Media Mashup: Holiday Tidings
Raya Kuzyk -- Library Journal, 10/27/2008
Whether in the mood for the heartwarming, the humorous, or the horror-laden, patrons should welcome this range of media titles covering Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Happy holiday hunting!
DVDs
Black Christmas. color. 98 min. KOCH Entertainment; www.kochdistribution.com. UPC 8-80934-12425-2. $29.98.
The Blu-ray debut of the 1974 cult classic horror flick directed by Bob Clark (A Christmas Story) and starring Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, and John Saxon. Extras: two original scenes with a new vocal soundtrack, interviews, and a midnight screening Q&A. [Rated: R]
Noëlle. color. 90 min. Paramount Home Entertainment; www.paramount.com. ISBN 978-1-4157-4512-0. $29.99.
David Wall won Best Director at the 2006 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival for this movie about a young Catholic priest sent to Cape Cod to close a dying parish church the week before Christmas. [Rated: PG]
Shrek the Halls. color. 22 min. Paramount Home Entertainment; www.paramount.com. UPC 0-97368-52394-4. $19.99.
Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and Antonio Banderas voice this DreamWorks animated holiday special, which drew 22.7 million viewers when it aired on ABC last November. Extras: singalongs, a Shrek Carnival Craze video game demo and cheat code, and a DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox. [Not rated]
WATCH
MUSIC CDs
A Piano Christmas in the 1920s. CD. 11 tracks. 63 min. Lyrichord Discs; www.lyrichord.com. UPC 7-44457-60032-0. $16.99; digital download. ISBN NA. $9.99.
New digital recordings of holiday music performed by the top pianists of the 1920s, among them Herbert Clair and Edgar Fairchild (“Parade of the Wooden Soldiers”) and Pietro Yon (“Gesu Bambino”).
Songs in the Key of Hanukkah. 10 tracks. New Line Records; www.newlinerecords.com. UPC 7-94043-9122-2. $15.98.
Composer/multi-instrumentalist Cohen, brother of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, updates, remixes, and expands music associated with the Festival of Lights, from “Hanukkah oh Hanukkah” (performed by Y-Love and Jules Brookes) to “Ocho Kandalikas” (performed by Yasmin Levy).
LISTEN
AUDIOBOOKS
Marian Keyes & others. The Worst Noel: Hellish Holiday Tales. 5 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 6 hrs. HarperAudio. 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-083807-2. $29.95; digital download via audible.com. $20.97.
Essays written and read by the collected authors of The Worst Noel, which include Ann Patchett, Stanley Bing, Cynthia Kaplan, and Mike Albo.
LISTEN
NPR Holiday Favorites. 2 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 2¼ hrs. HighBridge Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-59887-728-1. $22.95; digital download. ISBN 978-1-59887-852-3. $NA.
Holiday-themed essays from the National Public Radio archives, by everyone from Martha Stewart to Kevin Kling. Special correspondent Susan Stamberg hosts.
LISTEN
Sedaris, David. Holidays on Ice. 4 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 4 hrs. Hachette Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-60024-487-2. $26.98; digital download via audible.com. $18.89.
With six new stories, including one—“The Cow and the Turkey”—never before published; all read by the author and also featuring his sister, comedian Amy Sedaris, and Ann Magnuson.
LISTEN
AUDIOBOOKS + EBOOKS
Alcott, Louisa May & others. Favorite Stories of Christmas Past. 4 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 5 hrs. Tantor Media. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4001-0916-6. $19.99; 4 CDs. library ed. ISBN 978-1-4001-3916-3. $39.99; 1 MP3-CD. ISBN 978-1-4001-5916-1. $19.99.
Renée Raudman and Alan Sklar read ten Christmas classics by Alcott (“A Country Christmas”), Hans Christian Andersen (“The Fir Tree”), O. Henry (“The Gift of the Magi”), and others. With companion PDF ebook.
LISTEN
Alcott, Louisa May & others. More Favorite Stories of Christmas Past. 4 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 5 hrs. Tantor Media. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4001-0822-0. $19.99; 4 CDs. library ed. ISBN 978-1-4001-3822-7. $39.99; 1 MP3-CD. ISBN 978-1-4001-5822-5. $19.99.
Simon Prebble and Joyce Bean read another seven Christmas classics by Hans Christian Andersen (“The Little Match Girl”), Charles Dickens (“A Christmas Carol”), and Henry Van Dyke (“Keeping Christmas”). With companion PDF ebook.
LISTEN
RELATED LINKS
Rebecca Vnuk’s roundup of holiday-themed fiction, LJ 10/15/08
Kristin Ramsdell’s roundup of holiday-themed romances, LJ 10/15/08
Savannah Schroll Guz’s review of The Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide, LJ 10/15/08
