This multinational, multidisciplinary collection of essays focuses on Hallmark Channel movies and Hallmark’s position in the changing North American media landscape. This book covers the ‘Countdown to Christmas’ offerings, year-round productions, made-for-TV mysteries and romances, Hallmark’s use of specific filming locations, and its relationship to viewer desires. Chapters examine Hallmark’s position in a changing sociopolitical context and the tensions the company must navigate in creating more “progressive” content; they discuss issues of gender, race, sexuality, and place, as well as analyzing the extensive ranges and reactions of social media participants and interrogating the nature of Hallmark’s popularity. Suitable for scholars and students of film and tv and popular culture studies, this is a multifaceted look at both Hallmark and its viewers at a particular moment of Hallmark’s market dominance.
There's having a bad day . . . and then there's having a Very Bad Day. Thirty-something single mum Jenny James is used to the typical run-in-your-tights, milk-turned-sour, break-a-nail bad kind of day. Attitude from her teenage son? Count on it. Car problems? To be expected. Never quite enough money for monthly expenses? Guaranteed. And then arrives the Very Bad Day--when Jenny finds out her dull but reliable office job is in jeopardy, her car totally and completely breaks down, and she arrives home (on foot) just in time to see her modest-but-cozy cottage sliding off a cliff into the sea. Jenny's life--not to mention her home--has reached its ultimate low point. Estranged from her parents since she became pregnant at age eighteen and set out on her own, Jenny has nowhere to turn when she and her son, Charlie, find themselves without a place to live. Her neighbor, the reclusive but attractive Luke who lives alone with his dog in a surprisingly homey RV, opens up his camper--and his vagabond lifestyle--to Jenny and her son. As the unlikely threesome--four including the dog--hit the road, Jenny finds herself experiencing a new sense of freedom as she reflects on who she was, who she is, and who she could become. Maybe when you fall, you actually find the best way to move forward.
In this hilarious graphic novel, the roles of cats and humans are reversed, putting humanoid felines in charge of tiny, dimwitted little man-pets. Manfried the Man was named one of the Best Comics of 2018 by A.V. Club and Paste Meet Manfried, a stray man taken in by the likable but introverted tomcat Steve Catson. Stuck in a dead-end job and bemoaning a nonexistent love life, Steve depends on his pet man for friendship and support. But when Steve’s carelessness results in Manfried getting lost, Steve has no choice but to muster his meager resources to bring his best friend home safe. Can a cat who can’t even clean up his own apartment manage to find his missing man before it’s too late? In an all-new series based on the wildly-popular tumblr webcomic, classic comic strip layouts and colorful cartoon art make this a fun read. It’s a great gift for comics fans, pet owners, cat lovers, or anyone who appreciates a story full of humor and adventure, with a sweet friendship at its heart.
Create the Christmas romance of your dreams, scene by scene, twist by charmingly predictable twist—each choice is yours. Slip on your favorite Christmas sweater, cozy up to a crackling fire, sip some spiced eggnog, and prepare to experience the ultimate holiday love story. But instead of watching it on some cheesy cable channel, open this book and put yourself in the director’s chair. First, decide your heroine’s problem. Was she just fired from her big city business job? Avoiding going home for Christmas? Or did she just realize the man who proposed to her maybe isn't Mr. Right? Then it's time to meet the man--should your heroine end up with the big city business exec, the small town hunk or someone totally unexpected (but still hunky)? Each choice will take you down a totally different path that all somehow end up making for a perfect made-for-TV romance. Will your Christmas activity montage include baking cookies, walking through a holiday festival, or skating on a picturesque frozen lake? Will you choose to include a generically bearded old man who perhaps could maybe be Santa Claus? Choice by hilarious choice, you’ll make your way closer and closer to the big payoff--the picture perfect, most romantic final kiss ever. And when you’ve savored that last bit of snowy, romantic goodness, don’t be glum. Turn back to page one and start a new love story. With hundreds of possible stories the happily-ever-afters never stop happening. Praise for Build Your Own Christmas Movie Romance “The choose-your-own-adventure-style parody features all the best tropes and treats of made-for-TV holiday specials.” —Chicago Reader “If you’re searching for the perfect gift for your Hallmark holiday film loving BFF (or just shopping for yourself, no shame), Riane Konc’s new book, Build Your Own Christmas Movie Romance, is the present you’ve been waiting for.” —Bustle
Prepare to fall head over heels. The perfect book for fans of Josie Silver, This Time Next Year, and anyone who ever fell in love with the wrong person... ‘Gorgeously festive and romantic’ Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of The Man Who Didn’t Call
The #1 New York Times bestselling (mostly true) memoir from the hilarious author of Furiously Happy. “Gaspingly funny and wonderfully inappropriate.”—O, The Oprah Magazine When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it. In the irreverent Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments—the ones we want to pretend never happened—are the very same moments that make us the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing, yet wonderful moments of our lives. Readers Guide Inside
I'll Be Home for Christmas Movies is the unofficial fan guide to Hallmark holiday movies, from the creators of the wildly popular Deck the Hallmark podcast. Hosts and best friends Brandon Gray, Daniel "Panda" Pandolph, and Dan Thompson share reviews that make you feel like you're watching these holiday favorites with your best buds, discussing warm Christmas feelings and absolutely bonkers plot twists with equal enthusiasm. And thanks to original interviews with the movies' stars and creators, fans will find out insider information on the making of the movies and learn answers to pressing questions: Why do the lead characters keep coming down with amnesia? Why do so many female stock brokers and lawyers find themselves forced to plan parties? And do all of the stories take place within something called the "Kennyverse"? To complete the perfect Christmas package, the book is also chock-full of ideas for hosting your own holiday movie-watching party, complete with delicious recipes. Featuring dozens of full-color photos throughout, I'll Be Home for Christmas Movies is as cozy and sparkly as the movies themselves.
It's the first day of school, and Camilla discovers that she is covered from head to toe in stripes, then polka-dots, and any other pattern spoken aloud! With a little help, she learns the secret of accepting her true self, in spite of her peculiar ailment.
New York wedding planner Jessica Christie always goes above and beyond for her clients. So, stopping in Alaska to pick up the famed Jingle Bell flower for her famous client’s bouquet doesn’t seem too outrageous–until she ends up stranded there. Matt Holden has spent the last five years since his fiancée died, living in a virtual bubble in Alaska. His research work as a botanist and assistant at the local reindeer farm keep him busy during the holidays. But when Jessica Christie bursts into his life, all bets are off. Her stay is definitely temporary, but the feelings she ignites aren’t. Could Ms. Oh-So-Wrong actually be Mrs. Right? Each book in the Christmas Wishes series is a standalone: *The Runaway Christmas Bride *A Royal Christmas Princess *The Jingle Bell Bride *The Christmas Contest *The Christmas Clues