The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories

Everything Iconic podcaster Pellegrino (How Do I Un-Remember This?) pairs holiday nostalgia with chaotic family antics in this amusing collection of Christmastime anecdotes. In addition to reminiscing about favorite holiday traditions, including trips to cheap photo studios to shoot ridiculous Christmas cards with his best friend (one depicts them eagerly unboxing a Blu-ray copy of Magic Mike), Pellegrino recounts one memorable mishap after another, from his mother’s regular Christmas Eve meal prep meltdowns to accidentally setting his kitchen on fire with holiday candles. Throughout, Pellegrino adopts his pithy podcasting voice to reflect on seasonal retail playlists (“I love Céline Dion, she’s a Canadian queen, but even a gay man will grow tired of her singing ‘Oh Holy Night’ for eight hours a day”), gimmicky cookie cutters (“IT HAS TO STOP”), and New Year’s Eve (“Forced fun is never fun... I blame Y2K”). The tone is mostly frothy (emoji are sprinkled throughout), but a tender late chapter on the ways holidays have exacerbated Pellegrino’s struggles with eating disorders adds welcome depth. This enjoyable and entertaining collection succeeds in its mission to make the season bright. Photos. Agent: Kristyn Keene, ICM Partners. (Oct.)