Anne of Green Gables

Book 6 of 2018 is the Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.

This is a re-read of a childhood classic and favourite of mine. I loved it more now than I did then. Yes, that is possible. I cringed, laughed and cried again.

I will not continue the series because I do know it well. Starting with the first book again was simply wonderful. Not a mistake to read this again.

5 imaginings out of 5.

Should I read this? Every little girl should read this.
What did I learn? Anne taught me young that it was OK to focus on things that others didn't quite care about because one day those things would matter.

The Autobiography of Santa Claus

Book 72 is The Autobiography of Santa Claus which is book one of The Christmas Chronicles by Jeff Guinn.

Considering this is the guy who wrote The Road to Jonestown, I was not expecting such positivity but this is fictional. Of course, anything about Santa is fictional but this is told in Guinn's non-fictional tone and that added to the enjoyment of it.

This was an amusing read and one of escapism and nonsense. The historical characters effected by the Forrest-Gump-like Santa Claus were a nice idea... badly executed. This was unfortunate because reading the synopsis had me hoping for something a little more like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure through history with a little Christmas magic. It wasn't.

This could be aimed at children and people with little knowledge of history. The historical figures becoming so subservient to Santa was not convincing or explained well by Christmas magic.

This was a flop. Although it is the first of a series, it will be the only one I read.

2 Huns out of 5.

Should I read this? No. There is little that redeems it. Go for Dickens instead.
What did I learn? The Dutch are the reason for the name Santa Claus.

The Snow Queen

Woo hoo! I have reached my goal of 26 books for the year. Of those 26 books, 12 were audio books. Audio books have been a new experience for me and one that I've had to adapt to because your brain works completely differently when you read a book to when you listen to one. It has given my eyes a break and allowed me to hear stories I already knew through someone else's reading. It is true that I mainly used audio books to re-read some of my favourite books.

Book 26 of 2014 is a free audio book as a Christmas present from Audible. I recommend Audible US because it has many more titles than the Aussie site. Shoosh, don't tell them I live here.

The book was The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson, read by Julia Whelan who was Audible's narrator of the year.

This a story I know very well from my childhood and has been one of the reasons I have avoided Disney's version - Frozen. They never tell a story the way it was written and tend to make the women weak and the animals sing.

This is worth the read or the listen. I'd recommend that if you read it in Darwin that you do so with the air conditioner on full.

4 evil shards of glass out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. It is delightful.
What did I learn? People are not evil. They just have shards of evil glass in them.