An angel shows Mary what will happen to baby Jesus when he grows up and then gives her the option to let the angeThe ending made it worthwhile.
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An angel shows Mary what will happen to baby Jesus when he grows up and then gives her the option to let the angel take him to Heaven right then. Each vision she gets is only a snippet without any context, and by the end of it, she's understandably upset.
Of course, this is The Virgin Mary we're talking about here, so she reasons out that God must know what He is doing and opts to keep Jesus. <--I don't think that's exactly a spoiler BUT! (view spoiler)[As the angel turns away to leave he discusses with his minion how he will still have another chance to derail Jesus in the desert when he gets older, and we learn that the angel was actually...LUCIFER!
A mother prays for her son to be normal. Don't we all? In this case, her 13 year old son has the mind of a child much younger and she wants God to heal A mother prays for her son to be normal. Don't we all? In this case, her 13 year old son has the mind of a child much younger and she wants God to heal him. Her husband wants her to accept what they can't change.
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Meanwhile, there has been some kind of a chemical spill or radiation or something that happened a while back. And this boy spends his time naming mutant animals that he finds in their woods. And guess who is helping him? I'll give you a hint: it's not Godzilla.
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Apparently, the mutant lizards and frogbirds are all part of God's plan, and this child is one who can see and understand that God does not live in the church building. There's a new world coming and these strange creatures have a place in it. So, that's nice.
Recommended for Christie completionists like myself....more
Christie writes another religious short, this time about a group of saints that ask to come back to earth to help make a difference. It seems to be setChristie writes another religious short, this time about a group of saints that ask to come back to earth to help make a difference. It seems to be set in the futuristic year 2000, as they talked about some rule that would allow them to do this at the turn of each millennium. The saints didn't feel they had done enough to earn the glories of Heaven and wanted to do more for humanity. Something along those lines. It was too wonky for me, but having read some of Christie's other religious stories, this seemed very on par with how she liked to imagine things.
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I didn't find it particularly interesting but it probably makes sense if you are more familiar with the backstories of the saints. <--I only knew who St. Thomas and St. Peter were and the rest were only ringing very distant bells. I'm trying to be a Christie completionist, so it was nice to tick this one off the list....more
Agatha dreams of the perfect Christmas. I get it. Christmas was a terrible holiday when I was growing up, and I can relate to wanting to make your own Agatha dreams of the perfect Christmas. I get it. Christmas was a terrible holiday when I was growing up, and I can relate to wanting to make your own Christmas tradition as an adult that mirrors the image you wished you had as a child.
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Unfortunately, Christmas (or really any overhyped event) is likely to always be a letdown. That's just the nature of expectations vs reality. I've found it's better to let go of trying to make it great and just attempt to go with the flow. Though, that may be easier for me than for someone who grew up with these amazing memories of the holiday season.
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This Christmas Agatha hires a new young assistant detective, Toni Gilmour, and ends up rescuing her from a home much like her own childhood upbringing. Anyone who has made it to book 18 realizes that while Agatha is prickly, self-centered, and somewhat clueless about her own motivations, she also has a soft underbelly that keeps the people closest to her orbiting her cranky star. Toni understands Agatha in a way that the other people around her do not, and it was nice to see her enter the series. I'm really looking forward to seeing how she turns out.
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There is, of course, a murder and a mystery that needs solving. I mean, it wouldn't be Christmas if not. I really enjoyed this one, maybe because of what happened with James at the end, and maybe because I just needed a little Raisin in my life right now. Recommended for fans....more
I cried over the Mother's Day thing. God, it's been more than 30 years and I still miss my mom.
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I kind of figured I knew a lot of the hidden histI cried over the Mother's Day thing. God, it's been more than 30 years and I still miss my mom.
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I kind of figured I knew a lot of the hidden histories, but it turns out I didn't know as much as I thought. That's...not all that surprising. I tend to think I know more than I really do on any given day. But even with my track record of ignorance, I was still surprised by how much I learned. And I came out of this thing with a whole new appreciation of holidays and the history behind them.
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Ok, so Hannah Harvey starts with Christmas and works her way around the year to all the big (mostly) American holidays. Or I guess I should say that she gives us the background on why we celebrate the holidays the way we do in America. And can I just say it was nice to hear a Southern accent from one of these professors? Which means there is a southern flare to quite a few of her stories, and she leans very heavily into her own Southern heritage in these lectures. I mean, I wasn't upset by the story of her husband shooting groundhogs on their farm. But her storytelling style may not be for everyone. Happy Groundhog Day! <--I birthed a child on this glorious holiday, btw
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Harvey does a deeper dive than I thought she would with such a short lecture and really opened up a whole new world of backstory that I had never heard of before. Did you know that Christmas was initially banned in the US? Holidays that weren't specifically mentioned in the Bible were considered sacrilegious. Man, our Puritans were even weirder than I thought. Like, there were Puritans, and then there were the Puritans that hopped on a boat and landed in New England. The UK should really thank its lucky stars that they had cruise ships willing to offload those wacky bastards on an unsuspecting continent.
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Fun lecture! Though, I could have lived without her "performances" of all the stories she told. That sort of thing kind of gives me the ick for whatever reason. Your personal milage will vary. Recommended....more
A mopey comic book writer is trying his hand at telling a true crime story.
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As a young lad who was just starting to realize he was a little diffA mopey comic book writer is trying his hand at telling a true crime story.
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As a young lad who was just starting to realize he was a little different from the other boys, hearing the story of the pervert serial killer intrigued and frightened him. You've essentially got a young gay boy learning through the act of a "deviant" that there are other guys out there that like-like men instead of women. On one hand, he's not alone in his feelings. On another, the only male he knows of (yet) that is attracted to other men, has killed and raped two young boys. So, that's not exactly healthy.
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As he interviews the killer, who still claims innocence, he's also unpacking the history of what was once his budding sexuality. Or is it more than that? Is he a deviant, too?
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It seems like Tynion does a lot of self-inserting into his comics and this one is no exception. This means our main character is a young gay man with glasses who used to write superhero comics and has branched out into his own stories. I think it's cute, and kind of adds a touch of something personal. I do understand that somewhere down the road that may get old for some people, so your personal mileage will vary with The Tynion Guy, as I've come to start calling him in my head.
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And like a lot of my friends, I feel that this one is just difficult to rate without knowing exactly where this story is going. I thought the first half was a solid 4 stars because I flew through the pages and was sorely disappointed to have it end on a cliffhanger. I'm really looking forward to finishing this out and hoping the next volume is out in time for the holiday season!
Two cute, if forgettable, Sabrina holiday stories.
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The Longest Night <--by Kelly Thompson I've enjoyed Thompson's work on Sabrina. Wish she were Two cute, if forgettable, Sabrina holiday stories.
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The Longest Night <--by Kelly Thompson I've enjoyed Thompson's work on Sabrina. Wish she were still writing it. This could have been a really good story but the whys and hows just aren't there, and it possibly just needed a bit more page time to give the plot a bit of backstory. The skinny gist is that Sabrina and a few friends rescue another witch pal from a baddie. During the holidays.
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A Very Spellman Solstice <-- by Danielle Paige The Spellaman aunts tell Sabrina a story about the past. It was also ok but for some reason, the art style didn't do it for me in this one.
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I don't think I'd recommend this to anyone who wasn't specifically looking for a Sabrina Holiday Special, but it wasn't terrible....more
Uh. Well, you might have a completely different experience if you're a fan of the books in this series. But since I didn't realize it was a book seriesUh. Well, you might have a completely different experience if you're a fan of the books in this series. But since I didn't realize it was a book series, much less a "what are they doing now" kind of story for a (I think) 12 book series that had already ended with some kind of an apocalyptic war? It was incredibly scatty and confusing to read. I don't know who these characters are, or what their relationships are like, and I don't really even understand the setting.
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I thought this was a comic about a vampire huntress. But it looks to me like this is all angels and demons. Sometimes the women have wings? And they're being attacked by demons from Hell who are being sent after them from (what looks to be) Satan. But then a few of the guys they're married to say they were vampire lords in Hell at one point? Or something?
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The plot was fucknuts and the dialogue seemed really cheesy. But then it might make a lot of sense to a fan! I don't know. This was a Hoopla Bonus Borrow, so I decided to try it out. Some kind of introduction to the world would have been nice because, without it, this is a fans only sort of comic.
The Naughty Donkey The skinny gist is that a disobedient donkey meets the baby Jesus and it changes his perspective on things.
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The Water Bus This is a short religious story about a widow named Mrs. Hargreaves who is actually not a bad person. Thing is, she just doesn't quite get other people's emotions. Now, she tries to say and do all the right things, she just really doesn't enjoy being in the company of other people or engaging with them.
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In the Cool of the Evening A mother prays for her son to be normal. Don't we all? In this case, her 13 year old son has the mind of a child much younger and she wants God to heal him. Her husband wants her to accept what they can't change.
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Promotion in the Highest Christie writes another religious short, this time about a group of saints that ask to come back to earth to help make a difference. It seems to be set in the futuristic year 2000, as they talked about some rule that would allow them to do this at the turn of each millennium. The saints didn't feel they had done enough to earn the glories of Heaven and wanted to do more for humanity.
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The Island A short story about a woman named Mary who lived on an island with her son.
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And that's it for the short stories.
The rest of this book consists of poems Christie wrote that I forced myself to read. And I can't comment on whether or not Agatha can spit a rhyme because I simply don't enjoy reading poetry. That's not to say the poems are bad, just that I don't like poetry in general and great gobs of poetry specifically. And there were a lot. So this was a massive hurdle for me as a reader and a person. I know. I'm impressed with myself, as well.
Recommended for Christie Completionists like myself....more
Just when I thought it was over, I ran across a few more Christie shorts that I hadn't read. Lord help. Literally, because they're all religious storieJust when I thought it was over, I ran across a few more Christie shorts that I hadn't read. Lord help. Literally, because they're all religious stories.
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The skinny gist is that a disobedient donkey meets the baby Jesus and it changes his perspective on things. This certainly isn't the first time an author has created a story about the animals who were present in the barn Jesus was born in and it won't be the last. And of course, since this is a story about a donkey, it also references Jesus' return to Jerusalem riding a donkey at the end.
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I think this is a nice, if bittersweet story that would appeal to Christians.
There are several adventures that Poirot had around Christmas time, but this one will probably feel more familiar than most to Christie completionistsThere are several adventures that Poirot had around Christmas time, but this one will probably feel more familiar than most to Christie completionists. Why? Well, this was later expanded into The Adventure of the Christmas PuddingakaThe Theft of the Royal Ruby. And while there isn't much of a difference in the core mystery, there were a few definite changes made.
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The main difference is that this is far more condensed. But Poirot is still staying with a family at Christmas in order to catch the thieves who stole the ruby from a gullible rich boy. And the children in the family still attempt to pull a prank on Poirot and convince him there is a murder the day after Christmas, which he (of course) uses to his advantage to catch the criminals. And there is still that mysterious note telling him not to eat the Christmas pudding. (view spoiler)[ Although, in this one, the young woman isn't enamored with an unsuitable boyfriend. This time around she is in love with the boy next door (so to speak) but has agreed to marry the other guy because he gave her the money to get her mother a life-saving operation. Of course, the fiance and his sister are still the thieves, but in this version, he does take his "sister" with him when he runs off. (hide spoiler)] I definitely prefer the expanded version, but I'd been trying to find this one forever (because crazy completionists are crazy) and I was absolutely thrilled to finally get a chance to read it.
A very (very) short novella about a sweet Christmas romance.
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There really isn't much to this one other than the heroine tricks the hero into wA very (very) short novella about a sweet Christmas romance.
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There really isn't much to this one other than the heroine tricks the hero into wearing an ugly Christmas sweater to bring his arrogant self down a peg or two, only to discover that he wore it because he was in love with her and wanted her approval. Hard not to fall for a guy who wears hideous Christmas sweaters. Why is that, ladies?
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I'm not 100% sure, but I'm thinking it's because we think it means they'll be willing to do other uncomfortable things later on down the line. Like squash scary-looking unidentifiable bugs and check out weird noises in the middle of the night. Maybe it is just the neighbor's cat making sweet, sweet love to his girlfriend, but it could also be that freaky kid from The Grudge trying to break into the house!
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Whether or not Lord Cheverell will be willing to throw himself on demons or kill spiders isn't answered between these pages, but it does look as though these two will live happily ever after they tie the knot. It's a cute Christmas-y romance that fans of Tessa Dare can use to tide themselves over till her next full-length novel hits the shelves....more
This isn't a stand-alone story, it's a continuation of Morrison's Klaus story. Which is a badass retelling of the origin of Santa Claus.
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This? NThis isn't a stand-alone story, it's a continuation of Morrison's Klaus story. Which is a badass retelling of the origin of Santa Claus.
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This? Not as badass. It's kind of a mess, with a lot of stuff about Klaus being missing for years and years. He's been fighting a war on the moon. <--what? And then Geppetto (yes, Pinocchio's Geppetto) just pops up. Hey, Geppetto! Remember all that backstory we have together? No? Doesn't matter, we're just going to plow on with the story anyway.
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Anyway. The Winter Witch kidnaps two random kids to lure Klaus out to her lair. Because she has the power to know everything, she knows he's coming back from the moon but apparently doesn't know he's gonna kick her ass into springtime. Anyway, she does this so she can make him her immortal wood-whittling servant. <--what?
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It doesn't matter. Everything works out and Christmas is saved. I'm not sure if it's worth tracking the rest of these down or not. I loved the original, but if the rest of these are as stupid and slapped together as this one plot-wise, I think I'll wait till next Christmas to read them....more
Merry Christmas and behold the true story of Santa! *cough*...as told by Grant Morrison.<--Ho, ho, ho, bitches
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I was expecting something absolutMerry Christmas and behold the true story of Santa! *cough*...as told by Grant Morrison.<--Ho, ho, ho, bitches
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I was expecting something absolutely off the wall when I read this because, well, it's Grant Morrison retelling the origin of Santa. But this was actually pretty normal. I mean, sure it's a barbarian fantasy thing with Klaus (Santa) fighting evil and magically making toys to combat the unhappiness caused by a demon-controlled king. BUT. It was a coherent story. <--did not expect that from Morrison. This is wacky at its best.
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Also, I didn't realize that there were more (one-shot) stories that add to the mythos of this character and his universe. I'm on a Christmas mission to track them all down and check them out.
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I don't usually read Christmas stories. Most of the time they're a bit too sappy for me and just not what I'm looking for in my reading material. But if there is such a thing as a holiday genre that I would be interested in, then this is it. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, then I'd definitely encourage you to give it a try. Badass Santa is the best Santa. Happy Holidays, Goodreads....more
If there's any holiday that makes me queasy, it's this one. I didn't always used to be this way, but after a few decadeSo. Christmas, amirite?
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If there's any holiday that makes me queasy, it's this one. I didn't always used to be this way, but after a few decades experiencing The Most Wonderful Time of the Year as an adult, I've turned a tad sour. Depending on what time of the day you catch me in December, I'll either look like this:
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This:
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And, occasionally (if I look happy), this:
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So, to say that this is not the kind of book I would normally pick out for myself, would be a massive understatement. I mean, sweet baby Jesus, I've been looking at Christmas displays since August, and if I hear that damn woman sing that shitty song ONE MORE TIME....
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Shut up, Mariah! Shut up! You're making me break out in itchy hives! All I Want For Christmas is for every copy of that vile number to die hard horribly in a fiery explosion. Amen.
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Admittedly, I cringed a little inwardly when I picked this one up, but it was surprisingly easy to read. Yes, even for someone like me! It caught me by surprise, too...
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Thing is, I could really relate to the grumpy elf. I was right there with him, cheering him on while he tried to put that ridiculously ungrateful family on the Permanent Naughty List! Stick it to 'em, Marmel! They're a-holes! Sure, maybe he was a little unforgiving...
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But, like Marmel, my Christmas Spirit had long since shriveled up, leaving the dried out husk of a frazzled Holiday Shopper behind.
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But as I read more of the story, and saw how Marmel was changing, something strange started to happen. At first, I wasn't sure what I was experiencing. Was it acid reflux, or something more unexpected taking my Grinchy heart by surprise?
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And you know what? When I finished the story, I felt...better. And I thought, maybe I should slow down, try to remember what's important, and just enjoy the time with my family.
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So maybe hearing Christmas music doesn't have to make you feel like your soul is slowly dying piece by piece? Maybe looking a wrapping paper shouldn't make you want to burst into tears? And maybe those f-ckers who start decorating their houses in the first week of November really aren't agents of Satan...? Nah. Those guys are definitely working for the Devil.
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But the rest of it? Yeah. I think the holidays might be something I could learn to enjoy again. Don't look at me like that, it could happen!
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Anyway, I guess I need to thank the author for giving me a copy of his book, and helping me feel a little bit less like Scrooge this year.
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