a straight-up advertisement for my husband's book

I have built a subjective scale of Christmas mania and appointed myself as arbiter of truth. A simple 1 to 10, where 1 is you tolerate the holiday, 5 is you like it like a normal person, 10 is you might have actually lost your mind for it. I have met people who hit 10. I know of at least one person I'd call a 12.

I judge Alonso Duralde to be a 7. He loves it, he studies it, he prepares for it, and when the world is stressing him out he listens to Christmas music. In 2010, a book he wrote called HAVE YOURSELF A MOVIE LITTLE CHRISTMAS was published by Applause Books. And he set himself the task of happily, energetically promoting it year after year, pushing it up the steep hill of making its money back for the publisher. He hustles a book like Jacqueline Susann.

Now, from Bloomsbury, comes the revised and expanded edition. A hundred new titles, thoughtfully considered. He gets what makes this collection of films meaningful and why people respond to them. Most importantly, he digs into nearly forgotten corners of cinema to bring you titles you might have missed. He writes about these films like the critic, film historian, and borderline too-enthusiastic Christmas Dude that he is.

Click on that title and buy it for yourself and loved ones. It's October. Be ready.