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Holidays on Ice (Abridged): Stories Audiobook
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(3.00) - 54,662 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favoritesas 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).
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"I wanted to try and get this sufficiently quick read in during the holidays this year. Especially this year. It was great if you like very dry humor. Which I do, especially this year. I have an extreme appreciation for the perspective that Sedaris write from and he executes his style masterfully so."
— Amber (4 out of 5 stars)
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“[A] satisfying sampler.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“As always, Sedaris’ 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’ chronicle of his time working as an elf at Macys…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.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review -
“Holidays on Ice now returns with a full bounty of entertaining stories at a remarkable low price. The six stories not in the original edition include tales about Halloween, secret Santas, and the difficulties of explaining the Rabbit of Easter to the French. Buy it; you deserve a laugh.”
— Barnes&Noble.com, editorial review -
“A joy to read....Sedaris is a connoisseur of human nature at its worst.”
— Boston Globe
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A USA Today bestseller
Holidays on Ice Listener Reviews
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" 5 stars for SantaLand Diaries...however, the rest of the stories kinda fell flat. There were a few chuckles, especially with the horrific Christmas letter, but overall it was just ok. "
— Kelly, 2/11/2014 -
" I read all of Sedaris' later books (which I loved) before attempting this one. While the first half was somewhat enjoyable, it definitely had a much darker tone to it that his other books. About mid-way through it just got too dark for me and really depressing so I never finished it. I'm a little hesitant to give any of his earlier work a shot after this one. "
— Karen, 2/11/2014 -
" Love the twisted mind and stories of David, awesome "
— Denise, 2/10/2014 -
" Didn't get throught the last story; Based On A True Story, but the rest of them were pretty hilarious. The story about Dinah the christmas whore was repeated in one of his other books (I forget which one), but it was just as humerous the second time around. "
— Stacy, 2/8/2014 -
" It's not the holidays in our home without these classic tales.... You'll see! "
— S., 1/17/2014 -
" I'm not a big audio books person, but David Sedaris does almost all of the reading on this one (with a little help from his sister Amy) and he is such a perfect reader for this stuff. The material is hilarious no matter what, but his delivery is the icing on the cake. "
— Rebecca, 1/17/2014 -
" Funny and wonderful. "
— Lynn, 1/16/2014 -
" I like the audible books read by David Sedaris, he has a way with humor of his life's stories that's all his own. I find some subjects, in the new stories do not have the humor side I can enjoy, Holidays are not always happy but I was looking for Sedaris humor I can shake my head, smile and lough like I do in his original stories. "
— Wm, 1/14/2014 -
" Not my bag. I liked Santa Land Diaries and the one critiquing children's plays, but the others didn't work for me. Maybe if he didn't kill babies in washing machines and little boys by a pedaphile, this could have worked. I think the timing was off for me. Sorry Mr. Sedaris! "
— April, 1/13/2014 -
" Cute book for the holidays. "
— Marissa, 1/6/2014 -
" Hysterical!!!!! One of my favorites at Christmas time...lightens any holiday stress...if you haven't had the pleasure, I strongly urge you to read it &/or listen to the audio version read by him...A RIOT!!!!! "
— Ilene, 1/4/2014 -
" I liked Santa Land Diaries. The rest was disappointing for David Sedaris! "
— Lisa, 12/29/2013 -
" He is a genius. "
— NYLon, 12/24/2013 -
" A humorous look at all that is holiday. Very funny. If it had been better written I would have considered it 5 stars. "
— Catherine, 12/14/2013 -
" This was the perfect read over Christmas break, as the stories were short and humorous. I'm looking forward to reading more of Sedaris! "
— Laramie, 12/10/2013 -
" Highly entertaining nuggets. "
— Rebecca, 10/2/2013 -
" The first essay "SantaLand Diaries" was somewhat amusing but the book went downhill quickly. Grim is the word that comes to mind. "
— Mel, 8/24/2013 -
" humorous and a bit disturbing. nice quick read. "
— Robyn, 4/20/2013 -
" entertaining, but not too substanital "
— Katlyn, 2/6/2013 -
" The first sedaris book I ever read on a plane to LA for the holidays. I was embarrassing laughing so hard next to erik trying to tell him the stories through my tears of laughter. "
— Sindy, 11/18/2012 -
" Filled with the sardonic tone and cynicism popular among Sedaris readers, these stories might make you feel just a little bit better about spending Christmas with your own family, as weird as they may be. "
— Gretchen, 11/13/2012 -
" Funny, especially for those of us who moved from northern climes to North Carolina as kids. "
— Anna, 10/30/2012 -
" I LOL'D. :DDDD "
— Memer, 10/25/2012 -
" Classic Sedaris = Excellent! "
— Stella, 8/19/2012 -
" Very funny, but very dark and sometimes disturbing. My favorite had to be the Dunbar family Christmas letter. Seriously, the Sedaris clan are a crazy bunch. "
— Laura, 3/26/2012 -
" Best as an audiobook! "
— Andrea, 3/21/2012 -
" Funny. Short stories. "
— Joe, 12/12/2011 -
" Holidays on Ice (for me) wasn't nearly as laugh-out-loud funny as Me Talk Pretty One Day, which was the first David Sedaris book I read. The humor here is very dark, almost too dark for my taste, but still sharp, smart, and worth reading. His riff on the Christmas letter is hilarious. "
— Mary-ellin, 9/25/2011 -
" Sedaris is clever, there's no doubt. But his snarky cynicism can get a bit redundant. And what was with all the dead children? "
— Thomas, 9/5/2011 -
" First Sedaris book I've read. The stories are pretty funny and the book is well written. I definitely laughed out loud a couple times. It's a real quick read too.. "
— Bill, 7/5/2011 -
" Santaland is one of my absolute favorite Sedaris stories. "
— Diane, 5/16/2011 -
" It doesn't get any funnier than this. A must-read during the holidays. "
— Vincent, 5/16/2011 -
" A perennial favorite, and one that makes an excellent hostess gift/stocking stuffer! "
— Wendy, 5/15/2011 -
" lightly entertaining. Some of the characters were so neurotic they made me nervous. "
— Clara, 5/14/2011 -
" I loved this book. I love him but mostly for this book. I read Naked and I was not as much of a fan but this one was great. Hilarious and sad. "
— Elle, 4/28/2011 -
" funny, but not his best stuff. "
— Lynne, 4/26/2011 -
" As usual Sedaris is laugh out loud funny. So funny I couldn't stop reading when my stop came on the train so I read for the whole walk home. Brilliant! "
— Kizz, 4/23/2011 -
" The usual form of humour you'd expect from David Sedaris with quite a few great laugh-out-loud moments. "
— Ron, 4/20/2011 -
" This is the first and only David Sedaris book I have read. It had me laughing out loud! He read one of these stories in which he does an imitation of Billie Holliday on NPR. He does an amazing imitation of her! :) I will be reading more David Sedaris in the future. "
— Tiffany, 4/12/2011
About David Sedaris
David Sedaris is the author of a dozen books, including four that made the #1 New York Times bestsellers list. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker and BBC Radio 4. In 2019, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, Jonathan Swift International Literature Prize for Satire and Humor, and the Terry Southern Prize for Humor.
About the Narrators
Amy Sedaris has appeared frequently on screen, both large and small. She is co-creator, with Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello, of Comedy Central’s hit show Strangers with Candy and half of the Obie-winning “Talent Family” playwright team, with her brother, David. Amy lives in Manhattan with her imaginary boyfriend, Ricky, and her pet rabbit, Dusty.
Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer who first gained prominence in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan. The New York Times described her as “an endearing theatrical chameleon who has as many characters at her fingertips as Lily Tomlin does.”