This Jew's Definitive Top 5 Christmas Songs: The 2013 Edition

Christmas Season 2013

#1  "Last Christmas" by Wham still holds onto it's number 1 spot.  It is in my Spotify library all year long.  Christmas tragedy.  Maybe next year he'll find someone to love.

#2  "This Christmas" by Donnie Hathaway.  The opening bars of this song have so much soul that it is almost impossible not to dance.  Let me be clear.  I do not dance.  I also do not dance at my in-laws three spiked eggnogs in.  No, really...I don't.

3.  "White Christmas"  by Bing Crosby.  It's not that I like Bing Crosby very much (although I do like when he sings with Bob Hope) but I love that a Jew (Irving Berlin) wrote one of the most quintessential Christmas songs.  Listen for the minor chord at the end of this verse "may your days be merry and bright".  It doesn't get more Jewish than that.

4.  "Jingle Bells" by Sinatra.  Swinging Christmas songs.  I'm in.  Buble counts too.  A close runner up is Buble and the Puppini sisters singing Jingle Bells.

5.  "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" by Andy Williams.  The instrumental crescendo alone earns it a place on my list every year.  Classic.


I included my previous two lists below.  Let me know your favorite Christmas songs.



PREVIOUS LISTS

Christmas Season 2012
 
#1 "Last Christmas" by Wham. Is it gay? Very. Especially the whispering of "Merry Christmas". Regardless, I like it.


#2 "Little St. Nick". I think I like it because its like 90 seconds long. Sometimes that's all I can take of a Christmas song.

#3 "This Christmas" by Donnie Hathaway. Its one of the only Christmas songs with soul for G-D Sake.

#4 Still making the list this year...Elvis with "Blue Christmas".

#5 Rounding out the list is Andy Williams with "Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Its a classic.


Christmas Season 2011

#1  So what is this Jew's #1 favorite Christmas song? Its The King singing "Blue Christmas". Even though its not true -

#2  Andy Williams comes in at #2 with "Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Guys can't have all the fun.

#3 Belongs to Earth Kitt with "Santa Baby". 

 #4 is an obscure oldie and I have no idea why snow/cold equals Christmas but my pick for #4 is "Baby Its Cold Outside" by Pearl Bailey and Hot Lips Page. You can take all your other versions and shove them. This is how the song is meant to be sung.

 #5  I don't even hear #5 anymore. The last spot belongs to RUN DMC'S "Christmas in Hollis". Fuck Yeah, that's how you rock Christmas

Calling all Gen XYZ... We lived this...it's time to sit back and laugh at ourselves!

Recent Five Star Review for Shit Falls Up...

So much fun to read! My family was dying to know what mommy was laughing - literally, out loud - about in the other room. I was sad when it was over...just wish I had had this novel to make me laugh when I was going through all that post-graduate career and personal life drama. Deutsch's wit comes through on every page. So many moments we can all relate to brought to life, with honesty and humor, by engaging characters we all know. Well done! Can't wait for the next...

Read for yourself HERE

Chick Lit From a Guy's Point of View

We all know the formula for chick lit:

The blog Chit Lit Books describes it:
Chick lit is smart, fun fiction for and/or about women of all ages. Story lines often revolve around jobs, children, motherhood, romance, fame, living in the ‘big city’, friendship, dieting and much more, usually with a touch of humor thrown in. Many of these books are written from a first-person viewpoint, making them a bit more personal and realistic. The plots can range from being very light and fast-paced to being extraordinarily deep, thought-provoking and/or moving.

What if the main character was a guy and we watched as he struggled to find a job, love and his own path in the 'big city'?  That is the premise of the new novel Sh*t Falls Up by David Deutsch.

One morning, David Michaels awakens at his sister’s studio apartment and ponders how it all went wrong for him. Three weeks earlier, he had a beautiful girlfriend, a fabulous sub-let apartment in Manhattan and a seemingly secure job at a top, New York investment bank. After losing everything, including his hair, all he has now is a place to sleep, albeit on a twin-size mattress that he must inflate every night. However, this is better than his other, only true option - returning for a third time to his parent’s house.

David’s life-long aspiration is to be a writer, and he has notebooks filled with stories and ideas. One story - the only story he has published - won him a prize while in law school. Unlucky at love, his friends set him up with a woman who bases her life on insights gained from reality TV, and he reluctantly (and hilariously) joins an online Jewish dating service. Frustrated with his career choice of law, he happily accepts a job as a lowly sales clerk at a women’s shoe store. When he becomes manager, he decides once and for all to regain control of his life. On a daily basis, he shuts himself in his office, keeps the booze flowing and pounds out a short story on the absurdity of his life.

When his short story suddenly garners high acclaim, he is left again to pondering. Does he settle down with his hot, volatile, socialite girlfriend, who helped him get his story published? Or does he pursue a woman whom he believes is his soul mate, though he can’t stop lying to her?

At times, gut-wrenchingly funny, other times, soulful and touching, Sh*t.Falls.Up. places the reader in the mind of a man who does his best thinking on an inflatable air mattress.

A five star, funny read from start to finish says DAnthony.

A contemporary, creative, take on chick lit and romantic comedies with themes that should appeal to both men and women alike.  

Grab your copy today: Chick (oh, I mean click) Here 

Shit Falls Up - Book Review from Amazon

I had to share my first five star review for the novel Shit Falls Up

Pick up your copy today and read it for yourself Buy Shit Falls Up Here

Start to Finish Funny August 28, 2013

By DAnthony

Format:Kindle Edition

Imagine having spent $90,000 on a law degree and not wanting to use it. Imagine friends and family constantly in your face about being unemployed. Imagine waking up on an air mattress every day in a place that you can't even call your own. I imagine that your options fall under the "you either laugh or you cry" categories when explaining your continued misfortune and missteps. Fortunately, for readers, David Deutsch takes the "laugh" approach in fleshing out his protagonist, David Michaels, in his debut novel Shit Falls Up.

Everyone dreams of becoming more than they are. Few succeed, mainly because few are willing to work hard for it. David Michaels succeeds as a writer in the end, but only due to his diligence in attaining what he has dreamed about his whole life. It's not easy for him, and he stumbles often in his pursuit of self-preservation and true love. He naively and happily takes jobs beneath him. He falls head over heels in love one minute, only to fall into fatalistic, sexual situations the next. In short, he's Every Man. Except Michaels never gives up, even after he falls flat on his face, er, has a diamond ring thrown into his face.

For a first-time novelist, Deutsch shows great touch and snappy style with dialogue, especially with the ongoing conversations David has with himself, and those he shares with his continually bewildered best friend, Jon. There are also many moments of hilarious asides and snarky commentary on the misfits and odd balls he meets on the job or on a date. The online chat David has with a woman, who's either very desperate or psychotic, on a Jewish dating website is bust-a-gut funny.

Favorite Quotes from Shit Falls Up

Here area few of my favorite quotes from Shit Falls Up:

"I should embrace this moment. The moment I took my pride and self-respect, spit on it, threw it in the gutter, and then stomped on it repeatedly just for good measure."

"I just stood there shaking inside when I formulated a new, life theory: Hugs Kill."

"This woman just bought an apartment like I buy dinner.  Well, actually Sandy buys dinner.  I‘m nearly broke."

"Sandy got upset.  She leaned in even closer.  I could really get a good look at her face.  Her teeth were really white.  I wonder what toothpaste she used.  I needed to get myself a tube.  Her eyes were really green, too.  They were piercing right through me when she again reassured me, 'I am going to leave him.  I want to be with you.  Just give me some time.'"


What is your favorite quote?

Click Here To Get Your Copy of Shit Falls Up

Sh*t Falls Up Now Available

SH*T FALLS UP 

by David Deutsch

One morning, David Michaels awakens at his sister’s studio apartment and ponders how it all went wrong for him. Three weeks earlier, he had a beautiful girlfriend, a fabulous sub-let apartment in Manhattan and a seemingly secure job at a top, New York investment bank. After losing everything, including his hair, all he has now is a place to sleep, albeit on a twin-size mattress that he must inflate every night. However, this is better than his other, only true option - returning for a third time to his parent’s house.

David’s life-long aspiration is to be a writer, and he has notebooks filled with stories and ideas. One story - the only story he has published - won him a prize while in law school. Unlucky at love, his friends set him up with a woman who bases her life on insights gained from reality TV, and he reluctantly (and hilariously) joins an online Jewish dating service. Frustrated with his career choice of law, he happily accepts a job as a lowly sales clerk at a women’s shoe store. When he becomes manager, he decides once and for all to regain control of his life. On a daily basis, he shuts himself in his office, keeps the booze flowing and pounds out a short story on the absurdity of his life.

When his short story suddenly garners high acclaim, he is left again to pondering. Does he settle down with his hot, volatile, socialite girlfriend, who helped him get his story published? Or does he pursue a woman whom he believes is his soul mate, though he can’t stop lying to her?

At times, gut-wrenchingly funny, other times, soulful and touching, Sh*t.Falls.Up. places the reader in the mind of a man who does his best thinking on an inflatable air mattress.

Get Your Copy of Sh*t Falls Up on Amazon

Follow David on Twitter: @gslacks

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