I got this slim softcover at Barnes and Noble, for a holiday release. This is an updated edition, containing several additional holiday-themed essays and stories beyond those that appeared in the first edition.

I first encountered Sedaris' writing with the now-classic "SantaLand Diaries," his account of his stint as a Macy's elf. That's also the funniest entry in the book, though "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" [one of his life-with-my-family essays] is also hilarious. As with all of Sedaris' work, even the funniest bits have dark edges; he's not to everyone's taste, and some of the other entries here are pretty strong stuff, which might offend or even horrify some folks, so proceed with caution...

"Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!" is a very black-humored take on those chatty Christmas letters, from a woman who's clearly gone around the bend, but who remains cheerful in a brittle sort of way [this is the second most frightening tale in this book, so be warned!]. "Christmas Means Giving" [THE most frightening tale, IMO] is about a well-off couple who start competing with their neighbors for "most charitable family in town," with mind-blowingly over-the-top results; and "Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol" features a professional theater critic who turns a very severe eye on a local grade-school production of "A Christmas Carol" - I laughed a lot, but again, it's got an edge.

The additional stories in this edition are "Jesus Shaves", "Us and Them", "Let It Snow", "Six to Eight Black Men", "The Monster Mash", and "The Cow and the Turkey". "Jesus Shaves" is a hilarious account of Sedaris' French class in Paris, where the teacher tried to have the class explain their various holidays. When Sedaris explains that "the rabbit of Easter. He bring of the chocolate," his instructor is baffled; apparently, "here in France the chocolate is brought by a big bell that flies in from Rome."

"Let It Snow" is one of the funny/poignant Sedaris-family anecdotes; here, the kids are all sent out to play in the snow by their exasperated mother, who then locks the door and won't let them back in.

"Six to Eight Black Men" deals with Dutch holiday customs, which Sedaris finds more interesting - and scary - than the US/Santa Claus tradition. [He also manages to get a mention of gun control regulations in there, just to keep it really seasonal!]

"The Monster Mash" seems an odd choice for a holiday book, dealing as it does with dead people and forensic pathology textbooks, but as I'm interested in those myself I was delighted.

"The captions [of a forensic pathology text] read like really great poem titles, my favorite being "Extensive Mildew on the Face of a Recluse". I stared at that picture for hours on end, hoping it might inspire me, but I know nothing about poetry, and the best I came up with was pretty lame:

Behold the recluse looking pensive!
Mildew, though, is quite extensive
On his head, both aft and fore.
He maybe shoulda got out more."

I love Sedaris, and if you're weary of too much forced holiday cheer he might be the perfect antidote. Happy holidays!

I'm taking this to tonight's book club for the Yankee Swap. Hope the recipient enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2017 What's in a Name release challenge, for the embedded "Ida" in the title. ***

*** Released for the 2017 D for December release challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2017 Christmas/Holiday release challenge. ***