Classics Bookclub - A Christmas Carol

This month's selection for the Classics Bookclub (hosted by 5 Minutes For Books) was, appropriately, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I read this once before as a teenager, but didn't appreciate it nearly as much then as I did this time around.

This is a short story, not a full novel, but I don't consider it an easy read due to wading through the somewhat lengthy old English descriptions. Dickens' humor balances his frank look at the human conditions of poverty and heartlessness. I was struck by how, despite all modern advances since this was written, there is still a great need for kindness and generosity, for there is always someone around me in need. Overall, a worthy read this time of year.

When my kids get older, I think reading this aloud at Christmastime would be a nice tradition - it's just too heavy on the old English for me to do that now. In the meantime, I'll pop in this video, which we watch every year:

Some might say that a movie version, especially one starring mostly puppet creatures, would be a close second to reading the book, but I disagree in this case. After reading the book, I am impressed with how much of the original Dickens dialogue makes up the script of the movie. Also, much of the storyline follows very closely. Bits that I thought were Muppet writers' humor were actual lines from the original book.

If you love the Muppets, you'll love Kermit as Bob Crachit, Miss Piggy as Mrs. Crachit, Fozzy Bear as Mr. Fezziwig/Fozzywig! And the delightful Michael Caine gives a talented performance as Mr. Scrooge.

The only things left out are things that are too heavy for children to understand (the dead body of Scrooge on the bed), or some of the longer sections that had to be condensed or eliminated to make the story fit a movie timeline. None of what was left out was, in my opinion, a great loss for children or adults watching this movie.

And to top it off, at the end, one of the characters can be heard saying,
"If you think that was good, you should read the book!"

Classics Bookclub - Pride and Prejudice

I was quite excited to find the Classics Bookclub that was started up by 5 Minutes For Books, especially after my dive back into the reading world this summer.

I was even more excited to read one of Jane Austen's books for the first time - Pride and Prejudice.

I have loved (and own!) the major theater releases that came from Jane Austen's books - as well as watching the entire series of Jane Austen productions shown on PBS this past spring. But for some reason that I cannot explain, I had never read anything Austen had written. It was about time.



I enjoyed the book immensely, and am glad to have read it. I can see now why many devoted fans of the book were upset that the 2006 movie did not follow the book as well as other productions. In this case, I have to say I did not mind, though, especially when you consider what the 2006 version was able to fit into 2 hours. There is so much more to the book (isn't that always the case?), and I enjoyed reading about elements left out of the film, such as quiet Mary, Caroline's conpiritory ways, Lizzie's extended family, and more of her her mother's neurotic and absurd behavior that makes me laugh out loud.

I marvel at what life was like for women in that time, and am thankful that I was able to marry for love. I especially appreciate the seemingly forgotten concept in our "modern" world, of respect leading to love, and love leading to self-sacrifice.

The entire time I read this book, the screen actors and their voices were in my head, reciting the lines that were taken directly from the book to the screen - especially Brenda Blethyn (again with Lizzie's zany mother!) As much as I wanted to pop the DVD in every day, I made myself wait until I had finished the book. I even found some of the music to add to my playlist (left sidebar)!

Part of the way through the book, since I was immersed in an Austen world, I rented Becoming Jane, which I thoroughly enjoyed (despite it's own tragedy). I found it interesting how much the people and events in Jane's life shadowed people and events found in all of her written works. That makes her writing so much more interesting to me, to know that characters were colored by her own personal experience and not just her imagination.

Still one of my favorite movies... the scene where he is walking to meet her in the misty morning, coat blowing in the wind, makes my heart flutter in my throat every time.