Christmas Books

"The story begins one cold, bleak, biting Christmas Eve, when the fog is so thick and the dampness so complete that wheezing is the only way to breathe, when the clock in the frozen tower strikes the hours as if its teeth are chattering when the afternoon is as dark as the evening, and the evening so dark that even familiar courtyards require groping to find one's way." ~ Patricia Barrett Perkins, Baltimore, Maryland, 1987, as an introduction to 'A Christmas Carol'


I love that introduction from one of my editions of "A Christmas Carol". I have several copies I've collected over the years since it's my all-time favorite book.

The first time I read it was in 7th grade as it was one of the books we were reading that year in school. I remember having such a difficult time and found it boring. *gasp* Of course, I guess that's the difference with reading it when you're only 12, compared to reading it as an older teen and adult, when you understand the message. Now it's part of my annual Christmas tradition. I read it every year, and I love watching all the movies of it. My favorite is the 1951 version with Alistair Sim as Scrooge, but I enjoy all the others, too. Another favorite is "Scrooge", the 1970 musical with Albert Finney, and I have to admit that "Mr. Magoo's A Christmas Carol" always held a special place in my heart :)



As I was sitting here catching up on emails the other day I glanced up at the bookcase and decided to pull down a few Christmas books to enjoy this week. This bookcase is filled with some of my Christmas books. There are some religious books, some fiction, and many, many Christmas crafts books I've collected over the years. I think my favorites are the 20 Spirit of Christmas books by Leisure Arts ~ one arriving each year for 20 years! There are more books that fill the bottom two shelves, which you can't see in this picture.








Here are the books I pulled off the shelf this week. Three of them are fun to look at with wonderful pictures, songs, a few recipes, quotes and crafts. The small ivory one on the left is a book of Christmas poems, and the red one in the center contains Charles Dickens' Christmas books.

Since I'm currently reading "A Christmas Carol" once again, I'll leave you with my favorite quote...





"Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed; and that was quite enough for him... and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!"

~ Charles Dickens, 'A Christmas Carol'