I had previously read Jen Mann’s People I Want To Punch in the Throat , so I had to check out her next installment, Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat. This book is of course all essays revolving around the holidays. Most of the stories are about Christmas – and one I could totally relate to. Jen is allergic to Christmas trees, but no one knew she was allergic. The “We always just thought he had a cold at Christmas” excuse was used on my little brother too. Until I finally brought a small evergreen pine needle sachet home from school and he played with it and immediately got all sneezy. Ohhh, maybe we should get a fake tree… But Jen’s family never figured it out until her Mom decided a fake tree would look nicer! Poor girl!
Section 3 focuses on other holidays that still annoy Jen, since Sections 1 and 2 were all christmas, all the time (but with the way her family is about Christmas, I can see why). This section has essays on the Easter Bunny, Thanksgiving, Chinese New Year and a few other as well. Another great book with some fun essays – that let you know either you are not alone or some people have it worse 😉
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
For fans of Laurie Notaro and Jenny Lawson comes an uproarious and oddly endearing essay collection for anyone trying to survive the holidays in one piece.
When it comes to time-honored holiday traditions, Jen Mann pulls no punches
In this hilariously irreverent collection of essays, Jen Mann, nationally bestselling author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat, turns her mordant wit on the holidays. On Mann’s naughty list: mothers who go way overboard with their Elf on the Shelf, overzealous carolers who can’t take a hint, and people who write their Christmas cards in the third person (“Joyce is enjoying Bunko. Yeah, Joyce, we know you wrote this letter.”). And on her nice list . . . well, she’s working on that one. Here, no celebration is off-limits. The essays include:
• You Can Keep Your Cookies, I’m Just Here for the Booze
• Nice Halloween Costume. Was Skank Sold Out?
• Why You Won’t Be Invited to Our Chinese New Year Party
From hosting an ill-fated Chinese New Year party, to receiving horrible gifts from her husband on Mother’s Day, to reluctantly telling her son the truth about the Easter Bunny, Mann knows the challenge of navigating the holidays while keeping her sanity intact. And even if she can’t get out of attending another Christmas cookie exchange, at least she can try again next year.
Advance praise for Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat