Love YA Books! discussion

Once I finish my exams I have all these books stacked up to read before the new year. Some of them are: Crash,The Almost Truth, and Sia. I don't read Christmas books during the season. I just never have.

As I said before, I'm reading and after that, I'll be reading and ^^

The Bird's Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin is far and away the best Christmas novel I've ever read. The book was first released in 1888, but remains as powerful today as ever. Other Christmas favorites of mine are Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies, The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas by Madeleine L'Engle (which I'm currently reading), On Christmas Eve by Ann M. Martin, The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (of course!) by Dr. Seuss, and Home in Time for Christmas by R.A. Montgomery and his wife, Shannon Gilligan.

This December, I'd like to find time to read The Coat-Hanger Christmas Tree by 1952 Newbery Medalist Eleanor Estes, The Christmas Nightingale: Christmas Stories of Poland by 1929 Newbery Medalist Eric P. Kelly, and The Christmas Coat by Clyde Robert Bulla.

Another top-tier holiday story, but this time for Hanukkah rather than Christmas, is The Stone Lamp: Eight Stories Of Hanukkah Through History by the great Karen Hesse. It's easily one of the best picture books I've ever read, with equal appeal for those who observe Hanukkah as well as readers unfamiliar even with the festival's basic story.

I'm reading a Christmas Carol

It can be hard to separate the story in one's mind from the ubiquitous movie retellings, with more than one new film version added to the long list most years, but there's a reason A Christmas Carol garnered fame and acclaim for Charles Dickens immediately following its release. Though the plot has worn thin from overuse, the original story was a creative landmark in English-language writing. Charles Dickens actually wrote a few other Christmas novellas I'd like to read, too, most notably The Cricket on the Hearth.

I did not like reading The Christmas Carol. Maybe because I've seen the movie so many times??? I hope you enjoy it anyways Directioner.

That's probably why you didn't like it. The story has been overused and abused to such an extent that it's hard to view the original as fresh and un-hackneyed, even though it is. The thing to keep in mind is that the many, many movie versions would not have ever been made if it weren't for the groundbreaking innovation of Charles Dickens's original novel. Film producers are drawn to it in droves, and there's a reason for that.

I agree with you, Josiah. One of the things that makes a book enjoyable and so popular is how fresh the idea is. It's like this:This really popular show gets a spinoff. Then that one gets a spinoff. Then that one gets a spinoff. The originality wares off, making it seem to dread on and making it less exciting. That would make the show boring. Only that in this case, it's for a book. I've never seen any movie about it, or read anything like it, which is why I liked it. I haven't been exposed to anything that was built off of this book's concept.

Not that there aren't excellent film versions of A Christmas Carol, of course. Kelsey Grammer was a terrific Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol: The Musical, as were Patrick Stuart in A Christmas Carol (1999) and Michael Caine in A Muppet Christmas Carol. Alastair Sim gave a classic portrayal of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (1951), and Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (with Jim Backus in the title role) was a staple of the holiday television lineup for decades. Even Susan Lucci took her turn at playing the part of "Scrooge", in a derivative T.V. movie called Ebbie.

Josiah, don't forget Bill Murray in Scrooged...sorry I forget when it came out :(

Of course! :-) Bill Murray may not have turned in as powerful a performance as Kelsey Grammer or Patrick Stuart, but Scrooged was one fine motion picture. I'm surprised it isn't shown on television more during the month of December.