There may be several days of the spooky season remaining in October but for many people — including comedian and writer Danny Pellegrino, that only means there are just a few days in the way of the best season of all.
It’s the holiday season: time for festive family gatherings, yes, but also the time for very merry meltdowns with the ones you love the most. In his latest essay collection, “The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories,” out Tuesday, Oct. 24, Pellegrino, host of the popular “Everything Iconic” podcast sets the table for a celebration of all things holiday — while also appreciating the jingle bell hell that can befall any yuletide.
“I had fun holidays as a kid,” Pellegrino says. “Even when they were chaotic, I love those chaotic ones. I say this in the book but those chaotic Christmases — or the unhinged Christmases — those are the ones we look back on fondly after a lot of time has passed. So, if you’re going through the holiday season and something is not perfect, just know that eventually you might look back on it and laugh and smile.”
“The Jolliest Bunch” is the follow-up to Pellegrino’s debut collection, “How Do I Un-Remember This?” He says that while putting together that book, which would become a New York Times bestseller, he pulled several stories that were too holiday-centric, since that book’s focus wasn’t the holidays.
Now, his second book takes place entirely across various holidays of the writer’s life — and the musings range from now-funny family mishaps to even more vulnerable discussions of Pellegrino’s struggle with disordered eating.
But even when he’s opening up, the inventive wit Pellegrino’s fans listen to each week via his podcast remains present.
“I wanted it to feel like ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’,” Pellegrino says of the book’s vibe, while also mentioning David Sedaris’ famed essay “Santaland Diaries” as an inspiration. “I wanted this book to be something that people could visit every holiday season and it could be a little bit of a comfort, much like those kinds of movies are.”
Pellegrino is currently touring in promotion of the book, with upcoming live shows in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Nashville and San Francisco. He will also be stopping at the Barnes & Noble at Los Angeles’ The Grove for a book signing Nov. 1, followed by a signing at Barnes & Noble Henderson in Las Vegas Nov. 2.
You can find out more about Pellegrino, “Everything Iconic” and “The Jolliest Bunch” at EverythingIconic.com.