Tag: Holidays

Books, Fiction, Reading Lists

11… Of My Favorite Christmas Books to Read

RaeAnna
A Christmas Treasury is one of my favorite Christmas books and my #1 recommendation.

When I started blogging, I decided to dedicate December to reading Christmas and holiday books. By now, in my third year of continuing this tradition, I have now encountered many Christmas inclined books. Some have been beautiful classics and others have been smutty romances and others have been worse than a Hallmark movie with a bigger time commitment. 

To save you some time, I’m sharing eleven Christmas books I will always recommend. There are a couple silly romances, but they’re well done, and now is the time of year for love, joy, peace on Earth, and a little mindless reading.

  1. A Christmas Treasury This one is a beautifully illustrated book full of lots of Christmas stories. If you buy one book this year for Christmas, make it this one. Perfect for children and adults. Plus, it looks amazing sitting on a coffee table or under the tree. 
  2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Arguably the greatest Christmas story ever told, it changed Christmas in England and America. It’s a classic because the tale is timeless and the writing is superb.
  3. Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien I adore everything about this book. Tolkien wrote to his children for two decades as Santa. The letters were accompanied by beautiful illustrations. 
  4. Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory So often Christmas stories involve white people. I love that this romantic comedy had a strong independent woman who gave up nothing for love and the two main characters are Black. Yay!!!
  5. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson I have an emotional connection to this one because I starred in the play version as I kid. It’s fun, funny, and full of redemption.
  6. The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn Full of history, adventure, and Christmas spirit, this is a great book for families to read with their kids. I also just enjoyed it immensely as a history buff.
  7. A Merry Christmas and Other Stories by Louisa May Alcott Alcott has been one of my favorite authors since I was a child. I love her Christmas stories as much as her novels. They’re sweet and beautiful.
  8. The Nutcracker by Alexandre Dumas This is not the ballet. It’s a great book about the Nutcracker and Christmas with the right amount of horror and fun.
  9. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum This is such a sweet and fun story. I absolutely love the mystical take Baum gives Santa and his world. It’s adorable and I read it again and again.
  10. Christmas at Thompson Hall and Other Christmas Stories by Anthony Trollope I have loved Trollope’s way with words, and his Christmas stories are witty and full of societal insight. 
  11. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry This is a classic Christmas story, and one that probably has more relevance than we would like to admit in today’s world of COVID and financial upheaval. 

Alright. These are my eleven Christmas picks. I highly suggest all of them. You can’t go wrong with any of them. They’re happy and full of Christmas spirit. This year, we could all use a little bit more of that in our lives; I know I could.

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna 

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Books, Fiction

Christmas at Thompson Hall & Other Christmas Stories by Anthony Trollope

RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 207
Quick Review A collection of stories for Christmas highlighting the beauty of family and the drama that comes with it. 

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Christmas at Thompson Hall & Other Christmas Stories by Anthony Trollop at River Oaks District in Houston. | Dress | Shoes | Watch | Earrings

Anthony Trollope is a fabulously creative novelist. He brings all of his intensity to the storyline and characters in the five short stories celebrating Christmas and the crazy people we love. Trollope makes a seemingly innocuous blunder become a tragic and reputation threatening incident in Christmas at Thompson Hall. 

The stories are centered around simple events or moments, which turn and create emotionally charged schisms with all the pomp and circumstance anyone could dream of at Christmas. It is fabulously frustrating. 

Each of the characters are completely absurd but also relatable. You can’t help but empathize with them. They all care very deeply but have self centered streaks a mile long. There are so many cringe inducing moments that make the stories absolutely enthralling and entertaining because as the reader, you know exactly what’s going to happen but can’t look away.

Trollope has amazing observations, which ground the characters and the plot in reality because everyone can identify with what is being stated. “Seats, I fancy, are regularly found, even by the most tardy, but it always appears that every British father and every British husband is actuated at these stormy moments by a conviction that unless he prove himself a very Hercules he and his daughters and his wife will be left desolate in Paris.” Ugh, it’s so true! 

Even though The Mistletoe Bough was published on December 21, 1861, there are so many funny moments. “Kissing, I fear, is less innocent now than it used to be when our grandmothers were alive, and we have become more fastidious in our amusements.” No one today would probably think this about a book published over 150 years ago, but they used to have their fun too.

I loved reading these short stories. They’re such a delightfully funny look into historical Christmases. 

Memorable Quotes
“But on this occasion, at this Christmas of 187-, Paris was neither gay nor pretty nor lively.”
“We know how prone the strong are to suspect the weakness of the week, – as the weak are to be disgusted by the strength of the strong.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: Christmas at Thompson Hall & Other Christmas Stories
Author: Anthony Trollope
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9780143122470

11..., Experiences, Lifestyle, Travel

11… Of My Home For A Midwestern Holidays Activities

RaeAnna

I went home for the holidays. Home is such a vague word because I consider home to be Houston and wherever my people are. Other than that, I was in Minnesota, Chicago, and Iowa. I got to spend time with most of the people that matter most to me in this world. 

  1. Three long road trips to Chicago to Ames to home [Houston] with my favorite man and being, aka my life pawtner aka my boyfriend and my dog.

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    Stopping at the World’s Largest Truck Stop in Davenport, Iowa. | Crop Sherpa Jacket | Yogas | Red Wellies | Stud Earrings | Glasses |
  2. I played with horses in Minnesota. Alex’s mom has a horse farm in the middle of nowhere Minnesota, and it’s one of my favorite places on Earth. The farm is surrounded by bluffs, and it’s just beautiful. I was only there for two days, but it was a great way to start my holiday trip.

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    I love horsie cuddles!!! | Wool Skirt | Sweater | Stud Earrings |
  3. Had a family Christmas in Effingham, where Mom and Dad are building their retirement lake home. While Mom was showing us the sight, we got the car stuck. None of us wore the right shoes, but we pushed anyways and made it back onto the road. Girl Power.

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    We were all visibly thrilled about the situation.
  4. I dressed up with my sisters and Beau on Christmas morning to be Santa and her elves because we don’t require Santa to be a man in our family. I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything as cute as Beau in a Santa costume. Made my entire year.

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    Elf Pajamas | Elf Hats | Santa Costume
  5. One of my Christmas presents was two tickets to The Second City for their Do You Believe in Madness? Show, critiquing the modern political climate and culture in general. Kelsey and I went and had an AMAZING time. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed that much in a two hour period. (I probably have, but it was at myself, so it doesn’t count.) We had front row seats, and they served hot chocolate. I mean, it was made for me.

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    Enjoying Chicago. | OTK Boots | Coat | Hat | Purse | Scarf 
  6. I got to spend the evening with my brother and sister-in-law in Chicago, enjoying good food, yummy chocolates, and even better company.

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    Two of my favorite people!!! | Jeans | OTK Boots | Sweater | Scarf | Earrings |
  7. Beau got bit by my parents’ new rescue dog. Stay tuned for more on this week’s Blog + Dog for more details. She’s fine, but it was ruff. 
  8. I did some unnecessary shopping in downtown Ames with my mom, pawtner, and dad. I picked up very important things, like popover tins, tea, soap that smells like hot chocolate, and dog treats/toys/chewbones. Beau appreciates the fact we spend more money on her than ourselves.
  9. I took pictures in the Iowa Law Library. There will be a post about that in the future. It’s amazing. If you ever have the chance to go, do so. You won’t regret it.

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    Honestly, one of the most beautiful places ever. | Skirt | Sweater | Heels |
  10. The family went to the Iowa State Capitol Building and East Village in Des Moines to explore and have a fun afternoon on New Year’s Eve. I had never been with my dad, and my mom hadn’t been in two decades – since I went on a second grade field trip.

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    Posing with my Iowa baseball cap in front of the capitol. | Jeans | Sweater | Flannel | Boots | Scarf |

     

  11. I dressed up as a flapper for New Year’s Eve, took pictures in Beardshear Hall on Iowa State’s campus, and attended a concert in a speakeasy. It was a lot of fun. My parents had an amazing time, and Dylan and I got to dance together, which was a nice way to bring in the New Year.  
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    Flapper Dress | Satin Gloves| [Faux] Fur Cape | Heels | Purse | Pearl Necklace | Pearl Bracelet | Art Deco Earrings | Stud Earrings | Headpiece

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

 

Books, Fiction

Christmas in London by Anita Hughes

RaeAnna

Worth A Read Meh
Length 288
Quick Review Two women spend Christmas in London to make a cooking show, and their lives find new purposes. 

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Christmas in London by Anita Hughes at Levy Park in Houston. | Green Dress | Red Heels | Sapphire Necklace | Sapphire Earrings | Fossil Watch | Pearl Bracelets |

Christmas in London by Anita Hughes has a lot of things you want in a Christmas story, but it falls short in just as many ways. 

Louisa is a small time pastry chef working in New York City. Kate is a producer for a local cooking show. They spend Christmas in London to be a part of a holiday cooking show. Louisa grows close to an assistant from New York, and Kate revisits people from her past. 

I’m fairly ambivalent about this book. It’s not bad. It’s definitely not great, but it’s what people want and expect during the holidays. Loads of ridiculous romantic stuff and drama for no reason. Hughes writes in the third person and switches between Louisa and Kates’s point of views throughout Christmas in London. It’s mostly told in the present, except for when Kate has flashbacks to the past for a muddy subplot. Honestly, the writing is really boring and cliché. There is an abundance of similes. Hughes is overly descriptive to the point of monotony. It became so repetitive when as the narrative said in one way or another “a man showed up and she realized it was Trevor/Noah.” Yuck. It doesn’t build suspense. It’s just boring and a waste of ink. 

I could get past the writing if the characters were more believable or even likable. Louisa and her love interest felt like they were in high school more than adults starting out in a romantic relationship. Kate is more mature but not by a lot. I have a hard time identifying with adults in relationships who are completely lacking in mature communication skills. At the same time, their conflict resolution comes far too easily after they’ve bungled the whole situation from poor communication skills. They’re also not very likable. The parallels drawn between Louisa and Kate are not subtle; they’re basically living the same story arc.The male characters are the worst. Honestly, I don’t know why either woman put up with it? No man is better than any man. 

Anita Hughes’ Christmas in London is a decent mindless read to keep you busy instead of spending time with the in-laws or family. It’s not great, but it could be a lot worse.

Memorable Quotes
““But there isn’t time to be passionate about more than one thing. If you want something in life, you have to sacrifice everything else to get it.””
“She had never been able to separate love and attraction.”
“That was the problem with sex; it made it impossible to think.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: Christmas in London
Author: Anita Hughes
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 9781250145796