In late November, I found out that Channel 5 was showing (and then, crucially, putting online) a large number of TV Christmas films. In addition to my decision to take advantage of that I thought it time I get out my Audrey Hepburn box set, which I’d been saving for that mythical perfect moment. Due to the number of Christmas films – admittedly not nearly as many as Channel 5 had available because I soon realised quality had nothing to do with their selection – I’ve split the films into two categories.

Get Smart (USA, 2008) – A fun and silly spy movie.

Great Expectations (UK, 2012) – Lacking some of the book’s humour, but not bad overall.

He’s Just Not That Into You (USA, 2009) – I’d seen the so-so ratings but I’d wanted to see this for a few years and found it didn’t disappoint. Were the endings predictable and sometimes too sweet? Yes. But I liked the overall execution and the little things included, like the way the camera panned out from Bradley Cooper and Scarlet Johansson and they were standing on different sides of the line of a parking space.

Leap Year (USA/Ireland, 2010) – I was surprised to find out this is credited as half Irish because it felt very much like Ireland through Hollywood’s eyes.

Madagascar (USA, 2005) – Good.

Roman Holiday (USA, 1953) – Loved this. I wrote about it in November, so I’ve keep it short here.

Sabrina (USA, 1954) – That age difference and the lack of character development…

Christmas Under Wraps (USA, 2014) – One of those average, overly sweet, films to have on in the background to help you feel festive.

A Prince For Christmas (USA, 2015) – Although this is what you expect – sickly sweet – the two leads are particularly good to the extent that it’s not a bad film at all. And the lack of any royal trappings, whilst almost certainly due to budget constraints, means it seems more realistic.

Family For Christmas (USA, 2015) – The makers of this film would like you to note that having children is better than a career in all circumstances. They also want to tell you that a woman who has had children must remain at home forever, and that if (spoiler following) you get a second chance with your ex-boyfriend, quitting your awesome job before the first date, so that you’re completely ready for the horse and carriage, is a very good idea. It’ll make the date incredibly awkward, but we’ll not mention that.

Cinderella Christmas (USA, 2016) – An interesting spin on the story, but there’s a lot of angst.

Four Christmases (USA, 2008) – Horrendous.

With 3 films on January’s list already and a couple I’m looking forward to, the new year is going well so far.

Do you like to watch holiday-themed films?

Happy new year! I hope you had a lovely holiday and that 2018 is treating you well. I’m writing this beside a large cup of coffee (that way round rather than there’s a coffee beside me) because I went to see the Terry Pratchett exhibition in Salisbury yesterday; we had to queue in the freezing wind and as the winter weather has not been wintery so far it was a bit of a shock and I’m rather groggy. In terms of exhibition content, the steamrolled hard drive was on display and the museum had created a small mock-up of Pratchett’s office, complete with video games and Star Wars references. The best thing, though, wasn’t an object but, instead, the snippets of description they’d included alongside the majority of the items – Pratchett’s own words.

The last few days I’ve been wondering how to go about these first of the year posts. I feel that if I’m going to account for December’s reading, writing about that first would be best, even if it isn’t the strongest way to begin.

All books are works of fiction. The non-Christmas books may be better to read about even if I have already reviewed them.

The Books

Alison Kent: This Time Next Year – A woman visits her grandmother for Christmas, meets a man her grandmother neglected to tell her about, and amongst lots of arguing they get together. An okay story but there really was a lot of arguing, more than any stereotypical ‘they fought and then made up’.

Claire North: The End Of The Day – The Harbinger of Death does his job, going around letting people know it’ll soon be time, whilst attempting to have a normal human relationship and stay away from those who would harm him. Very good.

HelenKay Dimon: It’s Not Christmas Without You – A man who refuses to understand his ex-girlfriend’s passion for her career turns up in her new city to win her back without any intention of changing his thoughts. That’s very much my summary rather than the glossy one you’ll find elsewhere – I’m with those who think the hero is awful and Carrie should find someone who will respect her event management work.

Jaci Burton: A Rare Gift – An ex-sister-in-law and brother-in-law get together. I personally found this uncomfortable, but I know others were okay with the set-up.

Julianne Pachico: The Lucky Ones – Various ex-classmates describe moments of their life during the conflicts in Colombia. An interesting idea.

Claire North’s book was my favourite, the author using various ideas from the fantasy genre and nodding at Terry Pratchett, to produce something that is funny and thoughtful and, for all its leanings towards other works, original. It was this melding of concepts that I liked most, the author almost experimenting with ideas without ever straying from telling a good story.

Going forward I think I’ll only include the Quotation Report heading when I have quotations to share. And as I’ll be writing about plans and goals and what have you very shortly, I’m going to leave this post here.

What book was/will be your first completed book of the year? (Mine’s likely to be an Eloisa James. More on that later.)

I’m struggling with a lot of busy-ness at the moment, which I know has been evident here (it’s just taken a while for me to accept – I’ve missed posting). In that context, Christmas has come at the right time and I’m going to use it to read and get back to writing.

I’ll be back on Monday 8th January with my round ups. The pages for What’s In A Name will be posted on 1st January as per their set schedule – if you’ve signed up/will be signing up, you’ll find the link to them on the sidebar. (They won’t be on the blog home page – I don’t want them filling up everyone’s inboxes.)

I’m aware I have a few reviews left to write – they will be my first priority upon returning. A couple of Young Writer of the Year books and review copies.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and see you in January.

It’s beginning to look a lot like but not quite feeling so. The weather here has been very mild and it’s rather as though Spring is on the way. Up until mid-November I was reading a lot so there’s a fair number here, but I did lose my way after that with a long book I’ve not yet finished and am still to get myself back on track. I’ve prepared some Christmas reading – books set at Christmas rather than books for Christmas – which includes contemporary romance as it often does; I find finding Christmas romance very easy but books in other genres are difficult. I am thinking of creating a reading list going forward as I reckon actively factoring in different sorts of books will help slumps. It’s one thing to know that reading an easier book after a difficult one works, another to remember that at the time.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

April Munday: The Heir’s Tale – A man back from war finds himself torn between his betrothed and the woman he has always wanted to be with. A well-set book with a good use of different points of view.

Hanif Kureishi: The Last Word – A writer is charged with creating a biography of a literary giant and ends up travelling to the man’s home. No plot or characterisation to speak of.

Helen Oyeyemi: What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours – A literary collection of short stories, most with a magical realism/slightly creepy factor. Excellent.

Lewis Carroll: Through The Looking-Glass – Alice wants to know what it’s like in the reversed, mirrored, version of the house she lives in; she goes through the mirror and finds herself in a wonderland. Good but not as well crafted as the more famous story.

Louise Douglas: The Love Of My Life – Against all advice, Olivia goes back to her home town, back to the familial abuse and the in laws who do not want her there and blame her for everything. Good, but you have to be prepared for the affects of the hatred to never go away.

Louise Douglas: The Secret By The Lake – Amy returns to work for the family she loved after tragedy strikes but it’s a difficult place to be and there’s a lot of disturbances that she finds difficult to get answers to. Very good.

The Oyeyemi was my favourite – absolutely outstanding; I am again tempted to try more of her work. I am glad to have finished the Kureishi – I had been looking forward to reading it but it did fall very short of expectations.

Quotation Report

None this time – there are some great quotations in the Carroll but I’ve repeated them a couple of times recently already.

It’s high time I got to those Young Writer of the Year books. This year’s shadow panel have chosen Julianne Pachico’s The Lucky Ones as their winner so I’ll be starting with that.

How are your preparations for the festive season going and/or what books are you looking forward to reading over the holidays?

Reading has slowed down a bit as the preparations for Christmas have started but over all I’ve been reading quite a lot. I haven’t yet started the Young Writer books I took home from the event but once I’ve finished the book I’m currently reading it’ll be all systems go. Despite the looming award announcement date and the fact that before then there are a few things to be done, not least getting the decorations ready, I hope to have read a good amount of them, with ‘amount’ being the word rather than ‘number’ – I may well read a couple in tandem.

I also have Tony Peake’s North Facing still to read. I’m a bit late on the review for that one but I’m planning it for December.

At the moment I’m concentrating of J Courtney Sullivan’s The Engagements; a good book if a bit too descriptive – lots of extraneous back story which explains why the book is over 500 pages. I have been wanting to read the author’s début, Maine, since its release date a few years ago but it’s proved difficult to find; the one and only time I found a copy it was very battered and whilst I did want to read it I didn’t want to pay full price. I liken the situation to that of Maile Meloy – they are likely different subjects and stories but the covers, at least in the US, are similar and both authors’ works are ridiculously difficult to find in Britain a month or so after publication. I do reckon I would prefer Maine but the one I’m reading is a fair enough substitute.

I’m holding off on the new Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen translation (Secret Passages In A Hillside Town) because a few pages in I recognised it as prime ‘certain mood/situation’ material. I very much want to read it and the few pages I read suggested it’ll be just as good as The Rabbit Back Literature Society but I want to be giving it all my attention.

I decided to start Mrs Dalloway but found it quite confusing; I’m not sure whether it’s a case of it being the wrong time or whether it needs longer or it’s just something that won’t work for me but as I was already reading it earlier than planned I’ve put it back on the December reading list. I was having trouble working out the time period and Clarissa’s age – had to resort to Wikipedia – and I knew carrying on at that point might make me uninterested. Perhaps it’s just not the right Woolf for me to be starting with.

Talking of a few pages, I’ve a mind to start ‘letting’ myself browse before committing to a read. I’ve always thought – at least in terms of my own reading – that reading a few pages to decide what to read next is unproductive, but I know it will help me to read the right book at the right time.

Something I can’t not talk about that isn’t book related – a couple of days ago I saw Roman Holiday for the first time. I’m going through an Audrey Hepburn film phase rather like my Marilyn Monroe phase a few years ago, and have got a box set of films. Well, I absolutely loved it and found it to be one of those media items that’s in a league of its own, akin to that idea that a book can be absolutely stellar but then there’s a category beyond that for which there are no words. I liked that the plot wasn’t bog standard and deviated a bit from the stereotypical royal-gets-away-and-or-meets-a-member-of-the-public theme and the ending was incredibly clever. Next up is a re-watch of Breakfast At Tiffanys; can’t wait, though in literal terms I’ll have to.

A question about Mrs Dalloway, then:

Does the story come into its own pretty quickly, and did you find yourself confused in the way I did? (If you can answer without spoilers, that’d be great.)