What I am Listening to...

I have always been rather intrigued with a few authors. One such author is Charles Dickens. I believe it is because there have been so many movie editions of A Christmas Carol and I have seen many of them. There are versions that I watch every year and look forward to immensely. As we enter the holiday season I often think about visiting with Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. They were friends, so it makes sense to think of them together. They both have the Gothic feel to them and it is fall first. So, what am I listening to as I write this? An audio of Charles Dickens letters. I have always been big on authors letters. I pick them up when I see them at the store. I was interested in an audio version.

It was fortunate that I opened my email earlier today to find an email from NAXOS Audio Books. I had never heard of them before because despite telling myself over and over again to listen to more audiobooks... It never seems to happen. But, it is tonight! I am listening to Simon Callow read Charles Dickens letters. It is great so far. I browsed the website a bit and they have a lot of classics. I think there are some I would love audio versions of because I would read and listen at the same time... I find I get more out of daunting books that way.

I am looking forward to listening to more letters and then moving on to the other goodies I received today. Charles Dickens really was a character!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

"Bah Humbug!" That's how Ebeneezer Scrooge feels about Christmas--until the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future decide to show the crotchety old miser the error of his ways. Together they travel through time, revisiting all the people who have played an important role in Scrooge's life. And as their journey concludes, Scrooge is reminded of what it means to have love in his heart, and what the true spirit of Christmas is all about. A timeless story the whole family will enjoy!

Dear Mr. Dickens,

It might seem strange that I am writing a letter to a man that has been dead for many years, but it also seems very fitting. A Christmas Carol is a ghost story, so let us pretend that ghosts are real and that Mr. Dickens has the ability to read all the things written about him after he died. He was, in many ways, an author that was only appreciated after he was deceased, so it is nice to think of him being able to revel in the praises of the generations that have came after him. At the same time, it is rather creepy to think about a ghost reading these words over my shoulder! I just find that writing letters is more my style. I can write 'formal' reviews, but I was finding them a chore. The few letters I have written this year have been a lot more fun, so I think you might see me slowly moving in that direction.

Anyway, Mr. Dickens, I have quite gone off-topic, something I am very good at, so I should probably get back to the book that is at hand. I love A Christmas Carol. I have read it many times over the years and I never tire of the story. You have written a story that is very fitting for the ages because within these pages you have shown what Christmas is really about. I just love every word. I do not believe there is a wasted one anywhere in the story. And, it sticks with you. I might not be able to say passages word for word, but there are sentences that stick with you even after you have long closed the book. When I sit down to enjoy this book and see the opening sentence: "Marley was dead, to begin with", I feel like I am coming home. It is like visiting with old friends. And, even though there are no longer any surprises, I still feel the emotions like I am reading it for the first time: outrage at Scrooge, sympathy for his over-worked clerk, a little creeped out by the ghost of Christmas yet to come, etc. It is truly a master that can make people feel for characters over and over again.

While you might not really comprehend the phrasing 'classic literature' because classic literature was very different in your day, you have to understand how rare it is for me to sing the praises of a classic, to me, author. I just love this book! There is really no other way to describe it. I get caught up in the story everytime and I am always sad when I finish. There is just something magically about the world that you have created. In many ways, while this is not necessarily a fantasy story, it is probably the story that moved me in that direction when I was very young. I like to believe that anything is possible, and in this story, three ghosts visit a cranky, rude, older man and show him the true meaning of living. They show him what will happen if he doesn't learn the error of his ways, and he gets a second chance. It is not forced on him, he could have come out of those experiences still not seeing the errors of his ways, but he doesn't. It's just the way the world should work, everyone should have a second chance.

This is really all I feel I have to say. I think everyone and their dog is familiar with the basic story, even if they haven't actually read this book. I am telling you now, though, you can not truly appreciate the magic of this book if you don't read the original. I am sure Mr. Dickens would agree. I am totally going back to my yearly tradition of reading this story. I have missed it. It was wonderful to visit with old friends this holiday season! Thank you, Mr. Dickens. I have read many other of your works, (and actually plan to do some reading of you in the New Year), but this will always be my favourite.

Until next time!

Charles Dickens

For Christmas, I received eight of Charles Dickens' novels in six hardcover books. (Yes, I got them early...) Because it has been so long since I read some of them, I am making myself the challenge to read as many of them as I can in the next year. It is time that I spent some time on Dickens, and then once I have read the eight that I own, there are a few others that I have never read at all that I really should invest in.

1. A Christmas Carol (Review forth-coming)
2. The Chimes (Review forth-coming)
3. The Cricket on the Hearth (Review forth-coming)
4. Great Expectations
5. David Copperfield
6. Oliver Twist
7. A Tale of Two Cities
8. Hard Times

The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirit by Les Standiford

As uplifting as the tale of Scrooge itself, this is the story of how one writer and one book revived the signal holiday of the Western world.

Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A Christmas Carol himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist.

The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all.

With warmth, wit, and an infusion of Christmas cheer, Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, its most beloved storyteller, and the birth of the Christmas we know best. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a rich and satisfying read for Scrooges and sentimentalists alike.

I have always been a big fan of Charles Dickens. Over the years I have read several of his books, but it has been a while. When I saw that this book was available, though, I knew I had to remedy my not having read him in a while and see what Standiford had to say about one of my favourite Christmas books of all time, A Christmas Carol. I really only know the basics about Dickens life, so it was interesting to get a more detailed look at what his career was like before and after this novel. I think we should be glad that this book was such a success for its time, because if it wasn't, we probably wouldn't have got all the great books that came after it.

Standiford looks at what Dickens early childhood was like and the struggles that his family went through just to pay the bills. As a result of his father not being able to keep up with things, Dickens childhood ended very early and he found himself working to keep the family afloat. So, to become an author after struggling your entire life just to eat was a very brave thing. While he doesn't go into detail, Standiford talks about the early books and their impact. He looks at what Dickens thought of America when he came here on a book tour. The big subject matter, though, is how he was floundering until he decided to write this little Christmas story. While A Christmas Carol was popular and sold very well, though, it did not solve all of Dickens problems. It just brought him the recognition he needed to be able to slowly pull himself out of debt.

The rest of the book is dedicated to what life was like for Dickens after the book was released. It mentions three other 'Christmas' books that I had never read before. I always thought that he only had the one Christmas book, and he technically did. The others were released around Christmas, but did not actually have Christmas in them. I am the first to admit that classic literature is not really my thing. Just because it is a classic and everyone should read it, doesn't mean that I will like it. Dickens, though, is one of those exceptions where I have always enjoyed what I have read, so it was worth it to give this book a chance and see more about the person behind these great novels.

My thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book!