Christmas Reading: Tinsel by Hank Steuver

I received an early Christmas gift — Hank Stuever‘s wonderful and hilarious look at over-the-top Americana Christmas in Frisco, Texas, Tinsel: A Search for America’s Christmas Present.  Stuever writes like I’d like to write some day: witty, smart, compassionate, and snarky, all at the same time without ever going over the top.

He immersed himself in Frisco, an exurb of Dallas/Fort Worth, for three Christmases, and hung out with the very people who camp out at Best Buy the night before Black Friday and put 60,000 Christmas lights, synchronized to music, on their houses.  If you like This American Life, you’ll like Tinsel.

And, by the way, the amazing cover photo of the book is by Courtney Perry, who provided the photos for this blog and who has a special place in my heart.  She sent me the book, too. 🙂