David's December Daily Readalong Final List. Please Join In.

Following on from this thread:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/324920

Having dillied and dallied, there can be no more delay; I have 'finalised' my reading list for my 'December Dailies'.

PLease feel free to read-along if you wish. If 'Bah Humbug' is more your thing, please feel free to completely ignore;

Nov. 26 Capote: Thanksgiving Visitor
Nov. 27 Dickens: A Christmas Carol

Nov. 29 Capote: A Christmas Memory
Nov. 30 Martin: Christmas in Newfoundland
Dec. 01 Frost: Christmas Trees
Dec. 02 Perry: A New York Christmas

Dec. 04 Silva: Mr Dickens and his Carol

Dec. 07 Henry: A Chaparral Christmas (EveryMan Anthology)
Dec. 08 James: The Mistletoe Murder
Dec. 09 Willis: Miracle
Dec. 10 Atkinson: Lucy's Day
Dec. 11 Cheever: Christmas Is A Sad Season For The Poor (EM Anthology)
Dec. 12 Bowen: Cambric Tea (British Library Christmas Mysteries Anthology)
Dec. 13 Saki: Reginald's Christmas Revel (EM Anthology)
Dec. 14 Simenon: A Maigret Christmas
Dec. 15 MacLeod: To Everything There Is A Season
Dec. 16 Plumer: Christmas Tricks (British Library Anthology)
Dec. 17 Atkinson: Small Mercies
Dec. 18 MacLeod: Winter Dog
Dec. 19 Clarke: The Star
Dec. 20 Atkinson: Festive Spirits
Dec. 21 Forsyth: The Shepherd
Dec. 22 Gogol: The Night Before Christmas
Dec. 23 Updike: The Carol Sing (EM Anthology)
Dec. 24 Thomas: A Child's Christmas In Wales

... and then, beginning on December 25th, for a bit of fun, one a day for 12 days: Dr. Who, The 12 Doctors of Christmas.

Obviously, a number of the above items are very short. I have a number of stories 'in reserve' dependent upon how much sparetime/capacity I may have to add works in.

I've given myself a couple of spare days for the slightly longer works earlier in the month and again, have 'reserves' if I should get through these quicker than allowed for

If you wish and/or if you have time, please chip in with what you are reading, whether it's on the list or not, observations, commentary ... anything goes!

I'll do my best to check in and contribute daily, current circumstances allowing.

Best Wishes,
David

You have chosen well here. You might want to check out some of your touchstones, as I think they are not connecting to the correct selections.

>2 LadyoftheLodge:
Thank you!
David

Twelve Doctors of Christmas was fun! I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of the other stories as well.

Apologies - having attempted to 'edit' the Touchstones, I have, somehow or other, messed up the whole list and don't seem to be able to edit my original post any further.

Best Wishes,
David

There's an ongoing problem with touchstones--it's not you! Hoping the problem is fixed soon.

>5 Boschfan: No worries. The main thing is that we can see your list.

Looks like lots of Christmas fun! I am having trouble with touchstones as well - they seem to be very touch and go at the moment. :)

November 26th: Capote The Thanksgiving Visitor

I am not totally unfamiliar with Capote's work; many years ago I read 'Music For Chameleons', I recall enjoying it but have largely forgotten the content, so when I was looking for titles for this mini-project, I was pleased to see that there were a couple of short pieces I could use.

I read 'The Thanksgiving Visitor' shortly after breakfast this morning. I had deliberately not researched the nature of the work - I wanted to come to it as fresh as possible.

And that's when things took an unexpected turn ...

I certainly hadn't foreseen the impact this brief work would have on me. With not a word out of place and yet never seeming short, Capote conjures up a world, a context and characters I now feel to have always known.

I have to admit to feeling really unsettled at the end of that first reading.

Did I enjoy the writing style and composition? Yes, very much so.

Am I glad I read it? Absolutely

Was I expecting a work which would arouse such a complex mix of emotions? Most certainly not.

I am still struggling to articulate the impact of this slender work - by a considerable margin not the only reason but maybe it's that in this particular year and context the story-telling contains an unexpected resonance:.

Towards the end Uncle B recites grace, " ... on this Thanksgiving Day of a troubled year. "

Here in the UK, there has been considerable debate, finger-pointing and apportioning of blame relating to many of the Covid-related issues we face but more recently around the provision of meals for the children of impoverished families. This section struck a chord:

"... throughout the Depression years, our school distributed free milk and sandwiches to all children whose families were too poor to provide them with a lunch box."

And when Miss Sook tells Buddy,

"And when all around us we see people who can't satisfy the plainest needs, I feel ashamed. (...) The shame I feel is for all of us who have anything extra when other people have nothing."

... I found myself being led to a point where I needed to confront my own viewpoints, all this on a day when I discovered I probably won't be able to spend Christmas Day with my daughters and our closest neighbours (both aged over 80) have caught the virus.

It took a good couple of hours and a long walk with the dog to regain my equilibrium but I feel enriched for having read this piece and that is surely the intent of great literature. Thank you Mr Capote.

I also didn't expect to have to say, "Thank you for bearing with me", so early in this readalong.

So now I have to track down 'The Katzenjammer Kids'

Best Wishes,
David

Thanks for your insights into the Capote read. I will need to get mine out and re-read it this weekend. Yep, I do remember "The Katzenjammer Kids" comic that was in the color comics section of the newspaper each Sunday when I was a small kid. Guess I am telling a bit about my age.

I read Capote's "A Christmas Memory," "One Christmas," and "The Thanksgiving Visitor" last Christmas, and I really loved them. I'm also planning to re-read A Christmas Carol this year, but not just yet. Great reading list for Christmas, too, by the way! I've starred this topic to keep up with it now.

I just received two beautiful sources for December reading. A Literary Christmas and A Children's Literary Christmas both by the British Library. The covers alone are gorgeous, as is the artwork inside. Even the paper feels nice to the touch. I will definitely be consulting these for my Christmas reading.

November 29th:
Dickens A Christmas Carol
Capote A Christmas Story

Both completed.

A Christmas Carol is an umpteenth re-read.

Each time I come to this novella, I still wonder at the vast sweep of CD's imagination - for example, the hints at Scrooge's own dismal and distressing childhood are handled - as with Capote's treatment of Buddy's position - masterfully.

However, ... I also find on each re-read that I become more and more frustrated with the last few pages . Scrooge's transformation into a man of consideration and charity seems rushed and could have been so much more.

Majestic writing nonetheless.

And now for something completely different:

Mike Martin Christmas In Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries

Best Wishes,
David

I read An Amish Christmas Wedding which features four short stories by accomplished authors of fiction about the Amish. The stories were excellent and I enjoyed them all.

>13 Boschfan: I hope you enjoy Christmas in Newfoundland. I read it last Christmas and enjoyed it very much. There are also a bunch of books by Mike Martin featuring the same characters.

>5 Boschfan: I was advised to edit or retype any part of the text (not touchstone) to get the touchstones to load again. It worked for me. I just deleted a few letters and retyped them. Voila!

I read the 3 Capote Christmas stories for the first time and I enjoyed them.

I read John Donne's poem "Nativity" which was in an anthology of Christmas literary works.

I also read Sailor's Night Before Christmas which is a fun take-off on the Night Before Christmas. The colorful illustrations are a suitable accompaniment for the story, which features Santa as an Old Salt who arrives in a tugboat pulled by seahorses. I have a collection of take-offs on the Night Before Christmas, and it was a good opportunity to get the books out and read this favorite and off-beat Christmas story.

I ended up reading An Irish Country Christmas by Alice Taylor. The evocations of Ireland at Christmas time presented a charming view of life in the countryside, which is probably a nostalgic portrait, as I imagine the life was difficult on the authors' small farm. I have read this book in the past, and I enjoyed this reading just as much as I did the previous times.

I have a copy of A lot like Christmas by Connie Willis and have read two stories so far: "Miracle" and "All about Emily."

I just read A Child's Christmas in Wales which I read every year at Christmas. I own a CD featuring Dylan Thomas reading his own story, and whenever I read it, I hear his voice reading along with me.

I also read Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy which is the novelized version of the Hallmark TV movie. It was cute, but often the novelized scripts become somewhat cumbersome since everything has to be described, rather than seen as a visual. Happy endings for all!

I read A Christmas Carol Murder which was a fast read, and evokes the days of Victorian London with Dickens and friends solving several mysteries. Very atmospheric.