Grown Up Christmas List

Holidays can be stressful, duh.  This time of year I often pick-up a holiday themed book that will either help me work on a mental wrap up of my year or will act as a welcomed distraction from Jack trying to climb the Christmas tree as if it was his "Everest".

This year, while I was looking for my belly laugh I circled back to some of my favourites.  They make great "festive" reads, and also make good gifts.  Enjoy! 

Molly - Warrior Princess!

An Idiot Girl's Christmas - Laurie Notaro
Self-proclaimed ex-punk rocker nerd, Laurie Notaro, shares her holiday family shame in a series of essays about her family.  Learn what happens when you leave your (real) Christmas tree up well into summer.  I read it, loved it and then lent it to my mom who could somehow relate to having an odd-duck daughter, go figure.


The Stupidist Angel - Christopher Moore   
A seven year old boy is fairly certain he saw Santa hit in the head with a shovel and fears that he's dead.  Thankfully his prayers have been answered in the form of the Stupidist Angel, Archangel Raziel.  The more I think about this book, the more likely I am to re-read it again this year.  This is the first line, "Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe."  If that doesn't sell you, Molly may (or may not) be named after a crazed B movie actress featured in this book who hears voices and from time to time believes that she is, "The Warrior Babe of the Outland". 

For a story along the lines of Jesus meets Monty Python read Moore's Lamb - The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal and learn more about Jesus's missing years aged 13-32 featuring prostitutes, reanimated frogs and the first known Yummy Mummy - Mary.


The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog  - Jen Lancaster
If you feel like you've been spending too much time thinking about or trying to "keep up with the Joneses", read this book instead.  Jen tries to master everything Martha Stewart: from home decorating to holiday hosting, complete with her pack of dogs and rogue cats.  Highlights for me were kids jazzed up on sugar in an Easter Egg Hunt gone south and the quest for unholy underwear.

I fell in love with Jen years ago when I read Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office,  about a smart-ass executive's fall from grace and living it large as she plummets from her pent-house condo to the new normal.  In the beginning you love to hate Jen, by the end you just love her. 

 Any recommendations are encouraged!


 To see five of my favourite holiday movies to get you in the spirit click here

To check out more of my book recommendations from a previous post click here

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