It may well be that no human possesses as much humanity as Willis. "Inn" is the single best use of the biblical nativity story in relat01 January 1997
It may well be that no human possesses as much humanity as Willis. "Inn" is the single best use of the biblical nativity story in relation to modern life, but all of these stories capture some aspect of the spirit of goodwill and generosity toward other people that Dickens was on to.
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24 January 2011
Weirdly I have no record of having read this ever again, which seems wildly improbable to me, but there it is.
Wrote too soon: I found when I put it on my beloved shelf.
I am finding my original comment down there rather cryptic. Possibly the original two comments were reversed?
The book remains a favorit2020 December 2
I am finding my original comment down there rather cryptic. Possibly the original two comments were reversed?
The book remains a favorite because if everyone kept treating Hanukah as a Christmas analog to me, I would also not be able to stop screaming.
And honestly, everything in winter isn't about Christmas, and shouldn't have that appellation, just because it was appropriated. I am with the fir. And the backward formation of origin stories really bugs me: candy canes are not a secret code for Christianity. Christianity had already taken over Europe and was busy repressing (a word which here means exiling at best and straight up genocide at worst) other religions or noncanononical interpretation of the same source material.
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2016 December 15
The Possum was the one to break out the Christmas books this year. Honestly, I'm not sure it's possible for Handler and Brown to ever do anything I'll love this much. It may be perfect.
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2014 December 11
The PandaBat read it aloud, showing me the pictures and everything. The screams killed me.
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2013 December 17
I love it and look forward to reading it to someone every Christmas for the rest of my life.
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2011 January 2
Apparently I meant that in the Christmas-time sense of the word.
Santa Mouse: the Sequel. When I was a kid I insisted that we had to put a yellow light at the top of our tree, just for Santa Mouse. Od2008 December 8
Santa Mouse: the Sequel. When I was a kid I insisted that we had to put a yellow light at the top of our tree, just for Santa Mouse. Oddly, I don't think it ever occurred to me to leave him a present, or to see if he had left me one.
A gripping adventure tale, which Dan Brown clearly remembered when writing Angels and Devices, the little plagiarist.
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2010 December 13
For the first time I noticed that our tree, dripping with beaded garlands, looks more like the kid's tree in the book than the ones more commonly shown. We were not able to put a nice bright yellow light at the top this year though.
But here's cuteness: the PandaBat wants to leave a piece of cheese for Santa Mouse, along with Santa's Clif bar offering.
This is annual reading (at least). The copy is from my childhood. We even have a little stuffed Santa Mouse we get out and play with e2009 December 17
This is annual reading (at least). The copy is from my childhood. We even have a little stuffed Santa Mouse we get out and play with every year. Santa Mouse lives in an old Victorian Addams sort of house, pity he leaves it.
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2010 December 13
Ah, Santa Mouse. We couldn't locate the stuffy, but we finished trimming the tree, so it was time to read some Christmas books.
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2020 December 2
Continuing my plan to try and get into the Christmas spirit, tonight I am baking gingerbread and reading some more Christmas books....more
I love the intertwining of the mothers' stories with the daughters', the historical appearing in the contemporary. It fills the same place in my readiI love the intertwining of the mothers' stories with the daughters', the historical appearing in the contemporary. It fills the same place in my reading heart that The Shell Seekers does...more
Riveting. Honestly, I didn't know much at all about the Church of Latter Day Saints, and Krakauer manages to make it a fascinating story.Riveting. Honestly, I didn't know much at all about the Church of Latter Day Saints, and Krakauer manages to make it a fascinating story....more
Read at Dan's suggestion. Oh, Iorek is a brilliant creation, but I didn't care as much for Lyra.
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Read aloud at the Possum's re2000 Oct 28 2008 Feb 28
Read at Dan's suggestion. Oh, Iorek is a brilliant creation, but I didn't care as much for Lyra.
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Read aloud at the Possum's request.
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Lyra has really grown on me over the years. She's not one of those fake perfect kids in books. She's contrary and difficult and stubborn and a liar, as well as fierce, brave, creative, and loyal. First time I didn't like her as much as Will, whom I sympathized with, dealing with a mentally ill mother all on his own. But now that I've spent a little more time with a real, live ten-year-old, I'm much more appreciative of what Pullman's done.
*** Just to clarify, I started a reread on May 7, 2019 and didn't get very far before moving to something else. January 1, 2020 I restarted again
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Twelve years on from the last read, and I am deeply devoted to Lyra. I'm also bothered by things: the classism, the sexism, the racism. That which is pretty is false, but anything that smells bad, is bad.
It's still a ripping adventure story, and enormously enjoyable, but also not very layered. As I recall, everything moves toward nuance and contradiction in the next two. And then by the time we get to The Secret Commonwealth there's so much to discover behind and beneath, so much more for Lyra to discover....more
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