Rating:  Summary: A Great Christmas Fun Read Review: SKIPPING CHRISTMAS is the best Christmas Fun Read since THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER! When it is made into a movie (and somebody needs to get to work on it for Chritmas 2002), I volunteer my husband for the part of Luther. I'd happily coach the actress playing Nora. Fast and funny, SKIPPING CHRISTMAS is a touching and timely story to be enjoyed by the family.
Rating:  Summary: I'm planning a cruise for Christmas 2002 Review: I must agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer from Durhan, NC - 1 star. I found this book put me in a horrible mood and at times I just had to quit reading due to the level of negative energy between every character! I found the whole neighborhood and the whole Christmas thing so over the top !!! I would have told my daughter, "sorry honey we have made other plans......." No tough decision there. If you want a good Grisham read - read "The Partner"
Rating:  Summary: Why I loved this book Review: I read this book in one seating - about 2 hours. I couldn't put it down - the emotions expressed were so real - Christmas CAN be a real hassle! If carried to its extremes, it loses all meaning. The resolution of the Christmas season for the Krank family was not what they had planned, but it worked out as a true celebration of the season - with compassion for the neighbors and love for family - not just a social event. I loved the story, and probably will read it every Christmas season.
Rating:  Summary: The perfect holiday read! Review: This is the perfect book for everyone caught up in too much holiday--shopping, partying and decorating! I finished it over the long New Year's holiday and totally enjoyed its lighthearted, yet serious, look at the way we Americans over-commercialize what's supposed to be a religious holiday. I would love to see it turned into a holiday movie release, especially if they cast the guy who played Newman on Seinfeld as the cop Salino. I'd actually like it if they brought back the Chevy Chase-Beverly D'Angelo team as the Frohmeyer family! Stop being Scrooges and read Grisham's attempt at a lighter, family-oriented fare! And Bah Humbug on anyone who pays full price--I got my copy from the library!
Rating:  Summary: A Waste of Money & Time Review: "Skipping Christmas" is a most worthwhile idea to consider. Unfortunately this author treats it shabbily and shallowly. (I would give this book zero stars but found the program required a choice of 1-5.) The amount of time, energy, money and anxiety many of us spend each holiday season, without reflecting on the value received for our efforts, is mind-boggling. For adults to expect gifts (as though they were still five years old & believed in Santa Claus) is juvenile, mercenary and ridiculous. Yet how many of us continue this unexamined pretense at celebration. And others of us play into the practice by excessive shopping, spending, & gifting.Christmas is a lovely religious holiday. The scriptural history, music and ritual can be uplifting and almost mystical. Christmas as a time for small children is especially rich and sweet. But, Christmas for mature adults without religion and small kids is an expensive, exhausting, silly activity and well worth "skipping." I hope to find an author who will treat the subject with respect.
Rating:  Summary: Grisham has good idea... Review: I think that John Grisham has a wonderful idea for this story. Christmas has become a major pain, well for me anyway. I'm really not trying to be a "Scrooge", but as a single parent, the pressure seems overwhelming. I digress. This book is great for a light, humorous look at a different sort of Christmas. Luther Krank had a great idea, but it was ruined by both his wife and daughter. It's a delightful read. Merry Christmas!
Rating:  Summary: Skip Skipping Christmas Review: I have read each of John Grisham's books and have enjoyed all...until now. Humor writer he ain't!
Rating:  Summary: Fun Reading Review: I truly enjoyed this book, I read it in two days! Didn't want to put it down and then couldn't wait to pick it back up. I laughed out loud through out the book as I pictured the characters in the predicaments they created. How many of us would like to skip Christmas sometimes but would never have the courage. It was such a fun read and left me with a smile on my face which is what I needed during the hectic Christmas season.
Rating:  Summary: A Good, Quick Read Review: Skipping Christmas is a great book if you're looking for a quick read that offers a cute story, laugh-out-loud lines, and no evil plot or villians. It's not John Grisham's usual legal thriller, but it's still good. I think at one time or another, every one can relate to Mr. Krank's feelings. This book is definitely worth the few hours it takes to read.
Rating:  Summary: Skip This Book Review: Shame on you, John Grisham and on Doubleday as well! With A TIME TO KILL you proved you could write something besides cookie-cutter courtroom thrillers. And even though that book is heavily dependent on legal drama, it is a riveting character-driven page-turner about the rage that consumes a father when his daughter is savagely attacked. SKIPPING CHRISTMAS is a cheap shot to capture seasonal dollars, obviously rushed to press in November, and so shoddily printed that the headers are unevenly spaced, sometimes touching the edge of the page, and the print is almost too pale to read without strong light. With a lot of work, SKIPPING CHRISTMAS might have made a mediocre short story, but it is a terrible novel, crammed with too many characters and dependent on the totally unbelievable premise that a woman as generally "together" as Nora Krank would lie to her daughter and then scurry for hours to make truth of the lie; you give short shrift to the daughter's brusque actions and lack of common courtesy. You rely on every cliché about Christmas, including drunken office brawls, thoughtless gifts, meaningless Christmas cards, commercialization, and crass symbols such as Frosty the Snowman. You try to redeem the rudeness of the neighbors and the many weaknesses of the plot by wrapping everything in a big red bow at the end of the book, but gift-wrapped garbage is still garbage. I can't believe you need the money, so why did you do this to your readers? Even more important, why did you do it to yourself???
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