Madeleine Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Just about to start my first Christmas book, "Keeping a Christmas Promise" by Jo Thomas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 Started and quickly finished The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I had forgotten what a quick read it is. To carry on reading with a Christmas theme I bought a 'charity anthology' of short stories by various authors, called Written In The Stars. It was 99p on kindle UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 I'm still reading The Snow Child. It's lovely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 5, 2022 Author Share Posted December 5, 2022 6 hours ago, Chrissy said: To carry on reading with a Christmas theme I bought a 'charity anthology' of short stories by various authors, called Written In The Stars. It was 99p on kindle UK. That looks really good! and profits are for a very good cause Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 On 12/5/2022 at 4:18 PM, lunababymoonchild said: I'm still reading The Snow Child. It's lovely! I'm glad you are enjoying it, I found it a quietly compelling read. 20 hours ago, Hayley said: That looks really good! and profits are for a very good cause That's what I thought! I have read three stories so far, and they are very short. Although I usually prefer my short stories to be a little longer (novella?), this selection means I can start and finish a story in a quick sitting, which has been useful so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 Finished The Snow Child and thoroughly enjoyed it. What a beautiful, gentle tale. I'm so glad that I read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Managed to get a free copy of The Rose and the Ring by William Makepeace Thackeray as an e-book from Project Gutenberg so will probably read that (or The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Andersen, or maybe both!) for my next read. Edited December 14, 2022 by lunababymoonchild Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted December 8, 2022 Share Posted December 8, 2022 Started The Rose and the Ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Finished my first one, now onto the next one, which I hope is better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 The charity anthology, Written In the Stars has not worked out as I would have hoped. I am three quarters of the way through, and think it likely that I will be giving up on it. Although I had expected a range of stories, from heartwarming through to crime story, I hadn't quite expected the crime ones to be quite so 'gritty'. I actually felt quite put off by the clumsy way rape and murder (or the threat of it) were being used as a twist. A few of the stories were ok, just a little cheesy, but I couldn't say there was any that stood out as really good. Such a shame. I will therefore be re reading the Christmas short stories of Jodi Taylor, centred around the characters from her Chronicles of St Marys series. I also bought (UK Amazon 49p) a humungous kindle book entitled '50+ Masterpieces you have to read before you die. Christmas Stories and Poems: A Christmas Carol, A Merry Christmas, A Letter from Santa Claus, Christmas Bells, The Gift of the Magi and others' We have Dickens, Chesterton, Yeats, Trollope, Tennyson, and so many more. This should see me through many a Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 4 hours ago, Chrissy said: I will therefore be re reading the Christmas short stories of Jodi Taylor, centred around the characters from her Chronicles of St Marys series I saw Jodi Taylor Tweet about Christmas Past being only 99p and was pretty tempted! I haven’t quite finished all of the main series yet though… The Masterpieces book sounds very useful for future Christmas Challenges 😁 I finished Midnight in Everwood last night! I’ll post a proper review soon but I enjoyed it overall. I’ve started listening to the audio book of The Blue Carbuncle but I am still slightly torn between The Rose and the Ring and a Snow Queen re-read next! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 On 12/12/2022 at 9:39 PM, Hayley said: I saw Jodi Taylor Tweet about Christmas Past being only 99p and was pretty tempted! I haven’t quite finished all of the main series yet though… https://joditaylor.online/blogs/news/chronicles-of-st-marys-reading-order I found this, which may help. It shows all the series, and where the short stories fit in, so you can see whether you have read enough of the series to read the relevant short story. When A Child Is Born is the first of the Christmas related (sometimes tangentially!) short stories. They are usually charming and witty, and as she releases them on Christmas Day itself, they have become a little nugget of a present to look forward to on the day. As far as I know, all of the short stories are 99p, and she has additionally created a collection of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 (edited) Finished The Rose and the Ring by William Makepeace Thackeray. As recommended by @Hayley, thanks very much! Thoroughly enjoyed it, it's very unusual and I'm so glad that I read it. Never heard of it before. Not sure what's next. Edited December 14, 2022 by lunababymoonchild Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
France Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 On 12/14/2022 at 3:09 PM, Chrissy said: https://joditaylor.online/blogs/news/chronicles-of-st-marys-reading-order I found this, which may help. It shows all the series, and where the short stories fit in, so you can see whether you have read enough of the series to read the relevant short story. When A Child Is Born is the first of the Christmas related (sometimes tangentially!) short stories. They are usually charming and witty, and as she releases them on Christmas Day itself, they have become a little nugget of a present to look forward to on the day. As far as I know, all of the short stories are 99p, and she has additionally created a collection of them. And if you have an Audible subscription just about all her short stories including Christmas Past are free on Audible Plus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 Just finished the Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. And now I'm all Christmassed out and will seek somethign to read which has nothing to do with the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 15, 2022 Author Share Posted December 15, 2022 On 12/14/2022 at 2:09 PM, Chrissy said: https://joditaylor.online/blogs/news/chronicles-of-st-marys-reading-order I found this, which may help. It shows all the series, and where the short stories fit in, so you can see whether you have read enough of the series to read the relevant short story Ah, thank you! I can actually read the first two 😄. 5 hours ago, France said: And if you have an Audible subscription just about all her short stories including Christmas Past are free on Audible Plus I don’t at the moment but that is brilliant! 2 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said: Just finished the Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. I’ve also finished the the Blue Carbuncle now but I haven’t yet started my final Christmas challenge book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted December 16, 2022 Share Posted December 16, 2022 Right then. The Christmas Challenge : A Christmas Mystery A Christmas Children's Story A Book with Snow on the Cover or in the Title A Christmas Mystery A Maigret Christmas, Georges Simenon and The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, Arthur Conan Doyle A Christmas Children's Story The Rose and the Ring, William Makepeace Thackery A Book with Snow on the Cover or in the Title The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey Challenge complete. Georges Simenon is one of my favourite authors so it's always a pleasure reading him at any time of the year. Surprisingly not read that many Holmes stories but do enjoy that. Never read William Makepeace Thackery before although I do have Vanity Fair (to look forward to now) and I loved The Rose and the Ring. Not really good with satire as a rule but once I got into this I thoroughly enjoyed it so will be also looking for some satire to widen my experience. The Snow Child was delightful from beginning to end and I savoured it thoroughly. Not heard of Eowyn Ivey before but will be exploring her other work. I'm taking this as a success. I am on this forum to find authors that I would not usually come across and Eowyn Ivey is one such. I also had no idea of The Rose and the Ring so am very glad that I came across this. Thank you all for your suggestions. My ambition is to be as well and broadly read as possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 18, 2022 Author Share Posted December 18, 2022 On 12/16/2022 at 10:37 AM, lunababymoonchild said: Challenge complete. Congratulations 😄 I’m glad to hear you enjoyed all your challenge books too! I decided to go for The Snow Queen as my children’s book (although I might still read The Rose and the Ring if I have time). I felt like I desperately needed a screen break and I have a physical copy of The Snow Queen, so that swung it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 19, 2022 Author Share Posted December 19, 2022 I finished the final part of The Snow Queen last night, so my challenge is also complete! A Christmas Mystery: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle A Christmas Children’s Story: The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson A Book with Snow on the Cover or in the Title: Midnight in Everwood by M. A. Kuzniar I’m actually really glad I re-read The Snow Queen in the end. I noticed some little details that I’d completely forgotten about . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 About to start my 3rd book, which has snow on the cover, it's a British Library Crime Classic so I hope it's better than last year's Christmas offering which was dire, and I abandoned halfway through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 23, 2022 Author Share Posted December 23, 2022 10 hours ago, Madeleine said: About to start my 3rd book, which has snow on the cover, it's a British Library Crime Classic so I hope it's better than last year's Christmas offering which was dire, and I abandoned halfway through! Oh dear, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this one is better! What book is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson (aka John Dickson Carr, who wrote lots of "Golden Age" crime novels and is renowned to be one of the best writers of the locked room mystery genre). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 24, 2022 Author Share Posted December 24, 2022 9 hours ago, Madeleine said: The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson (aka John Dickson Carr, who wrote lots of "Golden Age" crime novels and is renowned to be one of the best writers of the locked room mystery genre). Well it sounds as though it should be excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 25, 2022 Share Posted December 25, 2022 On 12/23/2022 at 1:11 PM, Madeleine said: About to start my 3rd book, which has snow on the cover, it's a British Library Crime Classic so I hope it's better than last year's Christmas offering which was dire, and I abandoned halfway through! Hmmm. Yes, I wouldn't even go there - most of the ones I've tried have been just so. A brand/series I firmly steer clear of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted December 25, 2022 Share Posted December 25, 2022 Actually most of the Christmas ones haven't been too bad, the new one is OK so far. At least it's quite fast-paced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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