The Christmas List

My husband gave me a $25 gift certificate for Chapters, a bookstore chain, for Mother's Day.

There was a time when I would have cashed in the gift certificate as soon as I received it. Now my time is precious and any moment I am not at work, I am at home with my little guy.

Earlier this month, however, I needed to pick up a book I ordered. So I left work early and spent a leisurely hour looking at the end displays and special sections I wouldn't usual look at. And because the Christmas season is upon us, the store was filled with all things seasonal - from knick knacks to books.

Not only was it completely relaxing to spend time within a place filled with books, it was a joy to not have to worry about money and simply buy what I wanted.

I found three Christmas books on sale, one of which was called The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans. I read The Christmas Box, also written by Evans, each Christmas.

The Christmas List is as good as The Christmas Box A Christmas Carol with a character more nasty than Ebenezer Scrooge. It was a fantastic book that haunted me days after. It was another book I had to re-read parts in order to get it out of my head.

A recommended read to anyone who loves Christmas and happy stories.

There Was A Time…

There was a time...
...When I used to be fashion conscious.

Now let me say that I have always beat to my own drum when it comes to fashion. I have always worn what I want, but it at least followed the style of the day. I had the bad hair of the 1980s and ’90s, the big glasses, the giant earrings and the ugly clothes, which, sadly, are making a comeback.

Today, while I wish I had more money to spend on clothes, I am surrounded by people who think they are fashion gurus and are not shy about their views, making such blatant statements as:

• Women who have blond hair and are over 30 are trailer trash because they obviously dye it and it looks ridiculous. (For the record, I have two aunts who both have yellow-blond hair. They have never dyed it and they are 45 and over 50.)
• Women who dye their hair all one colour are trailer trash. I have to dye my hair so now what?
• Girls under 30 have no right to wear red lipstick, they look like trailer trash. Are you seeing the pattern here?

Any way, these types of people drive me crazy because I do not think fashion is black and white.

Fashion is shades of grey and is all about interpretation and wearing something that makes you feel and look good.

However, dealing with people like this makes me want to go in the complete other directions, which, I know, is ridiculous.

There was a time …..
...When I baked nightly.

I would get a recipe for work that didn’t come with a photo, go home, make it and take photos of it for the paper.

My coworkers were happy because they often got samples. I would bake cookies and brownies and bring them in to share. I would have tea biscuits nightly.

Then I had my little guy. And after he goes to bed, I get ready for work, have a shower, read and go to bed myself. No baked goods to share. No tea biscuits for me.

There was a time….
...When I would read many books in a course of a week.
I can now read a magazine in the course of week, a book is a month or so.

There was a time…
...When the green monster would rear its ugly head every time I heard the words ‘I’m pregnant.’

The monster didn’t stay long and I eventually was happy for whoever was lucky enough to be pregnant, but still it appeared and made me feel badly for a bit.

Then I was lucky enough to become pregnant myself. My son arrived and he has brought me constant joy.

So there may have been a time when I had extra money and time, now I have little-boy giggles, pee on the floor, impish smiles, cute laundry, hugs and open-mouth kisses, peak-a-boo and constant happiness.

Damn Good Book

I am a little tired these days.

I am reading the latest book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series – An Echo In the Bone.

Although my cousin found this book slower than the six proceeding it, it has not been the case for me.

As soon as my son is down for the night, I do the minimal amount of things to get myself ready for work in the morning and then I sit on our bed and read – often much later than I should.

So not only am I tired, everything else is on hold.

Only a few more hundred more pages to go.

Another Christmas Read

Another Christmas book I read each year is Richard Paul Evan’s The Christmas Box.

I bought this book years ago at a sale and the quick read is a must each time this festive season rolls around.

I am always confused if this is a true story. It reads like it is, complete with a note of where you can drop flowers off in Salt Lake City, however, the front of the book says that is a work of pure fiction.

Regardless of the authenticity of the book, the story is about a man, his wife and their daughter who rent space from an older woman who, despite her tragic story, understands the true meaning of Christmas.

It’s a beautifully written book and one that makes me cry each year.

There are actually two other books that were written after this one, which tells the back story of MaryAnne Parker and her family. They are excellent books but I don’t need to read about that much heartache at Christmastime, or any time really.

It’s Christmas book time

There are several Christmas traditions I enjoy: baking cookies with my mom, sister-in-law, niece and now son; getting and decorating the Christmas tree the first weekend in December, pulling out the Christmas cookbook; and reading a couple of Christmas stories. One book I will discuss later.

But let’s first talk about A Christmas Miracle.

This collection of four short stories is considered a historical romance. I love historical books. I am usually not a fan of the romance, but these stories are more than just a nice love story and great sex.

Each of the main characters in the stories by Virginia Henley, Katherine Kingsley, Rebecca Paisley and Stephanie Mittman feature a strong woman who, while often from a lower class, teach the man in her world what is really important about life and the true meaning of Christmas.

Each story in the book is set in the past, in a time in history that I love (think Black Creek Pioneer Village time, which is likely why the Steeles Avenue historical site is one of my favourite places to go).

While I am not naive enough to think those times weren’t tough, particularly for someone who was poor, it also seems like it was a romantic, gentle time.

You had to work hard but the pleasures were simple - a horse-driven sleigh ride, skating on the pond, decorations and gifts that were made by hand and a celebration of family.

Too Sensitive

I just finished reading The Two Little Girls In Blue by Mary Higgins Clark.

Since having our son, I realize I shouldn’t be reading these types of books. I can’t get the images that Clark created out of my mind. I keep replaying how it must have felt to get a call from the police saying something had happened and arriving home to discover my children gone.

While I have always been sensitive to the ills of the world, it seems I have less ability to handle it now that my own beautiful boy is here.

My husband and I watched the second Zorro movie the other night. I watched it pre-baby, but I must say I had a new perspective during this viewing. It made me physically sick when the bad guys discovered the baby alone, and what could have happened to the little guy if the mother lost the fight.

Perhaps it’s time for me to take a break from books and movies that involve children getting injured.

And it’s certainly time for me to enjoy my own little one. Good night.

Harry Potter, here I come ....

My stepdaughter saw the new Harry Potter movie. She said it was dreadful.

It doesn’t matter. I am still going to see it. My husband and I are going on a date Saturday and that is the movie I choose. My husband was actually quite excited we were going to the movies, a first since our son was born, but was disappointed when he heard what we are actually going to see.

But since he chose Meet the Spartans for his birthday movie several years ago, he has been banned from getting full rein in the movie-choosing department.

As far as Harry Potter is concerned, my stepdaughter said the important part that was at the end of the book (no not THAT important part) wasn’t in the movie.

I am not overly concerned.

I don’t go to Harry Potter movies because the books are great, I go because I enjoy the movies. I am not often disappointed because I go in with the thought that the movie is a completely different entity than the book.

If you go in with that attitude, you have no expectations and the movies are good in their own right.

In my opinion there has only ever been two book-turned-movies that were better than the original: Misery by Stephen King and starring Kathy Bates and James Caan, and Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice and starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

I remember someone once said they were disappointed that Interview with the Vampire was so different from the book. The response was of course the movie was different, otherwise it would have been 13 hours long. It was an incredibly long and boring book. Watch the movie.

Reading Recommendation

If you are looking for an easy summertime read, look no further than Robert B. Parker.

I have been reading Parker for years. The books, about a tough private detective from Boston and his friends, are easy reads, great for the beach or an afternoon of pleasure reading.

I have read almost everything Parker has written, even a book about baseball, which is not my favourite sport. (I thought I read everything but a quick search on his website shows the library is missing three of his latest books and he has a new one coming out in October.)

The 1980s TV show Spenser For Hire was based on Parker’s series.

Parker also has two other series, one about a female PI and the other about a small-town police chief.

While Spenser and his friend Hawk are my favourite characters, what I enjoy about Parker’s other series is that many of the secondary characters show up in his two other series.

Visit Parker's website at http://www.robertbparker.net/

Living with Dinosaurs

My husband has this fabulous book. It’s The Golden Book of 365 Stories (A Story for Every Day of the Year) with pictures by Richard Scarry. He received the book from his grandma and grandpa at Christmas 1971.

I have been reading it daily to our son. The stories are great - short, only a few paragraphs in length with some poetry thrown in. It’s been really fun to read the stories because they seem to work. The day I read about a man who hates the rain, it’s actually raining outside.

On May 24, a read a story about Poor Mr. Robin.

In this particular story, Mr. Robin is disappointed when he sees his new babies. In his words, his youngsters are “skinny, scrawny, nosily little babies”. He didn’t show off his new additions to the neighbouring animals until he was introduced to their children and discovered equally scrawny and noisy babies.

I can relate.

For the second year, we have a robin family at the corner of our house. The baby looks like a Teradactyl.

But when I saw him peak his little head out, it didn’t matter any more. A baby is a baby.

Congratulations robins.

Breaking Dawn Thoughts

My stepdaughter was right.

Breaking Dawn, the final chapter in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, was the best book in the four-part saga.

Again, Meyer has created secondary characters you truly care about. I would love to read more about the vampire friends of the Cullen’s.

However - IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THIS FAR INTO THE SERIES, DON’T READ FURTHER AS I MAY SPOIL THE ENDING FOR YOU.

However, I would have like to have seen the bad guys get it. It would be fairly easy, with that ending, for Meyer to create a Book Five with the Cullen’s and their friends having to fight the Italian vampires yet again.

And that really is my only complaint with this book - at the beginning, it really was more of the same.

When I found out that Bella was pregnant and Edward wasn’t happy about it, I wondered if Meyer was going to split the couple again.

So when my stepdaughter asked me how I was liking the book, I replied it was “All right”. I was anxious about reading another book where the couple splits because of lack of communication. That really frustrates me.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I continued reading to find Edward sticking my Bella’s side despite their difference of opinion.

Good for Meyer and good for the reader who gets to see characters who truly develop and an entire new story emerge.

Twilight Thoughts

I just finished reading Eclipse, the third book in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.

I started reading the series on the recommendations of my stepdaughter, AD, and my friend, JM. Both said Twilight was so good they couldn’t put it down, and then they immediately ran out to buy the other three books. JM said it was the first time since Harry Potter that her children were neglected to finish a book.

So with those recommendations, I reserved Twilight from the library. I liked it. It was a good book, however, I found the main character, Bella Swan, annoying. Her belief that she isn’t good enough for Edward, her vampire boyfriend, irked me. I don’t think you should be in a relationship if you feel that inferior to your partner. I wasn’t going to read the other books because Bella annoyed me so much, but I persisted with New Moon. I am glad I did because that book was more enjoyable. I even liked Bella.

AD tells me the books get better as the series progresses and, so far, I must agree with her. Eclipse was really good. I didn’t want to stop reading it, and I am anxiously awaiting the library’s call for the final book, Breaking Dawn.

What I like about the series is that I am just as interested in the secondary characters as I am in Bella and Edward. I would love to learn more about Alice, Jasper and the other vampires in the Cullen family.

According to Meyer’s website, she was writing Midnight Sun, Twilight from Edward’s point of view, but it was leaked on the Internet and she stopped writing. You can read what she wrote on her website at http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html

I have actually spent a great deal of time reading vampire books. If you are looking for other good vampire books, may I suggest:

* Christopher Golden’s Of Saints of Shadows and its sequel Angel Souls and Devil Hearts
* Nancy Baker’s A Terrible Beauty
* Tanya Huff’s vampire series starring Toronto-based vampire Henry Fitzroy and ex-police officer Vicki Nelson.