A Christmas Carol / The Night Before Christmas

Some classics are more fun to read than others, this book falls in the former category for sure. Reading the original text that has inspired so many movies was a great experience. Having grown up watching the Mickey Mouse version, it was amusing to find myself subconsciously picturing the Disney characters while reading the descriptions put down by Dickens. Obviously there were a lot of differences.

On the audiobook front, I listened to the version read by John Lee. I can't imagine it having been read better, Lee did an incredible job giving voice to the different characters and emotions (I also gave a Librivox version a short try and Lee's English accent is infinitely preferable).

A favorite of all ages, it seems, A Christmas Carol has been enjoyed by many throughout the years and has spawned several movies and plays. The story is of a miser who is visited by four ghosts on Christmas, the first of which is his old partner in his business who died seven years ago. Through his visits with these apparitions, he realizes the error of his miserly ways and the fatal consequences that they might bear. He emerges at the end of the story as a truly changed man.

The book is an easy read, and one that can be handled by even young children. Yet it is also enjoyable for adults. Indeed, the story is so well accepted that it has even created vocabulary words of it's own. We all know what a "Scrooge" is, don't we?

This book also show more includes the classic Christmas poem "The Night Before Christmas", also a delight as well as an annual tradition for Christmas Eve celebrations in many families. show less