Sunday Salon /Sunday Post - Christmas Spirit Sign-up #csreadathon and Thankfully Reading Weekend

I realize that its been a few weeks since I have posted a Salon post and at least a couple since I posted anything at all. I've been busy reading books and watching videos and hence my blogging has suffered.

I know that 2015 is coming to a rapid end and I have made a few decisions, especially in regards to my reading challenges.  I am thinking that I am going to back down on the number of reading challenges that I participate during 2016, at least at the start.

I am also signing up for Michelle @ True Book Addict's Christmas Reading Challenge and Christmas Spirit Readathon.

For the reading challenge, I am going go for the Mistletoe level, in which I am hoping to read 2-4 Christmas books and I am also going to do Fa La La La Film challenge as well.  I hope that you can join as well.  And to kick things off, Michelle is hosting a read-a-thon for the first week.  I hope to read at least one or two books during this time.

And to add to that Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelves is hosting the Thankfully Reading weekend.  I hope to spend a bit of time reading during the weekend.  

I will get back to my reading and hopefully I can start to catch-up the book reviews that have been piling up this coming week.

Hope you have a great rest of the day and a great week of reading.

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
File size (Pages): 939 KB (104)
Published: 2010 (originally published 1843)
Challenges: Christmas Spirit, e-book, The Classics Club
Genre: Christmas, Classics, Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: The beloved holiday classic with illustrations by John Leech. A Christmas Carol is Dickens' haunting cautionary tale about Ebenezer Scrooge a miserly businessman who dismisses charity and holiday cheer with an icy "bah humbug!" One night Scrooge finds himself visited by the ghost of his late business partner Jacob Marley returned from the dead with a trio of spirits and a plea for his old friend Ebenezer to change his ways and open his heart to the true meaning of Christmas... before it's too late. (via kobobooks.com)

Thoughts: This is my second time reading this short Christmas novel.  And reading it the second time, I had new appreciation for the book.  Even though it is quite simple, it is also quite complex, in that I suppose we all have a bit of Scrooge in us and all need to be reminded from time to time we could easily become like him, due to our fallen nature.  And I suppose it is always a good reminder that being bitter and miserly does nobody any good.

While I did feel that the chapters were a little on the long side, Dickens did a masterful job in showing how we as humans beings can easily become like Mr. Scrooge and that bitterness from a number of events can leave us in a similar position.  It is truly a book that should be read by most people at some point.

Bottom line: It is a book that I would recommend that people read at least once in their lifetime, but I think fans of either novellas or Dickens would probably appreciate this book a bit more.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.75/5

Pages for 2013: 19, 559

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows - Alan Bradley

Title: I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia de Luce #4)
Author: Alan Bradley
Pages: 288
Published: 2012 (originally published 2011)
Challenges: Christmas Spirit
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal library

Description: Colonel de Luce, in desperate need of funds, rents his beloved estate of Buckshaw to a film company. They will be shooting a movie over the Christmas holidays, filming scenes in the decaying manse with a reclusive star. She is widely despised, so it is to no one's surprise when she turns up murdered, strangled by a length of film from her own movies! With a blizzard raging outside and Buckshaw locked in, the house is full of suspects. But Flavia de Luce is more than ready to put aside her investigations into the true identity of Father Christmas to solve this yuletide country-house murder. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: Really liked it, as usual.  I am a big fan of this series and so glad I have made the effort to catch up with the series.  I like how the author has used characters from the previous book in this one and how he incorporated each of a portion of the characters from the previous 3 books, but there is enough that one doesn't really have to read the other books, but it is strongly suggested that one does read the other 3 previous books to understand the characters a little better than if one jumps in right away.

Once I got into the book, which was pretty quick, I found it fairly easy to get into the book and finish it quickly (I got sick towards the end of the book and had to put it aside for a bit as I for some reason am unable to read lots while I am not feeling well; I had a cold, if you are wondering).  And also loved the fact that it took place around Christmas Day.

Bottom line: While the story is a stand-alone, there are elements of the previous three books, that while not exactly crucial to the book, are somewhat important to have a background of (I had forgot some of them).  I would recommend the book to those individuals that like cozy mystery series books and like something light and fairly easy to read at times and also to those that have read the previous Flavia books.  Recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5

Pages for 2013: 17,953

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2011

I know its getting closer to Christmas when the Christmas reading challenges start popping up and this one I have been looking forward to for the last week.

Here are the details:
Challenge will run from Monday, November 21, 2011 through Friday, January 6, 2011 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany).

Cross over with other challenges is totally permitted AND encouraged!
These must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore, a book of Christmas short stories or poems, books about Christmas crafts, and for the first time...a children's Christmas books level!

Visit this POST for a list of new Christmas books for 2011.  Two books I highly recommend for this season that I have read and reviewed...The Christmas Village by Melissa Ann Goodwin and The Reindeer Keeper by Barbara Briggs Ward (click the titles to read my reviews).

Levels:

• --Candy Cane:  read 1 book
• --Mistletoe:  read 2-4 books
• --Christmas Tree:  read 5 or 6 books (this is the fanatic level...LOL!)
           

Additional levels:

• --Fa La La La Films:  watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!
• --Visions of Sugar Plums: read books with your children this season and share what you read

*the additional levels are optional, you still must complete one of the main reading levels above
The most important rule?  Have fun!!!

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.
 
I am going to aim for the Christmas Tree level and will also be doing Fa La La La Films, of which I will probably watch about 5 or 6 films.

Holiday Reading Challenge

I am a sucker for Christmas and love the holiday. Its a time for family, eating and reading. And when I saw this over at
All About {n}, I had to jump on board. I hope that you can as well.

Here are the books that I plan on reading:










I would also like to remind you of the read-a-thon I am hosting in four weeks time and I hope to see you.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Description: Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, miserable, bitter old man with no friends. One cold Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on a scary journey to show him the error of his nasty ways. By visiting his past, present and future, Scrooge learns to love Christmas and the people all around him.

Review: Enjoyed it. It was the second time that I have read the novel and it was interesting to read the book again, especially after watching the most current version of the movie. I found it not only a good book, but also something that one should take to heart all the year round.

Holiday Reading Challenge

I went to the library and got a bunch of Christmas themed books. I don't know exactly what my books will be, but here is a tentative list of books that I plan on reading:

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

• Grace by Richard Paul Evans

• Christmas vows : $5.00 extra by Lori Copeland

• The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans

• A wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

• The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber

• Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

• Engaging Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

• Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

• Sarah's Song by Karen Kingsbury

• Gideon's Gift by Karen Kingsbury

• Finding Noel By Richard Paul Evans

Christmas Reading Challenge

Don't have a book chosen yet; will post it as soon as I have a choice or two. I have to see what I can get through a library until about Christmas or whatever I can find at home.