Holidays Books - Page 6

Christmas Letters from Hell: All the News We Hate from the People We Love

Michael Lent

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Who doesn't love to open the mailbox during the holidays and find a newsletter? Whether it's a juicy missive from a college roommate inadvertently revealing her husband's wandering eye, a self-congratulatory account of a cousin's rise to power at the local fast-food joint, or a mind-numbingly detailed account of a year's medical ailments (including photos) from a coworker, they're always entertaining.

Christmas Letters from Hell skewers holiday letters of all shapes and sizes, from the ones that come crammed with cheesy graphics or written from the perspective of the recently neutered family dog to those filled with stories of "perfect" family vacations that were clearly anything but. Here Santa uses his holiday letter to let the elves know that he'll be outsourcing to China effective immediately; a bipolar mom tells two very different versions of the year's events; and Osama bin Laden touches base with his high school host family in Minneapolis.

Christmas Letters from Hell serves up a steaming, savory blend of the holiday cheer, humor, and twisted truth in our well-intended attempts to stay in touch gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Halloween in America: A Collector's Guide With Prices (A Schiffer Book for Collectors)

Stuart L. Schneider

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

For the Halloween lover 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 17 people found this review helpful.

This is much more than a book for collectors of Halloween.This is the best book on the subject. I've read all the others and this is the bible of Halloween. If you have only one book on Halloween, this has to be the one. It brings back childhood. This book is really a look at what Halloween means. Ghosts and goblins, fall colors, adventure and childhood fears. I've read mine over and over and over again.

Editorial Review:

Halloween is quickly becoming the most popular holiday in America. Next to Christmas, more money is spent on Halloween decorations and novelties than on any other holiday. This wonderful book has been credited with inspiring the Halloween collecting craze, giving its devotees a chance to celebrate the holiday all year round! In addition to color photography and a brand new price guide, there is also a lot of fascinating insight into Halloween. Most people are familiar with the symbols--Ghosts, Jack O'lanterns, Witches, Bats, Skeletons and Black Cats--but few know about Halloween's past. Why does it exist? What is the origin of trick-or-treating? Why does it fall on October 31st? Through these pages you will experience Halloween celebrations of the past, and take a look at Halloween today. For collectors, this is a treasure trove of memorabilia, the largest ever published. It is illustrated in beautiful color and includes newly updated prices for reference.

The Book Of Santa Claus

Vicki Howard

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Andrews McMeel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $4.58

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The legend of Santa Claus began in America in 1822 with Clement C. Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas." This enduring poem, which begins with the now-classic line "Twas the night before Christmas," paints a vivid picture of Saint Nick and his miniature sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer. This image was illustrated for the first time by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly in 1863 and became the inspiration for much of the beautifully detailed Victorian art captured in The Book of Santa Claus. This rich compilation celebrates the mystique of Santa Claus through the beautiful illustrations from century-old postcards from that era's preeminent commercial artists, such as Frances Brundage and Ellen Clapsaddle.Author Vicky Howard's personal collection of cherished postcards began with an album of cards collected by her husband's grandmother, and now numbers in the thousands. With her exhaustive source of images as a starting point, this book presents the fruits of Howard's carefully selected and most treasured pictures of dear, familiar Santa. This precious art from the Golden Age of postcards is coupled with poems on the Christmas joy of Kris Kringle.You don't have to be a child to appreciate the magic within The Book of Santa Claus. As Howard notes, "We can never outgrow the anticipation of a visit from Santa Claus. He is a magical figure, drawn from the legends, history, and folklore of many countries."

America Bizarro: A Guide to Freaky Festivals, Groovy Gatherings, Kooky Contests, and Other Strange Happenings Across the USA

Nelson Taylor

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Do you breed rats and mice that could preen like poodles in a pet show? Have creative juices yearning to be set loose on a 20-ton block of packed snow? Possess a melodious voice best suited to singing the praises of SPAM? Nope? That's okay, with America Bizarro, you can find out all about people who do!It's a weird place, America, and even if you have a hobby or interest that no one you know shares, there's probably a group of people meeting somewhere in America to enjoy it together. Not only that, but someone else's obsession or bizarre display of civic pride is being celebrated right near you. Organized state-by-state, and illustrated with some pretty funny pictures, America Bizarro is an hysterical armchair read which doubles as a practical guide in case you want to:See the Jumping Frog competition immortalized by Mark Twain in Calaveras County, CA Be a delegate at the Dukes of Hazzard Fan Club Convention Munch on Rocky Mountain oysters at Montana's Testicle Festival Get lost in Grandpa John's Amazing Maze in a Nebraska cornfield Tickle, caress, and seduce the ivories in Las Vegas' Liberace "Play-A-Like" Competition Join Polar Bear plungers in the Atlantic in February at the Jersey Shore Win a truck in Texas' famous Hands on a Hardbody contestYou never know. You could be the next International Pack Burro Race champion or just enjoy taking in the annual ArtCar Parade in San Francisco. America is what you make it, so make it Bizarro!AUTHORBIO: Nelson Taylor is a Content Editor at iUniverse.com and has written for Maxim, Details, Time Out New York, and Paper, among others.He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Celebrate the Solstice: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and Ceremony

Richard Heinberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Holidays for World Renewal 5 out of 5 stars.
137 of 137 people found this review helpful.

A couple of years ago, I put out a winter holiday greeting on the Web. Its purpose: to explore the ancient origins of the winter holiday season and its deep cross-cultural roots, and to help me give greater meaning to my own celebration at this time of the year. Little did I know when I began candlegrove.com that someone had already "written the book" on this subject. Richard Heinberg has collected archeological evidence, myths and folklore from all over the globe and throughout human history. His stories and examples resolve into a beautiful and compelling picture. Cultures the world over -- from ancient China to the megalith builders 5,000 years ago in Ireland who predate the pyramids -- from the Maori to the Maya -- marked the solstices and equinoxes as tremendously important temporal and seasonal thresholds with deep spiritual and practical meaning. Today, our modern, urban lives are in so many ways insulated and disconnected from the turn of the seasons and their importance in the cosmic dance. Are the solstices and equinoxes still relevant? Heinberg argues that they can be, and not just for neopagans or those of one brand of faith or another. I cannot evaluate his research, but his writing drew me in. With few lapses into over-poeticizing, and only a small measure of new-age, environmental hectoring, he gives us simple ways to renew the solstices as life-affirming celebrations to help reconnect us with the earth.

Editorial Review:

Practical suggestions for ecstatic seasonal renewal by celebrating the solstices.

In the Eye of the Sun: Mexican Fiestas

Amazon Price: $22.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: W. W. Norton & Company Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $4.76

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Gorgeous color imagery from Mexico 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 13 people found this review helpful.

This book shares the light, color, and poetry of Mexico with its readers. The photographer's passion for his subjects comes through with every photo. It is also an interesting view into the unique Mexican history of fiestas; the context of the traditions within daily life is very intriguing. I would highly recommend this book to those interested in either Mexico or color photography. It is a beautiful and sensitive work.

Editorial Review:

A study, in photographs, of the popular fiestas of Mexico, showing the inhabitants of several Mexican villages. The fiestas intertwine some of the great pagan festivals with Catholic ritual and tradition. These photographs show family scenes, revellers and religious ceremonies.

The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain

Ronald Hutton

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the twelve days of Christmas to the Spring traditions of Valentine, Shrovetide, and Easter eggs, through May Day revels and Midsummer fires, and on to the waning of the year, Harvest Home, and Hallowe'en; Ronald Hutton takes us on a fascinating journey through the ritual year in Britain.
His comprehensive study covers all the British Isles and the whole sweep of history from the earliest written records to the present day. Great and lesser, ancient and modern, Christian and pagan, all rituals are treated with the same attention. The result is a colorful and absorbing history in which Ronald Hutton challenges many common assumptions about the customs of the past and the festivals of the present debunking many myths and illuminates the history of the calendar we live by.
Stations of the Sun is the first complete scholarly work to cover the full span of British rituals, challenging the work of specialists from the late Victorian period onwards, reworking our picture of the field thoroughly, and raising issues for historians of every period.

A Halloween How-To: Costumes, Parties, Decorations, and Destinations

Lesley Pratt Bannatyne

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Seasonal

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

THE Halloween book to buy! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

It doesn't matter if you are a home haunter like me, someone who loves Halloween, or just like to have THE best Halloween party in town, this is the book! It has so much fun info in it, recipes, costume ideas, decor and invite ideas... EVERYTHING! Buy one for yourself and one for your crazy friend!

Editorial Review:

What is the difference between a goblin and a ghoul? What's the recipe for pumpkin soup? Where can you see the oldest Halloween parade in the United States? Have you ever wondered how to keep your carved pumpkin from decaying too quickly? If you are looking for information and instructions about every aspect of Halloween, you have come to the right place. This book is packed with ideas for October 31. There are fifty great costumes you can make yourself, recipes for everything from fake blood to pumpkin soup, and lists of great movies, CDs, and spooky books. Lesley Bannatyne has even assembled a number of games drawn from early twentieth-century Halloween celebrations, and includes sample text for party invitations.

On This Date : A Day-by-Day Listing of Holidays, Birthday and Historic Events, and Special Days, Weeks and Months

Sandy Whiteley

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

An affordable new almanac from the creators of Chase's Calendar of Events

This fun, fact-filled calendar/almanac will fulfill the needs of amateur marketing mavens, freelance writers, and trivia buffs who need to know what happened On This Date. This fascinating volume is packed with entries selected from Chase's Calendar of Events, including more than 2,000 celebrity birthdays, important dates from history, fixed religious and national holidays, and special days, weeks, and months. Arranged day-by-day, from January 1 through December 31, the entries are American in emphasis and include humorous days (No Housework Day, Stay Home Because You're Well Day) and sponsored days and months (National Honey Month, Great American Smokeout) that aren't found in other day-by-day historical almanacs.

Key features include:

• More than 2,000 entries
• Contact information for event sponsors, including Web addresses
• Complete name and subject index
• Lists of movable religious and national holidays

Special Events: The Roots and Wings of Celebration (The Wiley Event Management Series)

Joe Goldblatt

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Editorial Review:

From the foremost authority, the definitive guide to your career as an event leader!

Today's special events have their roots in the universal, ancient human need to celebrate with ceremony and ritual. Twenty-first-century event leaders acknowledge these roots while moving the event management profession toward the new possibilities presented by our globalizing world. Special Events: The Roots and Wings of Celebration, Fifth Edition provides experienced as well as aspiring event leaders with a comprehensive guide to understanding, planning, funding, promoting, and producing special events. Filled with helpful resources and illustrative examples, this Fifth Edition covers such areas as marketing, sponsorship, human resource management, financial administration, risk management, safety and security, global event leadership models, media use, legal and ethical considerations, technology, career development, and more.

New and revised materials in this edition include:

• New profiles of leaders in the global events industry from Africa to America and from Bulgaria to Birmingham-learn what makes the greats great and their events truly spectacular
• Five Best Practice examples of exemplary events and over a dozen detailed case studies of all types of events
• Broader coverage of production schedules and the soon-to-be new industry standard, the APEX event specification guide
• Revised discussion of law and ethics in special events
• Over 100 new Web resources throughout text
• Descriptions of the leading meetings and events industry professional certification programs and how to earn these designations