Known as the "lights guy" to residents in his hometown of Pleasant Grove, Richard Holdman's favorite Christmas book is one that depicts exactly what he does — crazy and overboard Christmas decorations.
He received the book, "Holiday Lights" by David Seidman, last year as a gift from his mother-in-law and admits the 180-page book helped him put up his 45,000-light display this year.
"It's just a picture book, but it gave me some ideas of what to do and what not to do," Holdman said. "It's got some great pictures for the holidays."
His home, at 3183 Millcreek Road, took him at least 200 hours to decorate this year, and it was voted national winner last week of Kentucky Fried Chicken's Festive Fanatics decorating competition. The family is also collecting donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and has so far collected more than $4,000 from people who have driven by to see the outdoor, choreographed lights and music display.
While he's busy hanging lights, Holdman said he listened to several books on tape, with "Catch Me If You Can" and "The Prestige" being his favorite. He said he likes real-life stories and "books they make into movies," but likes to read the book version before seeing it on the big screen.
A subscription to www.Audible.com helps "people like me who like to keep in contact with books but just don't have the time to read," Holdman said. He downloads a new book every month to his iPod so he can at least try to keep up with his wife, Jodie, who reads about a book a week.
"She's the real bookworm in the family," he said. She shares a love of books with their 4-year-old daughter, who also loves "Holiday Lights."