I recently lost my list of books to read.
This was the unfortunate consequence of a series of poor judgment calls on my part, which were particularly heinous given that I’m married to a techie. I never set up my iCloud (because I’m lazy), and I didn’t back up my (very long) list on Dropbox or e-mail (see above). Instead, I kept it on a running Notes note on my computer, and when I had filled up my hard drive and neglected moving files to the several-terabyte-NAS my husband has set up at the house (see above), I lost the list.
I was sad for a moment – in fact, I still get sudden bursts of sadness and loss (yep, over a list) – but part of me was kind of relieved. Now I get to start the list over with books I want to read right now. After all, some of the books on that list had been there since 2015.
Such is the life of a bookworm without enough time to read (isn’t that the plight of all bookworms?) For every book I read, there are five more I want to read. The constant accumulation of titles to be read may never end.
So why, knowing this about myself, do I come back to the same books, reread them again and again?
Well, in the case of A Christmas Carol, because there’s nothing that gets me into a Christmas mood better or more quickly than Charles Dickens. (Fun fact: Did you know that Charles Dickens is largely responsible for the expectations of a white Christmas? He included snow in most of his Christmas tales because he grew up in a period of time where there were unseasonably snowy winters, and that was how he remembered the Christmases of his youth, despite the fact that when he was writing, Christmas in England was rarely snowy at all.)
This volume includes not only the classic (if you don’t have time for Dickens – or even if you do – I highly recommend the Muppets’ adaptation or Neil Gaiman’s reading) but also Cricket on the Hearth (a fave in the Monaco household) as well as a few lesser-known but equally Christmassy Dickens tales, all accompanied by original illustrations. It’s the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit (especially if you’re celebrating Jolabokaflod, or the Icelandic Christmas Eve tradition of giving and reading books).
Merry Christmas!