Ebenezer Scrooge is mean, stingy, and cares about no one (possibly not even himself). He is visited by the ghost of his long-dead partner, Jacob Marley, who warns Scrooge that he will soon be visited by three ghosts. The first ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Past, shows him what was (and gives insight into why Scrooge is the way he is). The second ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Present, shows him what is (and gives insight into how other people view Scrooge). The third and final ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be, show him what will, or may, be. Scrooge is truly a changed man from these visits ensuring that Christmases yet to be will be truly happy for Scrooge and many others.
A Christmas Carol
5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2014: 111
Pages Read in 2014: 21,064
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (more book reviews!)
by Hamilton Wright Mabie include Beauty and the Beast, The Light Princess, The Ugly Duckling, The Princess on the Pea, The Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack the Giant Killer, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, Puss in Boots, Cinderella; Or, The Little Glass Slipper, Blue Beard, Tom Thumb, The Fair One With the Golden Locks, The Twelve Brothers, The Golden Goose, The White Cat, The Second Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor, The History of Ali Baba, and of the Forty Robbers Killed by One Slave, The Story of Aladdin; Or, The Wonderful Lamp, Hansel and Grethel, The Enchanted Stag, The Magic Mirror, and One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes. Some of the tales are long, some are very short. All are far from the Disneyified versions we are used to. I read them out loud to my 6 and 8 year old sons as bedtime stories. Luckily, the boys don’t scare easily. As my 8 year old said when we finished the last story (Beauty and the Beast), “At least no one died in this one!”
by Jonathan Swift is divided into four parts, his “visits” to the tiny people of Lilliput, the giants of Brobdingnag, a floating city and other places, and a place where horses are the ruling class. The first half was much more fun to read than the second half. The insistence that it was all absolutely true was hilarious. Swift was an amazing satirist. I can totally see why his writings were, and still are, popular.
is the fourth in the Michael Vey series by Richard Paul Evans. In this one, the Electroclan gets a well-deserved break at a ranch somewhere in the southwestern US or Mexico as they train and plan for their trip to Taiwan to save the little girl known as Jade Dragon. They pick up an unlikely ally on the way to Taiwan and then spend lots of time waiting, eating odd foods, and trying to sleep (I’m pretty sure in the first 72 hours in Taiwan Michael got less than 2 hours of sleep while Ostin slept 60 of those hours). Eventually Taylor convinces everyone to make an incredibly bad decision that leads to non-stop action for the last third of the book.
by Daniel Defoe is about a man who ends up shipwrecked on a deserted island where he stays for about 28 years. It was published almost 300 years ago so the fact it is still read today is pretty impressive. I, however, just plain didn’t like it. It is very long-winded and repeats itself over and over. I found Robinson to be rather annoying which is too bad since most of the book is just all in his head. Even after he leaves the island (in a rather anti-climactic way) there is another random and strange adventure. I’m pretty sure people in the 1700s must have been really bored since 
Mama Reader 