A recent trip to the video rental store kick started this column as I started thinking about how my taste—and that of my family—in entertainment changes slightly during the holiday season.
As a rule, my husband and I enjoy movies featuring a lot of fast cars, speeding bullets, and dead people. We’ve seen very few video casualties in the past several weeks, however. Not only did we rent Bad Santa (which was an overall bad movie with a few outrageously funny moments) and Christmas with the Kranks (very, very funny, and good for the whole family), but we’ve watched our classic favorites: It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol (our favorite being the Alastair Sim version, though Patrick Stewart’s incredible sexiness almost redeems his version), Scrooged (because Carol Kane kills me every time), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (unbelievably, the Jim Carey version), Miracle on 34th Street (the old one, because the new one’s revised ending almost caused destruction of my television), Spongebob Squarepants Christmas, and the single greatest holiday film ever made: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Overall, very few dead people (if you don’t count the ghosts…or the cat).
Of course, this analysis of the lightening of my holiday season entertainment fare naturally turned to books. We have some as a family that we love like well-washed flannel jammies. The Gift of the Magi, our copy an Aladdin Picture Books version warmly illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. The Night Before Christmas—we cherish the Jan Brett picture book edition for it’s intricate, jewel-toned, simply amazing illustrations. The Polar Express. And, of course, A Christmas Carol. The Eyewitness Classics abridgment is our volume of choice. It’s packed with sidebars featuring illustrations and informational tidbits about London of the time, Christmas, the story, and Dickens himself. (As an aside, I abhor and avoid abridgements as a rule, even those authorized by the author for such things as audio books. Accessibility to the story, the nonfiction sidebars, and the fact that this abridgement is one used by Dickens for his own readings justifies my making an exception.)
My own personal reading habits change, as well. Sometimes I find myself shying away from thrillers and suspense, horror, paranormal and the like. I reach for lighter reading—feel good books. And sometimes I’ll find myself rereading favorites. Often during the slow, cold days following Christmas, I’ll revisit Diana Gabaldon’s entire Outlander series, or I’ll glom SEP’s Chicago Stars books. Linda Lael Miller’s old Americana books. Jude Devereaux. Patricia McLinn’s Silhouette Special Editions.
I also have one category romance in my stocking each year. I curl up with it when the house is a maelstrom of shredded wrapping paper, empty boxes harboring cats seeking refuge, and empty battery packaging, because there’s a two day hiatus on all cleaning effective with the opening of the first gift, and the escape that romance novel brings is my gift to myself. This year it’ll be Karen Templeton’s SSE, Baby Steps, and I’m already looking forward to it. (Wrapping that book without reading it almost killed me…I mean, knowing Santa wrapped it so I can’t read it almost killed me.)
So there are very, very few dead people, vampires, or serial killers in my holiday reading, despite my enjoyment of such things (in fiction, of course) throughout the rest of the year. I go for the uplifting stories of real life and real love in the weeks surrounding Christmas.
How about you? Do you find that your reading tastes change during the holidays?
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Definitely! I have a box of Christmas stories that I put out for the season and I tend to reread several of them during this time… and the new ones I pick up, of course. I have books for grownups and children’s ones all mixed together.
I also give myself books for Christmas. This year it’s “Get a Clue” by Jill Shalvis, all wrapped in pretty paper, just waiting for me to set it free…
I read a Christmas story the other day. I was at the bookstore and they had their display of holiday titles up. One just sort of stuck out so I bought it. It was a tear jerker and completely different than what I’d normally read.
I’m with you, Shan. I’m all about dark, paranormal, dead bodies and end of the world stuff.
Yeah, I just gave notice that we are SO not watching an episode of ROME on Christmas Eve.
For years, we watched THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (although we always fast forwarded through the simpy “The Love is Gone” song). This year. . .dunno. The hubby will probably vote for CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT. We’ll see. 
(And pssst — hope you really, really enjoy the stocking stuffer “Santa” left you! :wink:)
My tastes change too! Since I’m a book reviewer I don’t usually take time away from advance releases to revisit old favorites, but I thought it was funny that I just reread Outlander (actually I listened to it). It was interesting to revisit since it had been around 13 years since my first read, and my life is so different now. In general I’m wanting to indulge myself and read books I’ve purchased instead of books I’m supposed to be reviewing. This weekend that was a vampire book - All Night Inn, but the hero is a very beta vampire so no gore. Up soon is a Harlequin NEXT - last year’s Maggie Skerritt novel, Holidays Are Murder. I guess I’m wanting to read category too!
I’m with you, even to the point of buying Christmas anthologies, though I only read one or two of the stories. I LOVE Patrick Stewart’s A Christmas Carol. It’s my favorite. I saw his one man rendition of it years ago and it–and he–was amazing. All the classics, including White Christmas and The Bishop’s Wife, are in my collection. We’ll be watching them all week. And we read a different Christmas book with the kids each night (yes, we have that many!). Happy Holidays!
Well yeah I would say my taste in reading does change when it comes to Christmas. I want to read more something with Christmas in the theme. It’s more special that way. There’s something about reading a romance novel durning Christmas that just brights up my life. It’s Christmas and the most perfect time to fall in love its just perfect I just love it.:grin:
My reading tastes don’t change too much, but my movies do.
Hands down favorite Christmas movie is “A Christmas Story.” I’ve watched that movie every year for…ever and LOVE it every time! Of course, there’s also “White Christmas” and “A Sound Of Music” (which of course isn’t a Christmas movie, per se, but because it’s always played during Christmas, that’s where I put it).
I will read some Christmas anthologies, which I usually never touch, but that’s about it in the book front. Happy Holidays everyone!!!
You know, I don’t think I’ve seen White Christmas OR The Bishop’s Wife. I’ll have to pop down to the video store this week and remedy that. Are they musicals? That might be why.
White Christmas is. The Bishop’s Wife is not. It’s an angel romance, with Carey Grant as the angel. Not exactly Clarence.
And, what do you mean, revised ending??!?!?! I haven’t seen the new 34th St. There’s a revised ending? Is Santa like… not real?
My reading changes in that I’m more inclined to read non-fiction. That tends to be what’s given as gifts in my house and there’s usually something really funny or engrossing or just gross (I have sons.) Christmas Vacation is our Christmas ritual movie and every year we laugh ourselves silly at the same scenes. Sometimes before they come on.
Funniest movie ever.
No mail bags! Just a really corny speech. HATED it. will never watch it again, despite the little girl being so sweet.
I have sons, too, Bron, so the grosser the funnier. *g* This was my boys’ first viewing of Christmas Vacation and they laughed as much as we thought they would.