Reviews Week 51

 Reviews Week 51

December 19th-25th

Book 182: Merry Christmas Cupid

By N. R. Walker

Read December 19th-21st

📚📚📚📚

I adore all of N. R. Walker's books in the Hartbridge Christmas series. This is the third book in that series and could technically stand on its own, but it is better after reading the other two. Especially with Jayden, Cass, Hamish, and Ren all making appearances. I love Gunter's friendship with Jayden and Hamish in this book, along with the romance. 

N. R. Walker always does an excellent job with the secondary characters in her books, along with the main characters. Gunter and Clay had a sweet story together that I enjoyed. My favorite part of this book was the relationship between Clay and his dad, Cliff. Cliff was such a great character. 

Another great addition to N. R. Walker's books. I hope that she continues on with this series next year, with the cop as one of the main characters. 

Book 183: A Christmas Carol 

By Charles Dickens

Read December 23rd

📚📚📚📚📚

December 23rd, 2022 read- 

I do not know how many times I have heard/read/ or seen this story over the years, but it is and always will be one of my absolute favorite stories. It is the quintessential Christmas story I have to experience at least once every year. There are so many incredible movie versions of this tale. This time around, I listened to Neil Gaiman's reading of the story and read the extra aspects of this version of the book. I love this visual journey through the story. It was wonderful.

December 15th, 2021 read- 

This is not the second time I have read or experienced this incredible story. I don't know how many times I have, but I adore it more and more every time I do. This time around, I listened to a version done by the BTE (a theatre from where I live), which was absolutely amazing. I cannot get enough of this story.

December 7th, 2017 read-

 I have read, watched, and listened to this story so many times I could probably recite every plot point. It will never get old for me. I first fell in love with this story when I was a child with Mickey's Christmas Carol. I do not know how many times I have consumed A Christmas Carol, but most likely, it's been over thirty.

You have probably heard of this story before, but for those that have not, I'll give a quick synopsis. We follow Ebenezer Scrooge and his encounters with four ghosts on Christmas Eve. Scrooge has lived a good part of his life mean-spirited. He is an arrogant, insensitive, and quite a cold miser, who spends every day miserable at the world around him. His old friend Jacob Marley (who has been dead for seven years) comes as a ghost that night to give Scrooge a chance to change his ways, so he doesn't end up like Marley. Marley has been doomed to wander the earth as a spirit, to carry the burden of his sins in the chains on his back forever.

The other three ghosts that Scrooge encounters are Christmases past, present, and future. They each help him see the errors in his actions and help show the overall message of this story. A Christmas Carol is known for its story and Scrooge's redemption. We want him to succeed; at least, I know that I do. Yes, he is a curmudgeon, but that does not mean there is no room for change. Like I have said before, I grew up with Mickey's Christmas Carol. One of my favorite characters from Disney cartoons was Scrooge McDuck. It was great getting introduced to this famous literary character through him, especially since Scrooge McDuck is based on Ebenezer.

As we follow Scrooge through his journey through his past, present, and a possible future, we learn a good amount about him. He is never really as cold-hearted as he seems. There are many glimpses of a softer side to Scrooge that shows that he really could change. Our other characters, such as Bob Cratchett and his family, are also a joy to read about. This is a family that has hardly any money, but they can still see the joy of Christmas. Spending time with their family is the most important thing to them. The ghosts are also each distinct from each other and bring about some quite interesting scenes.

This novel just brings a warm feeling to my heart every time I read it. This story is a favorite of mine that I know will never change. It's a classic for a very good reason. If you have not taken the time to enjoy this before now, please pick it up in some fashion. I believe that you will enjoy the overall message and get something out of it.

Book 184: Hogfather

By Terry Pratchett

Read December 22nd-23rd

📚📚📚📚📚

December 22nd-23rd, 2022 review-

Now, after reading every one of Terry Pratchett's books, I can say with great certainty that this book is my favorite from the series. It is one of the books that I could read over and over again. And I still never get tired of it. Terry has written what has become one of the quintessential books I feel like I have to reread every year around Christmas. I love how into Hogswatch Death gets and how he wants to make it better for everyone. The references are wonderful and always a joy to read. This is just a perfect book for me in every single way.

December 23rd, 2020 review-

This is the second time I have read this book, and I can confidently say this is still my favorite book in the series. The humor, discussions on life, humanity, belief, and countless references make this book perfect. Terry had such a way with words that was just amazing. Everything fits perfectly.

His discussions on belief throughout the series are some of the best sections of his writing. Whether that be about Gods or in this case the amphomorphic figures such as the Hogfather (the "Santa Claus" of the Discworld). Death especially has a lot of great lines about the importance of belief to humanity. He gets a lot wrong when he is trying to understand humans in general, but he understands them in a way that a lot never will. I always find the Death series books so interesting from his perspective. His enjoyment of the holiday and his journey with Albert are some really great parts of this book. He wants to make Hogswatch better for those that need it. I loved seeing him get excited about gift-giving, especially in the store. His determination to get his Ho Ho Hos right was just so sweet.

Susan is such a great character too. It's enjoyable following her as she tried to solve what was going on with the Hogfather and her grandfather. I loved reading about her going after the monsters that are scaring the children. She is a strong character that I believe is one of the best in the series. Her perspective is just another great part of this book. Also, seeing her use her abilities, which she somehow inherited through her adoptive grandfather, just makes her scenes even better. She does not like getting in touch with these aspects. She would much rather be normal even though she is nothing close to normal.

The scenes in this book with the wizards at the Unseen University are just some of the best. I found it absolutely hilarious that they kept conjuring fairies and gods out of thin air by just talking about these ideas. Especially the Cheerful Fairy. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time.

One final aspect I would like to touch on is the references to other Christmas properties throughout the book. I love Terry's use of pop culture throughout the entire series, and this definitely did not disappoint. We get references to "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", "The Little Match Girl", A Christmas Carol, so many songs, and many other properties. Some were comical, and others were just so touching, especially "The Little Match Girl". There are many writers that use pop culture in their books, and it just doesn't work. That doesn't happen with Terry's.

One of the best quotes from the entire series (let alone this book)

"All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable."

REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.

"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"

YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.

"So we can believe the big ones?"

YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.

"They're not the same at all!"

YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.

"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"

MY POINT EXACTLY.”