Hilarious Holiday picks to read this December
By Todd Warhola, Librarian and OverDrive Collection Development Analyst.
It’s beginning to look a little bit like it might be Christmas, eventually. I, like probably most of you, look forward to the holidays each year. Decorating the tree, baking cookies, wrapping presents, shoveling snow, waiting in lines, freezing in a car that doesn’t have heat outside a Toys ‘R’ Us and waiting hours for the tow truck to come pick me up…ok maybe that last one only happened to me. My grandmother always told me that you either laugh or you cry, and sometimes you laugh while you’re crying or you cry while you’re laughing and then start kind of guffawing and some liquid comes out of your nose.
Anyways….it’s good to find humor in the things that can frustrated us. That’s why a well-timed holiday humor book can lift our spirits. We want to love the holidays and we do, we really really do, but then we also feel bad for kind of hating that casserole Aunt Jane makes every single year. Sharing those frustrating experiences is what makes us human. When we hear that David Sedaris spent his holidays dressed up as an elf at the mall, we are relieved that at least we didn’t spend our holidays dressed up as an elf at the mall. When we hear that Augusten Burroughs thought Jesus and Santa were the same person, we think, “Maybe cousin Joe isn’t so bad.” You’ll learn all of these things, sit down among your extended family and if you get bored, put a little of Amy Sedaris’s advice to good use, “Disguise your voice and call family members posing as a police officer. Suggest that there has been a homicide and then question them about yourself.”
Here are some of the best holiday humor titles. They range from mostly adult themed (Burroughs) to children’s books (Charlie Brown Christmas). This time of year, everyone deserves a laugh. Purchase these in Marketplace today and create a curated collection to promote them all season long!
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas by Augusten Burroughs
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins, Jenny Han, Ally Carter, et.al.
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
Awkward Family Holiday Photos by Mike Bender
The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry
The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb
I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas by Lewis Black
Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat by Jen Mann
High Holiday Porn by Eytan Bayme
Holidays in Heck by P.J. O’Rourke
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies by Michael P. Spradlin
Horrible Harry and the Christmas Surprise by Suzy Kline
The Elf off the Shelf by Horace the Elf
There was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! By Lucille Colandro
Rock Your Ugly Christmas Sweater by Anne Marie Blackman
Sketchy Santas by Will Zweigart
The Truth About Santa by Gregory Mone
Scared of Santa: Scenes of Terror in Toyland by Denise Joyce
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Santaland Diaries in Holidays on Ice is required listening or reading for anyone who has ever work any kind of retail job during the holidays. Simply the best. I prefer the audio version.