Jacob T. Marley

Book 77 is Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett.

A book explaining how Scrooge became the scrooge he is in A Christmas Carol. The premise is good and it starts well but Marley goes from an evil jerk to remorseful soul on his death. The pivot is weak and the story goes down hill from there.

It was a quick read. Maybe someone can take this idea and do it a little better.

3 regrets out of 5.

Should I read this? At Christmas, before re-reading A Christmas Carol.
What did I learn? Yeah, yeah. Death makes you regret a shitty life lived.

Gather 'Round the Sound

Book 75 is Gather 'Round the Sound by Audible.

With the byline "Holiday Stories from Beloved Authors and Great Performers Across the Globe" and a price tag of free, this was an enjoyable listen of just over an hour.

My favourites were An Aussie Night Before Christmas read by Magda Szubanski and The Signal-man by Charles Dickens.

If you have the time then do listen to this.

4 improv carols out of 5.

Should I read this? Read it just for the two I mentioned and everything else is a bonus.
What did I learn? Charles Dickens was scary.

The Chimes

Book 30 of 2016 is The Chimes by Charles Dickens.

It can't be Christmas without a lesson for the soul from Dickens.

This isn't A Christmas Carol but it runs along the same tracks. The Chimes however does not cross the times and resonate as its more famous sibling does. It is lost in class and superstition and old sexist ideas. Maybe a modern day rewrite would work.

Still, this book has brought the Christmas spirit out in me. Since it is an easy read, it is worth the moment it takes to listen to the ever present chimes.

Three chimes out of five.

Should I read this? Only if you need some Christmas reading.
What did I learn? Dickens sometimes wrote the same story twice, even the good ones.

A Christmas Carol

Book 70 of 2015 is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

This was the free audio book for Christmas from Audible. It was read by the always brilliant Tim Curry, who has given me another version of this book to love.

It took less than three hours to listen to and I shared it with my sister. It made Christmas Eve quite lovely.

For those who care, it is not an interpretation but a very accurate reading of this classic tale that we have all heard many times. You will love this edition.

4 humbugs out of 5.

Should I read this? Oh yes, at Christmas.
What did I learn? Some books make brilliant audio books.

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.