Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens 

Genre: Fantasy/Christmas (novella)

Reading Grade: Adult

Publication Date: December 17, 1843

Source: purchased paperback

Age Rating: all ages

| Amazon |

Ebenezer Scrooge is a heartless old miser who hates everything, especially Christmas. Then one mysterious Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by three spirits who take him on a fantastic journey and teach him the true meaning of the season. 

 

My Review

Here's a review of an old classic that I bet a lot of people these days don't actually sit down and read much anymore, like I do sometimes. Which is a shame because reading the actual novella of this well-dramatized tale is so much more insightful and fun than getting it from some modern adaptation. Reading from The Master himself, Charles Dickens, is like being transported back in time to when he lived and breathed and celebrated Christmas the way people did back then.

People threw parties and invited over their family and friends and played 'blindman's bluff' and 'yes and no,' and drank spiked punch, knowing it was spiked, and ran around in the snowy streets of London buying the fattest Christmas geese they could get from the nearby street vendors. It sounds like it was all so festive and lively. And, Dickens is the best at describing things in a way that makes it feel real, which is like having a freakin' time machine! I'd give anything to go back in time to his day, and thankfully, we sort of get to because of his writing legacy.

Probably one of the best preserved records of how people lived during Queen Victoria's reign of Great Britain are contained in anything Dickens wrote, but what makes this one so special is how it captures their Christmas, and how the way we modern people celebrate it today was only just starting to take shape back then. In fact, they began the tradition of sending each other Christmas cards that same year, in 1843, when this story was published. And, in 1841, Prince Albert popularized the Christmas Tree, bringing that tradition to all the English-speaking world from Germany.

And, to think that Christmas and how we celebrate it is really not so different than it was back then kind of touches my heart. If only I could tell Mr. Dickens that his ghostly little story—which he liked to call it—is still so popular to this day. That we can't even separate it from Christmas at all! We still cry when we think of Tiny Tim and what Scrooge did to prevent his untimely death—becoming one of literature's greatest villains-turned-heroes. Hopefully, our modern society will continue to keep A Christmas Carol in our hearts for several more generations yet to come….

My score: 5 out of 5 stars. (I LOVE this.)

 

The Classics Reading Challenge 2012

The Classic Reading Challenge 2012 is a bookish challenge hosted by

Jessica @ Thoughts at One in the Morning.

Since I've always had a healthy interest in the classics, and I still want to read many of them that I haven't yet, I figured this challenge would be perfect for me this upcoming new year. I'm only going to start out challenging myself to read 3, which is the Level One category. I may end up reading more than that--who knows! 

My choices for classic literature to read that I haven't yet for this challenge will be:

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (in time for the movie by December 2012!)

2. Persuasion by Jane Austen (always wanted to read it.)

3. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (this one should be totally fascinating.)

___________________________

Here are the parameters of the challenge. Click here if you're interested in signing up for yourself!

You have 5 levels to choose from:

Level One: 1-3
Level Two: 4-6
Level Three: 7-9
Level Four: 10-12
Level Five: 13-15

Of course, you can read whatever number of classics you would like to. This is just a guideline if you want to have one.

Here's the details:

1. This challenge starts January 1st 2012 and ends December 31st 2012.
2. All books read for this challenge can be counted toward all other reading challenges.
3. All books chosen for this challenge must be books you have NEVER read or NEVER finished that were written prior to 1980.
4. Choose a level or number of books you would like to read.
5. Create a sign up post for your blog including the Classics Reading Challenge picture above and the books you would like to read (you can change your mind at any time).
6. Sign up for the challenge with the link to that post (at the original blog).

Top Ten Dust-Collectors on My Shelf (TTT #5)

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly book blogger meme hosted by

The Broke and the Bookish!   

 
This week's list topic is...

 

TOP TEN BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN ON MY SHELF FOR THE LONGEST, BUT I'VE NEVER READ

THE ALL-CLASSICS EDITION

1. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE  by J.K. Rowling

I know, right? How utterly WEIRD can a book blogger be to have had this book on her shelf for 5 or 6 years now, and still have yet to read it? I'm completely insane!

2. DAVID COPPERFIELD  by Charles Dickens

Been meaning to read this for forever, but I just know the book will take me forever to read it. It is around 900 pages long, after all. Still, I intend to read it. It's Dickens…

3. EMMA  by Jane Austen

I developed an aversion to this book, despite my love for Jane Austen's other books. Why? Because I do NOT like Gweneth Paltrow, and whenever I think of Emma, I think of her in the role of Emma in that 90's film adaptation. I just can't bring myself to read it. I will someday, though.

4. PERSUASION  by Jane Austen

I don't even have a good excuse for why I still haven't started reading this one. I love all the movie versions I've seen. It's going to be the very next Jane Austen book I read.

5. THE LORD OF THE RINGS  by J.R.R. Tolkien

Well, I suppose I just love watching the movies so much, I end up doing that instead, when I want to experience the story. Plus, all three of the books total over 1,000 pages. Heady stuff.

6. THE HOBBIT  by J.R.R. Tolkien

I haven't had this book for quite as long, so I don't mind that it's still unread on my shelf. Also, I know I'll be reading it real quickly before the first movie comes out late next year, so I've got time.

7. THE BLUE SWORD  by Robin McKinley

I've only had this since early this year, so I've got a good excuse for why it's still unread. I became a book blogger only this past June, so we all know how that goes!

8. IVANHOE  by Sir Walter Scott

I've had my copy of this book for a decade, but have yet to read it. I don't really know why. I just buy books and let them collect dust. Always have been that way, but I'm trying to kick that nasty habit.

9. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES  by L.M. Montgomery

I read these books when I was a girl, but my friend bought me an omnibus of the books, and that's what's still on my book shelf unread. I need to reread these books, which I remember liking a lot.

10. MOBY DICK  by Herman Melville

I think the main reason I've let this one collect dust over the years is because I completely FORGOT I even had it! I only just recently re-discovered it on my book shelf and realized I hadn't ever read it after buying it from Barnes & Noble a long time ago. That's probably the best excuse ever.

What are your TOP TEN DUST COLLECTORS?