Like many others, we watch “A Christmas Story” each year on Christmas. I find it fascinating how I can turn it off at one point during the 24-hour marathon on TBS, then turn on the TV at the exact same point the next day.

But enough about the cosmic workings of holiday television. Watching the show inevitably leads to wanting to learn more about the story and that led me to the book which provided many of the anecdotes in the film, “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash” by Jean Shepherd. My wife bought this for me last Christmas, and I finally finished it a month or so ago.

The book has two distinct tracks. One is a dialogue between adult Ralph, who lives in New York, but has returned to his hometown for a visit, and his buddy Flick, who runs a bar in that town. Those chapters inevitably lead to old stories which provide the other track. The Ralph and Flick half really just serves as a setup and the exposition of why Ralph would head off to New York as he describes the hard-scrabble nature of Flick’s daily burden.

The other half does a great job describing life for a kid in the 1930s while alternately reinforcing the stories from the movie and expanding on them. We hear more about the famous leg lamp and the Red Ryder BB gun. We don’t hear about how a tongue can stick to a flagpole, but we do learn about dating and fishing and many other fascinating stories surrounding Shepwrd’s upbringing.

The author had a long career as a radio personality, and he originally shared some of his stories through that medium. His writing has that lyrical style where you can almost imagine the voice, which is why his voice of the adult Ralph in “A Christmas Story” works so well. He really has a way of providing a gripping backdrop to mundane events. It’s not s surprise to discover Jerry Seinfeld calls Shepherd a huge influence on his comedy.

I really recommend the book, particularly since the organization makes it easy to put down and pick back up without much problem.