2010 Holiday Reading Challenge - Completed

Nely at All About {n} hosted the 2010 Holiday Reading Challenge which ran from November 15 to December 31. I ended up reading five books, but only had time to review the first four, so those are the ones that count.

1. 'Twas the Night by Sandra Hill, Kate Holmes and Trish Jensen – review
2. The Burglar and the Blizzard: A Christmas Story by Alice Duer Miller – review
3. Christmas in Harmony by Philip Gulley – review
4. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore – review
5. Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop by Otto Penzler (ed.)

My favourite was Christmas in Harmony (re-read) followed by The Stupidest Angel. My least favourite was The Burglar and the Blizzard.

This was a really fun challenge to participate in, and although I had hoped to be able to read a few more books, there is always next year. :)

Review: The Stupidest Angel

The Stupidest Angel
By Christopher Moore

Read: 5 – 28 December 2010
E-book

2010 Holiday Reading Challenge

'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit. It is the hap-hap-happiest time of the year, after all.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen. (Goodreads)

I was not sure what to expect from this book, only that it would not be your usual cosy Christmas story. Well, that was certainly true! Here we find, among other curiosities, a pot-smoking officer of the law, a real Warrior Babe, a dead Santa, brain-sucking zombies, a completely incompetent arch-angel, and a talking fruit bat with really cool sunglasses.

Hilarious, twisted, grotesque and refreshingly different – I loved it! The characters are pretty much whacko, but very likeable (well, all but "Santa"). This is not a book you read to get into the Christmas spirit, but if you would like a break from the jolliness of the season, this is definitely worth reading. I will be on the lookout for Moore's other books.

My rating: 5/6

Review: Christmas in Harmony

Christmas in Harmony
By Philip Gulley

Read: 1 December 2010
Hardcover, 84 pages
Published 2002 by HarperCollins

2010 Holiday Reading Challenge

After the fiasco that was The Burglar and the Blizzard, I needed something I knew would bring out the Christmas spirit in me. This is the second time I read Christmas in Harmony and it certainly will not be the last.

This short story is part of the Harmony series, which consists of six novels and two Christmas specials. The series is set in Harmony, a small Indiana town with its fair share of eccentric characters. The main character and narrator of the books is Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner, who has moved back to his hometown after twenty years. In this Christmas novella he has to deal with Dale Hinshaw's progressive Nativity scene which is spread out all over town (including the livestock in Sam's yard). As usual when Dale is involved chaos and hilarity ensue, but through it all we are reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

Containing just the right blend of humour, seriousness and heart, and a large dose of Christmas spirit, Christmas in Harmony is the perfect holiday read. I highly recommend it, along with the rest of the Harmony series.

My rating: 6/6 

The Harmony series
Home to Harmony (2000)
Just Shy of Harmony (2002)
Signs and Wonders (2003)
Life Goes On (2004)
A Change of Heart (2005)
Almost Friends (2006)

Christmas novellas
Christmas in Harmony (2002)
The Christmas Scrapbook (2005)

Review: The Burglar and the Blizzard

The Burglar and the Blizzard: A Christmas Story
By Alice Duer Miller

Read: 19 – 23 November 2010
E-book from Project Gutenberg

2010 Holiday Reading Challenge

*This review contains spoilers*

Despite the title this novella from the 1800s does not feel very christmassy. Several holiday homes of rich owner have been broken into, and when Geoffrey Holland's sister becomes the burglar's latest victim, Geoffrey travels up to his house to check on it. When he arrives he catches the thief in his library and discoveres that he went to school with him years ago. Geoffrey is determined not to let the burglar, named McVay, out of his sight, but when McVay explains that his sister is staying in an old cabin in the forest and will most likely not survive the brewing blizzard, Geoff ends up locking McVay in a closet and setting out to find Cecilia. He finds her and takes her back to the house after a quick conversation which contains the best part of the story, starting with Cecilia:

"Oh, there is no reason for the rescued to be humane."

"They ought to be grateful."

"They are."

"Gratefuller then. Is it nothing that I have taken all the trouble to be born and grow up and live just to come here for you?"

"Perhaps I could be gratefuller if there were any prospect of a fire."

(Here I agreed wholeheartedly with Cecilia. Stop talking and take the girl back to the house, you moron!)

They finally make it back to the house where they are forced to stay over Christmas because of the snowstorm. To make a long story short: Geoff falls in love with Cecilia and bribes a detective of the police to be able to send McVay to Mexico to practically work as a slave in one of Geoff's mines so that Cecilia will not have to live with the shame of a trial. They all agree (the thief most of all), McVay is sent off and everyone lives happily ever after.

Nothing in this story sat right with me. I did not buy Geoffrey's love for Cecilia, I did not buy the detective's reason for taking the bribe (I'm not even sure he had a reason) and I certainly did not buy McVay's ready acceptance, egerness even, of his less than stellar future. None of the characters were very likable, Geoffrey least of all. The only one I had any sympathy for was the burglar McVay, but even he turned out to be a fool in the end. I am sorry to say that for a Christmas story, this falls way short. I need to go watch a movie adaption of A Christmas Carol to cheer me up now.

My rating: 2/6

Review: 'Twas the Night

'Twas the Night
by Sandra Hill, Kate Holmes and Trish Jensen

Published: 15 November 2010 by Bell Bridge Books
Read: 12-18 November 2010

E-book received from the publisher via NetGalley

2010 Holiday Reading Challenge

We’re about to find out who’s been naughty or nice . . .
It’s Christmas season, and a snowstorm has shut down Philadelphia’s airport. Somehow, Navy pilot Sam Merrick has to get to Maine for his best friend’s wedding. Enter the “Santa Brigade,” a group of boisterous oldsters headed to Maine on a bus chartered by their senior center. Only one problem: the group’s director is Sam’s wounded ex-flame, Reba. Their angry yet romantic sparks start melting the snowflakes . . .

Next the troupe adds bounty hunter Kevin Wilder, Sam's best friend, who needs a ride to Maine while hand-cuffed to his latest capture, the fiery (yet innocent) Callie Brandt. Then, as the Santa Brigade rolls through the night it picks up ex-pro quarterback Stan Kijewski and forest ranger Dana Freeman, a woman so hot she ought to be declared a fire hazard.
So now we have a bus full of cheerfully meddling seniors, three couples battling romantic dilemmas, an ex-NASCAR bus driver who refuses to let the snowbound roads beat her, a stocking full of oddball hitchhikers, and the magic of the holidays, where love waits under the mistletoe on this very special night. (From the introduction)

'Twas the Night was everything I expected it to be: light-hearted, fluffy and utterly predictable – in a good way. 

The writers describe it a most unsual anthology – in fact so unusual that they refer to it as a non-anthology. Sandra wrote all the chapters from Sam’s point of view; Trish wrote Kevin’s; and Kate wrote Stan’s. This round-robin style of writing works really well, and the different voices blend in well together. If I did not know better I would have thought one author had written the entire book.

Obviously the premise – three former juvenile delinquents, three gorgeous girls and a bus full of elderly people dressed as Santas – requires some suspension of disbelief, but at this time of year I'm willing to believe anything. This charming holiday tale contains everything you might require of such a book; boys meet girls, a snowstorm, charity work, girls playing hard to get, a mountain lodge, Jingle Bells, boys and girls falling in love and Christmas Eve. But it is more than just fluff. The main characters all have their own background stories, and especially Callie's current situation is interesting (though I feel it could have been explored even more than what was the case).

Callie and Kevin were my favourite couple because their story seemed the most plausible one. Plus, I loved feisty Callie and rugged Kevin (called "JD" – a most clever nickname) and the bickering between them. Sam and Reba were nice too (but seriously, what kind of nickname is "Slick"?), but I thought Stan was a bit arrogant and Dana a bit anonymous.

The Santa Brigade are a hilarious bunch of colourful old people from the guys' hometown who every December travel down the coast visiting homeless shelters, entertaining the kids and handing out presents. They include Emma Smith, the boys' former teacher, hairdresser and cyber-granny Maudeen, old playboy Morey, the anthropologist twins Dr. Meg and Dr. Maggie and Bad-ass Betty, the driver; all of them very, very nosy and very, very endearing.

Like I said this book is as predictable as they come. But that is okay, because the ride is fun and exciting and I enjoyed spending time with this crazy bunch of people. If you're looking for a sweet and fun romantic read for the holidays, 'Twas the Night is the book for you.

My rating: 4/6

Apparently this book was first published in 2001 with the title Here Comes Santa Claus.

2010 Holiday Reading Challenge

I love Christmas and obviously I love reading, so this challenge hosted by All About {n} is perfect for me. Here are the details from Nely:

1. Challenge will start Monday, November 15 and will end Friday, December 31.

2. You can read anywhere from 1 to 5 books for the challenge and, of course, if you're like me, you are more than welcome to surpass that number.

3. And now, here's the clincher... they must be holiday related books. That's right, the holiday doesn't really matter, but it would be more "jolly" if your choices were Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.

4. The size of the book does not matter, nor does the genre. It is also okay for the book to overlap with other challenges. The only thing I ask is that they are not children's books. YA is okay. And so are re-reads. I for one tend to read the same books every Christmas - they are tradition.

Oh, and there will be weekly prizes!

If you'd like to join me in this challenge, head on over to All About {n} and sign up!

Here is a list of the books I would like to read. I'm aiming for one a week, but
I'll try to read more if I can.

1. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
3. The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
4. Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop by Otto Penzler (ed.)
5. Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
6. The Burglar and the Blizzard by Alice Duer Miller