Black - Im Dreaming of a Black Christmas

From the comedian and New York Times bestselling author comes a ferociously funny book about his least favorite holiday- Christmas.

In his hilarious book about the biggest holiday of the year, Lewis Black lets loose on all things Yule: from how the holiday is celebrated to the traditions that drive him nuts; from being cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in a tour of A Christmas Carol to celebrating the holiday with his ex-wife during their short-lived (and disastrous) marriage. Here, Lewis recounts the annual seasonal insanity he has endured in his funny, razor sharp, insightful, and honest style.

Vituperative standup comedian Black (Me of Little Faith) delivers a caustic Christmas diatribe. Warning readers to ignore the book if they have a deep attachment to Christmastime, he notes, This book contains, like the celebration of Christmas, only 2 percent religion. Think of it as the yuletide equivalent of low-fat milk. After recalling how he argued with the editor who urged him to write a Christmas book, Black delivers a full-scale Scrooge-styled screed. With chapters such as Meditations of a Jewish Santa, The Hooker at Rockefeller Center, and The Carol from Hell, he rips into such seasonal traditions as Christmas cards, dinners, toys, advertising (a primal scream of sales), shopping (Why dont you folks wait until the 26th of December when things are the cheapest?), trees (something magical about a Christmas tree all dazzled up in lights... almost as breathtaking as a hooker gone wild in spangles), carols (A shower is a place for singing, and on Christmas, its where you should be caroling), and gifts: At Chanukah we get nothing. We dont even get stockings. With digressions on the human comedy and his personal life, Black spews forth much invective, but successfully exposes societal truths with riotous ripostes. (Nov.) (c)
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Lewis Black is a New York Times bestselling author, stand-up comedian, actor, and playwright, who appears regularly on The Daily Show.