Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas friends!

I hope Santa brings each of you a big stack of books!

I love this magical time of year, and I am so grateful that we get to celebrate our Savior's birth. I am grateful for Christ's perfect example, for everything he taught and continues to teach me, for his comfort and love, and I am so grateful for his atoning sacrifice. He led the way so that I can live forever in happiness and with my family.

For my non-Christian friends, I hope you enjoy your holiday, and I hope you have a wonderful day. For my friends who don't celebrate, I hope you have a beautiful day as well. 

I love you all! 

You are beautiful! 

You are needed!

Happy reading!

Starry Night

Title:  Starry Night

Author:  Debbie Macomber

Publisher:  Ballantine Books

Date Published:  October 8, 2013

Genre:  Christmas, Romance, Contemporary

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    This was my very first Debbie Macomber book. I don't know why I chose this one out of all of her Christmas books, but it has been on my TBR for a while.

-    Carrie is tired of writing for the society column in her local magazine? newspaper? whatever. She makes a deal with her boss that if she can score an interview with the very famous and very elusive author, Finn Dalton, she can have her pick of assignments. Carrie is determined to succeed where other reporters have failed. After some convenient things happen, she gets stuck with Finn in his secluded cabin for a couple days. Obviously the two fall for each other, and Carrie has to decide whether she is going to publish her article or not. 

-    I am not the biggest romance fan. I found the script to be very convenient and predictable. There were some cute and funny moments though. I did enjoy the time they were snowed in and were forced to talk to each other, but I got a little bored with everything that came after. 

-    My favorite part about the book was the setting in Alaska. The frigid yet beautiful landscape was delightful. I want to visit Alaska some day and see the northern lights. 

-    Overall, I did enjoy the book while I was reading it. . .mostly. It was a light and fluffy story that suited the Christmas time spirit. If you are a Hallmark movie junky, you will probably love this book.

-    Out of curiosity, how many Debbie Macomber books have you read? Are her books a Christmas time tradition for you?

Mr. Dickens and His Carol

Title:  Mr. Dickens and His Carol

Author:  Samantha Silva

Publisher:  Flatiron Books

Date Published:  October 31, 2017

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Christmas

Rating:  ★★★★☆

My Thoughts: 

-    After writing highly successful novels like Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, the famous Charles Dickens has fallen on hard times. His current writings, Chuzzlewit, aren't doing so well, and his finances are taking a hit. Dickens publisher is demanding that he write a Christmas book, but he only has six short weeks to complete it. Dickens is very reluctant to write the book, and to top it all off, he is being a grinch about all the Christmas celebrations his family expects. Inspiration for his little Christmas book is everywhere, and while Dickens is finding his Christmas spirit, his book starts reflecting his journey. 

-    I really enjoyed this book. The Christmas Carol is a classic and one of my favorite Christmas time reads. I loved how Dickens ran across little bits and pieces of people and events that became part of his book.

-    Most of the book is fictional, but I did learn a lot about the back story of The Christmas Carol. The author's note at the end was especially helpful.

-    The middle is a little slow, but it begins well and ends well. 

-    If, like me, you are sucker for all things Christmas Carol around this time of year, then I highly recommend this book. It was humorous, hopeful, and full of Christmas spirit. 

Trigger Warning:  Grief

Merry Christmas!

The day has finally arrived! The day filled with traditions, magic, and love!

I wish I could be like Scrooge and carry Christmas with me all year round.

Merry Christmas!

No there isn't a serial killer on the loose, it is actually CHRISTMAS!!

Happy Christmas everyone!

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with tradition, family, and lots of books under the tree!

I just want to share this message on why Christmas is so special to me:

During this hectic time, I'm grateful to know my Savior was born, and he is with me through good times and bad. I sometimes forget to reflect on the reason we celebrate this beautiful time of year, so I'm glad for small reminders that help me focus on what is important.

Merry Christmas

I know reading blogs is the last thing people will want to do today, but I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I'm so grateful for this magical time of year. There is a special spirit about Christmas that I just love. I'm so grateful for my Savior and all he did for me, and I'm glad we get to celebrate his birthday with presents, decorations, good food, friends, and family.

I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with joy and laughter, and I hope Santa brought you lots of books!

Merry Christmas friends!

Merry Christmas

Thanks to all my friends and readers! I'm super grateful for you!

May your days be merry and bright!

Merry Christmas!

(Aye!)

Holiday Suggestions

Christmas time = lots of holiday music, and I've been listening almost nonstop.

I'd like to share some of my favorite Christmas albums with you!

Who doesn't like Josh Groban? Really! Groban's Christmas album is awesome for the season! Gnome loves his Drummer Boy song. I wish his version of O Holy Night was on this cd. I have it on another cd though, so I guess it's ok.

If you want fun bouncy Christmas songs, BNL's Christmas album is the one to listen to. I love almost every song on the cd. A few of my favorites are Elf's Lament, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Christmas Pics, and I Saw Three Ships. I love BNL!

Buble is SO cool!! I love his Christmas album. It makes me want to dance! This is probably my favorite Christmas album to listen to this year. I just can't get enough Buble! I love listening to his jazzy style, and I especially love his big band!

I also love the Chipmunk Christmas song and I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas! 

Great stuff!

What are your favorite Christmas albums/songs?

Christmas Loot

I had a wonderful Christmas!  I hope you did too

I just wanted to share what I got!

What Santa brought in my stocking!

What my family and Santa gave me!

What did you get for Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

I activated my World of Warcraft account, and I've been gaming it up!  I thought I'd send you some Christmas cheer from Sqeeker (aka me)! 

The Gift

Goodreads Synopsis:    There is no hurt so great that love cannot heal it

Nathan Hurst hated Christmas. For the rest of the world it was a day of joy and celebration; for Nathan it was simply a reminder of the event that destroyed his childhood until a snowstorm, a cancelled flight, and an unexpected meeting with a young mother and her very special son would show him that Christmas is indeed the season of miracles.

From the beloved author of the international bestseller The Christmas Box comes another timeless story of faith, hope, and healing.

My Thoughts:

-    This is a story of love and healing.  It wasn't amazing, but it was good.

-    The mini story/letter on the inside fold of the dust jacket is wonderful!  Don't skip it! 

-    The only thing I know about Tourettes is what I've learned from What About Bob.  Obviously, I was pretty ignorant on the subject.  I learned a bit more about the syndrome from this book, and I didn't know the author had Tourettes. 

-    The story started out a bit slow, but it picks up about .25 of the way through.  The rest is good.

-    Miche is SO awesome!!  We need more people like her in this world!  She was my favorite character.

-    While I didn't really connect with the characters, I felt for them.  I especially felt sorry for them.  

-    I liked that this was a Utah book, but you don't have to live in Utah or be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to understand it.  There isn't a ton of cultural things in the story.  

-    I was expecting the story to be a bit sappy, but it wasn't.  It was well done.  I don't believe anything like this could really happen, but I liked the delivery and the message.

Holiday Suggestions

(In no particular order)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

This is an amazing classic that helps you feel the spirit of Christmas!

Plus who doesn't love a good ghost story?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

This is a childhood favorite!  I used to ask my mom to make Roast Beast for Christmas dinner.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Another oldie but goodie!

Always winter and never Christmas...tragic!  I love the part where Santa comes to visit.

The Night Before Christmas

I love reading this on Christmas Eve!!  It is great, and gives me warm fuzzies!

The Mansion by Henry van Dyke

This is a short story that really touches the heart.  It reminds me a lot of A Christmas Carol.