With perfect timing, I have some Christmas fare for you today. Admittedly, I probably wouldn’t have read these at the right time unless I had occasions to read them for, so without further ado… The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis Chris at Calmgrove is hosting #Narniathon21 beginning this month, reading the Read More
Tag: Christmas
Non-Fiction Novellas in November
Combining two reading tags into one, today I have a couple of contrasting non-fiction short reads for you… Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay Destined to be in thousands of Christmas stockings, this is a bijou helping of more stories in diary form from the author of This is Going to Hurt (reviewed Read More
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The Ecco Book of Christmas Stories In the run up to Christmas, I’ve been reading short stories from this Canadian anthology, selected and introduced by Alberto Manguel. I thought I’d quote from some of them for Christmas Day, however, be warned – most of these Christmas stories only have fleeting happy moments (which has Read More
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I hope you all have a wonderful day. Here’s our tree this year. Yes – it’s artificial, but this tree has been going since Christmas 1998 and is (miraculously) still in good shape – so I feel that my green credentials are safe. I’ll be back soon with my year-end posts – but for now Read More
It’s the Christmas issue of Shiny
Yes, the Christmas edition of Shiny New Books has arrived. I’ll be highlighting my reviews later, but I hope you enjoy the Shiny Advent Quiz and our The Shiny Eds Discuss feature, in which Harriet, Victoria, Simon and I talk about three years of Shiny…
SEASONS GREETINGS!
I’ll be back after Christmas with a whole host of posts: My Books of the Year, Disappointments, Great Finds and the Annual Stats I have so much fun with. I shall leave you for now with a Christmas quotation, guaranteed to get you in the mood… – Eight of us set out that night. There Read More
Christmas at Shiny New Books
If you’re a regular visitor here, it can’t have escaped your notice that the link in my sidebar to Shiny New Books recently sprouted a holly sprig! Yes, I’m delighted to direct you to head over there to experience our Shiny New Books Issue 3 Inbetweeny. Over thirty new reviews and articles to give you reading (and gift) Read More
Catching up … plus more stocking fillers
It’s been so busy this past week and weekend, I didn’t have time to post or read much. I’ve been preparing new pages for the Shiny New Books Christmas Inbetweenie issue – there are some goodies! (Coming to you on Thursday December 4th – click on the picture in the sidebar to sign up for Read More
Short but not so sweet – The Galley Beggar Ghosts
I know it’s not quite December, but I am busy Christmas shopping – and between review posts for the next couple of weeks, I shall be recommending some books and bookish things that make ideal Christmas presents and stocking fillers. We’ll start with some stocking fillers… Galley Beggar Ghosts Those lovely people at Galley Read More
What the new Hoffmann addict read on Christmas Day …
The Nutcracker & The Strange Child by E.T.A. Hoffmann Translated by Anthea Bell My mum was a huge ballet fan, and it was a much-anticipated Christmas treat to be taken to London to the ballet to see The Nutcracker, preferably at the Royal Opera House for a grander experience and better tree (see below). It Read More
A seasonal quotation …
With a journey before him, Charley Mason’s mother was anxious that he should make a good breakfast, but he was too excited to eat. It was Christmas Eve and he was going to Paris. This morning, I found this book in one of my bookcases (yes, I was ‘playing’ with my books again), but couldn’t Read More
Moviewatch – Arthur Christmas
“So what would you like to see?”, I asked my daughter. “What’s on?”, she replied. I reeled off the list at the multiplex fully expecting her to pick ‘Alvin & the Chipmunks 3’, but secretly hoping that the one I really wanted to see might be acceptable. (My choice was Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ – which Read More
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Just in case the jokes in your crackers are awful, here’s some more … Q: What is an ig?A: An Eskimo house without a loo Q: What’s orange and smells of carrots?A: Rabbit sick Q: What’s yellow and stupid?A: Thick custard Q: What do you call a girl with a shrimp on her head?A: Barbie! Read More
Santa Claus is comin’ to town …
I just got back from my daughter’s school Christmas concert which was lovely. I was amazed though to find out that the perennial favourite Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (preferably the Springsteen version for me), has some introductory verses: I just came back from a lovely trip along the Milky Way, I stopped off Read More
