Sunday, November 11, 2012

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS FICTION


FAVORITE CHRISTMAS FICTION
Compiled by Therese Stenzel

Top Book Recommendations
The Christkindls Gift by Kathleen Morgan
Forever Christmas by Chris Lynxwiler
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens  

Authors Most Mentioned
Angels Everywhere by Debbie Macomber
The Trouble With Angels by Debbie Macomber
Those Christmas Angels by Debbie Macomber
Where Angels Go by Debbie Macomber
Gideon's Gift by Karen Kingsbury
Maggie's Miracle by Karen Kingsbury
Sarah's Song by Karen Kingsbury
Hannah’s Hope by Karen Kingsbury
The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado
The Christmas Child by Max Lucado 

Christmas Novellas 4 1/2 stars and up
A Bride by Christmas
Montana Mistletoe
Prairie Christmas
Victorian Christmas Quilt  

General Fiction 4 1/2 stars and up
A Carol for Christmas by Robin Lee Hatcher
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd
A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
A Texas Christmas Legacy by DiAnn Mills
A Wish For Wings That Work by Berkeley Breathed
Boo Humbug by Rene Gutteridge
Home Another Way by Christa Parrish
Miracle On 34th Street by Valentine Davies
Old Christmas by Washington Irving
One Perfect Gift by Kathleen Morgan
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
The Angel Doll by Jerry Bledsoe
The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere
The Shepherd, The Angel, and Walter The Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry
Two from Galilee by Marjorie Holmes

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

ANGLOPHILE MUSINGS


BRITISH POEM
When I come home
Dear folk o’ mine
We’ll drink a cup
Of olden wine;
And yet however
Rich it be
No wine will taste so go to me
As English air
-Leslie Coulson

 
BRITISH BOOK-Fiction
HEARTS IN THE HIGHLANDS by Ruth Axtell Morren is a delightful read. Set in England and Scotland, the story weaves in an interesting backdrop of archeology and society in the late Victorian era. The romance is refreshingly written in a slow tantalizing manner that will keep you avidly reading to the very end. Warning—don’t start this book late at night, otherwise you might never sleep!

BRITISH BOOK-Non-Fiction
MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ENGLAND by Susan Allen Toth is a must read for any self-respecting Anglophile. This true story chronicles a woman’s passion for all things English. Not just another travel memoir, Ms. Toth brings England vividly to life in description and settings but also in that singular passion that all British lovers understand. Come stand in the rain soaked streets of London, walk the paths of the Lake District, and take a trip to the seaside village of Exmoor and fall in love all over again.


BRITISH MOVIE
Elizabeth Gaskell’s WIVES AND DAUGHTERS is a deliciously engaging costume drama in the tradition of Jane Austen. Set in a richly portrayed society, well stocked with eccentric nobles and marriage minded mothers, the story centers around 17 year sold Molly Gibson, the only daughter of a respected country doctor. The well-ordered world of her childhood is complicated by her father’s decision to remarry. Molly’s faltering efforts to cope with an impossible stepmother, a charming stepsister, and a promising romance makes for an absorbing movie.