364 Days of Tedium: or What Santa Gets up to on his Days Off - Dave Cornmell

(Note to reader: I’ve a copy of ’364 Days of Tedium: or What Santa Gets up to on his Days Off’ to give away and all details can be found at the end of this post)

Before I start, let me make it quite clear. I LOVE Christmas and if I had my way I’d have my Christmas tree up already. And, from that self-proclaimed ‘expert’ stance, I would like to declare that this is THE BEST adult Christmas book EVER.

Seriously, have you ever wondered what Santa does on his days off? After all he only has to work one day a year, giving him 364 days of leisure. Well, that was the question that the twisted genius mind of Dave Cornmell set out to answer in a rather hilarious book aptly titled 364 Days Of Tedium Or What Santa Gets Up To On His Days Off.

I guess I should also offer a word of warning, this is not a book to read to your kids on Christmas Eve! Middlest has already attempted to sneak a read and Eldest has declared it ‘genius’ (yes, I am a bad parent!). Cornmell is not afraid to push the limits with images of Drunken Santa, Sexually Compromised Santa and Obese Santa littered throughout the book. One of my favourite strips is the naked elf dream (See below - Oh. My. God!) and Santa’s inappropriate relationship with one of his reindeers has left me cringing and chuckling, in equal measure.

Some of the cartoons are stand alone, delivering a single joke or pun, yet others build on unfolding narratives which hold the book together. One nice feature of Cornmell’s book is that Santa is not the only character. The writer has worked hard to build a world with Elves, Reindeers, Mrs Claus and even a rubber Mr. Whale and Ducky adding to the rich tapestry of cartoons. Another of my most favourite strips (on 17th February) involves Mr Whale and Ducky and an eye spy game… “Something beginning with ‘P’.” (Really, I am still chuckling about it, days on)

To be honest, I’ve been looking forward to reading this book all year, yet I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have read these kinds of collected comic strips in the past and often been disappointed, but this is certainly not the case with 364 Days Of Tedium. The actual book is big, hardback, chunky and is up there as being one of my most favourite books ever. (I know, praise indeed!) (You can see more comic strips here)

Cornmell sets the bar high with his jokes, but maintains a constant level of comedy and cringe worthiness. Yet, for me, what absolutely made this book was that every few pages I stumbled on an absolute gem, a short comic strip that I was still giggling about a few hours or days later.

I’d absolutely recommend this book to anyone with a slightly dark and warped sense of humour (like me!). It is a definite one for the festive season. Oh ho, ho, ho!

You can (and really should) buy ’364 Days of Tedium: or What Santa Gets up to on his Days Off’ by Dave Cornmell here.

And I have a copy of ‘364 Days of Tedium: or What Santa Gets up to on his Days Off’ to give away. Simply leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) October 21, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select a winner. This competition is open to all.