A Christmas Story...Day Twenty-two

 I actually read a couple of these pieces before the movie based on them came out. The leg lamp that the "Old Man" was so proud of is one of my favorite bits. And Peter Billingsley was a dead ringer for my little brother, so that always made me smile too.

Do yourself a favor and grab this collection of gentle, hilarious stories. You can buy it here.

Here's the blurb:

A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana—the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film and the live musical on Fox.

The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family’s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street.

This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker’s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father’s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie’s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie’s unstoppable campaign to get Santa—or anyone else—to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”?

The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.

Polar Expres...Day Twenty-one

 

Not sure what happened to my beautiful post from yesterday, but it was about the lovely picture book Polar Express, written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. I love the illustrations. Made into a movie, and the inspiration for many, many Christmas train-ride excursions.

Here's the blurb:Van Allsburg also wrote Jumanji. You can get the book on Kindle for just a skosh under $10 or the hardcover (go for the hardcover) for a little less than $12. You can buy it here.

Jennifer YOungblood's Christmas Collection...Day Twenty

 Jennifer Youngblood is a USA TODAY bestselling author of clean, sweet romance an romantic suspense. This collection is one of a bunch she's released this holiday season. You can see them here. This consolidates three novellas and is priced at only 99 cents. Buy it here.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!...Day Nineteen

 I am pretty sure my father read How the Grinch Stole Christmas! to me when I was a child--he read to me and my siblings every night before bed. And then when I was fourteen, the animated version came out, narrated by Boris Karloff. I have watched that every single year of my life since then.

I have never actually seen the live-action Jim Carrey Grinch, despite all the talent involved. (I'm a hauge Ron Howard fan) becuase I love the original so much. Universal Music group has made the original available on YouTube. You can watch it here. Boris Karloff died two years after making this, and he was so prolific that they were still releasing his movies three years after he died. One of his last roles was on a show called Fame is the Name of the Game, which was a arotating trio of stories under one umbrella. His episode, "The White Birch" was about a group of crusading reporters and a Russian dissident, played by Karloff. I was blown away by his performance. I'd never seen him in anything but the monster movies. (His Mummy remains one of the most chilling I've seen.) Anyway, he was sadly miscast after the monster movies.

The kindle version of the book is actually nine cents more expensive than the hardcover, so I'd go with the hardcover. I had all my childhood Seuss books until a few moves ago when I left Los Angeles. You can buy it here.

Just FYI...we're very proud and grateful.

 

Jingle Spells...Day Eighteen

 This is a fun holiday novella from Christine Pope and it is part of her Hedgewitch series. Here's the blurb: 

Sweet baby Jesus, someone’s stolen a lot of Christmas dough!

All is calm and bright as Globe, Arizona’s holiday celebrations approach. Selena Marx should have known it wouldn’t stay that way. The painted snowflakes on her shop window are barely dry when her best friend, Josie Woodrow, bursts in with news that the baby Jesus is missing from the crèche in front of St. Ignatius.

Selena has enough on her mind without having to use her psychic powers to suss out the culprit. Her boyfriend Calvin Standingbear’s parents are still on the snow-covered fence about accepting her, which throws a dimmer on the town’s highly anticipated Festival of Lights. And when Calvin springs a surprise on the solstice, Selena realizes she has some work to do to reconcile the two men in her life: Calvin, and her cursed cat, Archie.

The last thing she needs is a spontaneous vision that indicates the baby Jesus theft was more than just a prank. And if someone doesn’t spill the beans soon, someone’s getting away with…well, not murder (this time), but a whole lot of dough — and we’re not talking cookies.

You can buy the book wherever ebooks are sold:

Apple Books

Amazon Kindle

B&N Nook

Google Play

Kobo

Radio Christmas ... Day Seventeen

 Today's book is by Aussie Author Joanne Dannon who writes a LOT of holiday-themed romances. She was suggested to me by one of my readers (shout out to Tonya) and I immediately ordered some of her books and "followed" her on Amazon. (You can do the same here.)

Radio Christmas is the first book in a new series and set "down under."  (A Christmas in July party is central to the plot ifyou're wondering why there's a snowy cover when Christmas is in the middle of Australia's summer.) 

This one has everything--best friends. A handsome mystery guest. Humor (always appreciated) and a happy ending. (Do I really have to say "spoiler alert?") Buy it here.

Gingerbread & Gravediggers ... Day Sixteen

 

Today's book comes from Katherine Brown. You can sign up for her newsletter here.

Here's the blurb:

Tis the season to deck the halls and...dig up graves?

Apparently someone thinks so.

Charity Basham is back in this Christmas holiday mystery.

With late-night gravediggers haunting the church graveyard, to surprise gifts, and a gigantic gingerbread contest that gets out of hand, Charity is up to her Santa hat in Christmas chaos.

When Margo and Rita insist they need her help to find and stop the gravedigger, will Detective Sota understand why Charity has to take the case, or will she be in big trouble for getting in the middle of police matters?

Join Charity and her fluffy feline Jinx in this fun-filled holiday cozy mystery today! You can buy it here. Click here for more information on the holiday-themed cozy mystery series.

Be sure to stalk Katherine on social media:

Facebook

Instagram

Amazon

Goodreads

Bookbub

Skipping Christmas...Day Fifteen

 John Grisham changed things up with this Christmas novel (which was turned into a movie called Christmas with the Kranks). It's funny and touching and extremely satisfying. You can buy it here.

Here's the blurb:  Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty, they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash, they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences—and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined.

A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition.

Secret Santa...Day Fourteen

It's here! A year in the making. Secret Santa: A limited edition holiday romance collection. It's now available at all the online retailers, and net proceeds will go to the Ronald McDonald house. Also, the writers in this collection--including me writing as Katherine Moore--hope to reach the USA Today bestseller list. That accolade carries some weight when you're trying to sell books and it would be nice to sell some more books!! But this one--it's all about helping the families. You can buy it here.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever...Day Thirteen

 

Yes, this is a Middle-Grade novella and I'm not sure how I came to read it but it is both hilarious and touching. And has a real message. I lost my copy in a move and I have to replace it. Buy it here.

Here's the blurb:

This year’s pageant is definitely like no other, but maybe that’s exactly what makes it so special.

Laughs abound in this bestselling Christmas classic by Barbara Robinson! The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows the outrageous shenanigans of the Herdman siblings, or “the worst kids in the history of the world.”

The siblings take over the annual Christmas pageant in a hilarious yet heartwarming tale involving the Three Wise Men, a ham, scared shepherds, and six rowdy kids. You and your family will laugh along with this funny story, perfect for independent reading or read-aloud sharing.

Ralph, Imogene, Leroy, Claude, Ollie, and Gladys Herdman are an awful bunch. They set fire to Fred Shoemaker’s toolshed, blackmailed Wanda Pierce to get her charm bracelet, and smacked Alice Wendelken across the head. And that’s just the start! When the Herdmans show up at church for the free snacks and suddenly take over the Christmas pageant, the other kids are shocked.

It’s obvious that they’re up to no good. But Christmas magic is all around and the Herdmans, who have never heard the Christmas story before, start to reimagine it in their own way.

Holiday Hijinks...Day Twelve

 This cozy Christmas romance is definitely for movie lovers. Buy it here. 

Here's the blurb: It’s Christmas, and this year Emily Halliday is trying something new at the struggling revival movie theater she runs for her great-grandmother. After all, how many times can you show It’s a Wonderful Life?

Emily was hoping to make a little profit on “Holiday Hijinks,” her “counter-programming Christmas” event. What she never expected—plot twist—is that an unexpected guest will turn her own life into a romantic comedy.
Holiday Hijinks is the first in a new series of cozy romances set in the small Pacific Northwest town of Silver Birch, Washington. A short read (15K) for a busy time, Holiday Hijinks introduces a whole new cast of characters while bringing back “cameos” from the “Meredith Manor Hotel” books, which are also set in Silver Birch.

If you love movies and food and romance as cozy as flannel jammies, Holiday Hijinks is the Christmas read for you.