, so I thought I'd give it another try. And unfortunately, I still didn't find all of it that funny. The first story, about Secaris's time as a Macy's holiday elf, was good. I truly think this is where Sedaris shines, talking about his personal experiences. He's one of those people that always seems to be in the right place at the right time to witness the most bizarre in the people in the people and situations around him.It's when he starts in on his fictional stories that he seems to take things just one step too far. The stories always seem to start out funny, but then they just don't stop. He tries to push the envelope of funny and ridiculous every time, and I find myself just skimming through the second half of the story, because it just seems to be the same thing, repeated over and over and over.
Don't get me wrong. I can appreciate the genius that is David Sedaris. I just think that his humor may be one step beyond my comfort zone, and I just have a hard time relating to his style of writing. For his fans, however, I know that this book is a true treasure.
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LibraryThing member lahochstetler
This collection of short stories and essays remind the reader of the complete and utter absurdity of the holidays. The best of the selections is undeniably Sedaris's memoir of working as an elf in the Santa display at Macy's in Manhattan. Tales from the Santa line are just as absurd as one might
This confirms what I've always suspected about Sedaris, which is that he shines in the humorous memoir genre. And really, he is quite a funny man. The non-memoir material means that this is not the strongest of his work. It's good for a holiday chuckle, and probably best for those who have to face crazy holiday relatives, but this is by no means the best of Sedaris.
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expect. Sedaris's maligning of children's Christmas pageants is good too. The other stories were not as funny. This confirms what I've always suspected about Sedaris, which is that he shines in the humorous memoir genre. And really, he is quite a funny man. The non-memoir material means that this is not the strongest of his work. It's good for a holiday chuckle, and probably best for those who have to face crazy holiday relatives, but this is by no means the best of Sedaris.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Barely tolerable, supposedly humorous, essays regarding the holiday season. If my book club hadn't selected it, I wouldn't have finished it.
LibraryThing member clong
Sedaris obviously has quite a following, so I came to this collection with moderately high expectations. Unfortunately I found reading the book only marginally less painful than a root canal. A couple of these ("SantaLand Diaries" and "Dinah, the Christmas Whore") were moderately amusing, but most
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were solidly in the "painfully unfunny" camp. Show Less
LibraryThing member annhepburn
I listen to this audiobook at least once every holiday season. While I adore several of the stories, a few others have become skipable in my listening. I just really prefer Sedaris's essays to his fiction. But worth it for "Six to Eight Black Men" as well as his classic essay about working as an
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elf at Macy's. Show Less
LibraryThing member catsigh
Holidays on Ice started strong with The Santaland Diaries. My other favorite was Six to Eight Black Men. Some of the others I wasn't crazy about or I didn't appreciate until later. Christmas Means Giving was the best example of one I didn't like when I read it but in the following days it kept
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coming to mind when I looked around at the crazed holiday shoppers. I can see me rereading this year after year to inject a little needed sarcasm into an otherwise saccharine sweet or over-commercialized season. Show Less
LibraryThing member TanyaTomato
Sedaris helps me to realize that the things I think are so depressing about my life are actually damn funny.
LibraryThing member carmarie
David Sedaris again. Like I've said before, he never fails to amaze me! My only disappointment is that the book was larger! When I need a quick laugh...just thumb through any of his books....you'll find a few!
LibraryThing member trinityofone
Purchased in the Memphis airport which, awesomely, sells used books. Sedaris’ opening essay, about working as a Macy’s elf at Christmas, certainly delivered the "my flight's delayed" laughs I needed—and we’re talking the usual, must-bite-lip-and-not-appear-psycho-to-strangers kind of
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laugh-inducement here. Unfortunately, Sedaris is a much better essayist than he is a short story writer; the pieces of fiction that share the volume were much too obvious, totally without the subtlety his non-fiction possesses. If you’re not stuck in an airport, I’d recommend reading the first essay in this volume in the store, then picking up one of Sedaris’ longer, richer, better books. Show Less
LibraryThing member billlund
I love listening to David Sedaris tell his stories and thought that reading them would be as pleasurable. However, the comedy is in the delivery. I didn't find the written word as entertaining as the spoken word.
LibraryThing member Stacers
The first story, about life as a Macy's Christmas Elf, had me repeatedly laughing out loud in a mini-bus full of quiet strangers. The rest of the stories were alright, but nothing else stood out.
LibraryThing member name99
Again mostly funny stuff.
I didn't care much for
Season's Greetings to our Friends and Family, the story about framing the Vietnamese step-daughter, or for
Dinah the Christmas Whore, about the loser that sister Liz befriends,
but the other tales were good stuff.
I didn't care much for
Season's Greetings to our Friends and Family, the story about framing the Vietnamese step-daughter, or for
Dinah the Christmas Whore, about the loser that sister Liz befriends,
but the other tales were good stuff.
LibraryThing member BinnieBee
As with Searis' other books, this is very funny! It is a collection of a few short, humourous stories.
LibraryThing member moonriver
I've read two other books by the same author and some parts of those had me laughing out loud. This book bored me, for the most part. The last two stories in this book annoyed me. One of them was particularly too long for me and I couldn't wait for it to be over. The fourth one left me wondering
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what the hell had happened next. It was interesting-albeit a bit maddening, but it didn't seem to have an end. I wouldn't read this book again. Show Less
LibraryThing member jjsreads
Short stories. "Front row center with Thaddeus Bristol" is 5 stars.
LibraryThing member TheTwoDs
Sure, they've been published in other collections, but by putting them all in one holiday themed edition, you get the perfect sized cure for those ominous family gatherings so familiar at that time of year. SantaLand Diaries, as mentioned elsewhere, will leave you gasping for breath, tears running
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from your eyes. Show Less
LibraryThing member chellinsky
What can I say?
This book is largely Sedaris doing what he is good at doing: telling stories that, if told any other way, would not be funny. However, he is able to find and describe humor in a breadth of situations. Holidays on Ice is not Me Talk Pretty One Day. I hoped it would be. However,
Overall, Holidays is entertaining, even if it is short and a bit disconnected at times.
This book is largely Sedaris doing what he is good at doing: telling stories that, if told any other way, would not be funny. However, he is able to find and describe humor in a breadth of situations. Holidays on Ice is not Me Talk Pretty One Day. I hoped it would be. However,
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Holidays jumps and skips and tries to fit stories that seem better as non-holiday stories into a Christmas-story mold. This makes the chapters lack connection and appear forced.Overall, Holidays is entertaining, even if it is short and a bit disconnected at times.
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LibraryThing member ironicqueery
Nice little book of holiday essay/stories by David Sedaris. "SantaLand Diaries" is probably the best story - telling of Sedaris's experience as a Christmas Elf at Macy's. Learning about the behind the scenes action was enjoyable and humerous. I also enjoyed "Front Row Center" - a review of
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theatrical performances - well, maybe just typical elementary school Christmas plays. Sedaris treats them no different than other other performance however and the results are funny. Show Less
LibraryThing member schmadeke
I laughed so much while reading this book that my husband finally gave in and asked, "What in the world are you reading?!?!" Doesn't that say it all? This quick, entertaining collection of essays by David Sedaris is FUNNY.
The book consists of 12 stories that range from darkly comic and macabre to
The comic range of these essays means that the book will appeal to many different readers in terms of their individual sense of humor. I certainly liked some better than others, but thought the entire collection was very well-written.
My favorite essay was Let it Snow, in which the narrator's mother gets so tired of her kids when they have three snow days in a row that she locks them out of the house. The day progresses, they pound on the windows, and peer inside only to see their mother drinking a glass of wine and pretending not to see or hear them. Okay, so after reading that summary, it probably sounds like she's a neglectful parent, but trust me, to this mom, it is laugh-out-loud funny.
Others I found particularly funny and laugh-inducing were: Jesus Shaves; Dinah, the Christmas Whore; Us and Them; and Six to Eight Black Men. I could try to summarize them here, but I couldn't do them justice. If you're looking for a comical, sarcastic take on holidays, pick up this book and prepare to be entertained.
When the going gets stressful during the coming holiday season, I'll be re-reading my favorite stories from this book.
The book consists of 12 stories that range from darkly comic and macabre to
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sarcastic, witty accounts of family interactions that most of us can relate to.The comic range of these essays means that the book will appeal to many different readers in terms of their individual sense of humor. I certainly liked some better than others, but thought the entire collection was very well-written.
My favorite essay was Let it Snow, in which the narrator's mother gets so tired of her kids when they have three snow days in a row that she locks them out of the house. The day progresses, they pound on the windows, and peer inside only to see their mother drinking a glass of wine and pretending not to see or hear them. Okay, so after reading that summary, it probably sounds like she's a neglectful parent, but trust me, to this mom, it is laugh-out-loud funny.
Others I found particularly funny and laugh-inducing were: Jesus Shaves; Dinah, the Christmas Whore; Us and Them; and Six to Eight Black Men. I could try to summarize them here, but I couldn't do them justice. If you're looking for a comical, sarcastic take on holidays, pick up this book and prepare to be entertained.
When the going gets stressful during the coming holiday season, I'll be re-reading my favorite stories from this book.
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LibraryThing member BrianDewey
Sedaris, David. Holidays on Ice. Little, Brown and Company, New York, 1997. A collection of stories from David Sedaris. Like many, I was introduced to Sedaris from his stories on the public radio show This American Life. This collection contains the story The Santaland Diaries, a story of Sedaris's
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time as a Macy's elf that launched both his popularity and that of Ira Glass's radio show. Alas, the story collection is downhill from there. Sedaris's stories are much darker than I expected, and they just aren't that enjoyable. Plus, they aren't the same when they aren't read in his voice. Show Less
LibraryThing member jhedlund
"SantaLand Diaries" and "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" save this one. Sedaris is at his best telling tales (tall or otherwise) of his own life and family. I like the satirical stories less. Still, it is David Sedaris after all... which means you'll no doubt laugh and enjoy yourself.
LibraryThing member truangel075
This book is beyond the point of funny. It is rewarding to read an author to give the full out truth. Sedaris captures the everyday idiocy found in everyday america. Instead of having a mind set on conformist, Sedaris actually has an individual thought. Sedaris is a role model to the non-conformist
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and gets kudos for not shaping into a mindless idiot! Show Less
LibraryThing member bobshackleton
The first time I heard this story on the radio I was driving to work and had to pull the car over because I was laughing so hard.
LibraryThing member rmyoungman
Holiday essays, some of which are in his other collections. This thin tome makes a perfect stocking stuffer (I usually buy 4-5 copies at Christmas for acquaintances.) Includes the incredible Macy's Santaland essay.
LibraryThing member Djupstrom
Outrageous and raunchy...but in the best way possible! You have to love David Sedaris!!
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 1998)