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Summary: This is my favorite Christmas book!
Review: It is now a tradition for me to read this book at Christmas time to put myself in the real Christmas spirit. Ms. Willis has includes stories that are just plain fun and stories that are very insightful and thought-provoking. Each story is a delight and a surprise. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: This is my favorite Christmas book!
Review: It is now a tradition for me to read this book at Christmas time to put myself in the real Christmas spirit. Ms. Willis has includes stories that are just plain fun and stories that are very insightful and thought-provoking. Each story is a delight and a surprise. Enjoy!
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Summary: Connie Willis puts a new twist on Christmas
Review: My mom picked this book up from the library and almost didn't get it back after I got my hands on it. I was pleasantly surprised by Connie's reader-interactive letters at start and finish, but more so by her stories. I was expecting warm-fuzzy; I got stories that made me think and sent my mind spinning for hours after reading them. Normally I finish a book and move on, but these stories would not let me rush them. I couldn't stand to ruin the effect of the previous one by moving on to the next! I especially liked her practical interpretation of Joseph and Mary, pointing out that they would not have been more than barely pubescent when they were wed. This is an awesome read, and I will definitely be buying more of her books. Be warned though, my mother (who is an avid reader) found it Twilight Zone-ish and a waste of time.
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Summary: Not Willis' best work, but adequate.
Review: Not Willis' best work, but adequate. This collection of Christmas themed short stories starts off weak ("Miracle", in particular isn't very good), but the last five stories make up for the weak beginning. The best one is "Newsletter", which is a rip off of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but these body snatchers make everyone polite and nice. I can also recommend "Epiphany", which is a very moving piece about the search for the Second Coming.
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Summary: Not Willis' best work, but adequate.
Review: Not Willis' best work, but adequate. This collection of Christmas themed short stories starts off weak ("Miracle", in particular isn't very good), but the last five stories make up for the weak beginning. The best one is "Newsletter", which is a rip off of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but these body snatchers make everyone polite and nice. I can also recommend "Epiphany", which is a very moving piece about the search for the Second Coming.
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Summary: The Spirit of Christmas - with a Sci Fi twist
Review: Set during the Chrsitmas season, these stories illustrate the Christmas values of generosity of spirit, renewal and discovery of faith in characters who are recognizably like us, ground down by everyday problems and cares.The way the characters allow the spirit of Christmas to guide them in the recovery of faith and hope made my eyes fill with tears (a little embarrassing when reading on the subway, as I was). The science fiction genre simply allows for more possibilities in the plot. The stories are all Christmas stories at heart and science fiction in mind.
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Summary: Wonderful very off beat Christmas Stories
Review: These stories start off in the oddest directions, but stay with them. Each one, by the end, has made a thought provoking point.
Your heart will smile but they are impossible to describe. I tried to tell my daughter about the gorilla murder mystery and that it really is a great Christmas story but she didn't believe me. The stories are short so you can pick it up and put it down and not feel guilty about all the seasonal chores you forgot.
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Summary: Wonderful very off beat Christmas Stories
Review: These stories start off in the oddest directions, but stay with them. Each one, by the end, has made a thought provoking point.
Your heart will smile but they are impossible to describe. I tried to tell my daughter about the gorilla murder mystery and that it really is a great Christmas story but she didn't believe me. The stories are short so you can pick it up and put it down and not feel guilty about all the seasonal chores you forgot.
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Summary: Christmas from many points of view!
Review: This book is a little Gem! Find it! It has Christmas stories from many points of view. Even people who are indifferent to Christmas will enjoy reading this and it does offer an uplift to the spirit!
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Summary: Delightful stories, even to a bah-humbug sort like me
Review: Unlike Connie Willis, I *don't* love Christmas. I don't put up Christmas lights, I don't kill a tree, and I don't send out Holiday Letters. Yech. But this collection of short stories made me contemplate becoming a Christmas fan. That's because Willis -- as in her other work -- writes about people with warmth and humor. Even if it's people who encounter a new-age Christmas Present or get trapped in a strange little toy store. She manages to capture what Christmas is *supposed* to be about -- faith, hope, love -- without falling into sappy sentimentality. Forget the Christmas stuff. These are simply enjoyable short stories. You'll fall into another world, 20 pages at a time. And that's what fiction's all about.
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