Christmas fever redux...

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For some reason I just seem to have had a rekindling of my Christmas spirit...

Surely it could not have been finding this pic that perked up my mistletoe..?!?

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...please scroll down . . .hey, it is a cheap ploy to build some suspense...

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Picture is from the website of the Bakken Amusement Park in Klampenborg, Denmark.

Apparently each July, for forty-some years now, they have a gathering of Fathers Christmas & Christmas Elves ...to celebrate the off-season I guess. See this webpage for more information in English. Or the Danish website here, with a direct link to the Christmas pages found here.


Almost enough to make me believe in the big guy again...



...tom...
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Ink, Paper, Holiday gift ideas...

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One of the earliest Christmas presents I remember receiving as a child was a set of Hardy Boys mystery books. One in particular, about a lost gold mine, really caught my imagination. I have never been able to pin that early memory down to one specific book but the imagined world of the Hardy boys swallowed me up. Frank and Joe were my BFF.


From that gift, and probably others before it and many since, has grown a love of books, their words, and their images, both on the page and in the mind. That so many writers are able to create and 'bring alive' both fiction and reality is a wonder to me.

It is no coincidence that decades later I found myself writing a silly review of another book--a tale I had loved forever--and posting it as my first review ... on Epinions.

Since that pitiful start years ago I have kept the focus of my 'Epinions time' on writing book reviews and reading the reviews of others.

In that time I have found myself reading so many wonderful reviews of books that I just knew I had to read . . .but sadly, most remain unread.

Regardless, these reviews were gifts to me. As a pointer to this book or that one, as a brief moment enjoying the thoughts of another Epinions member about a favorite or not-so-favorite book. Any 'book lover' loves to hear the thoughts of others about their favorite books ...and books they have never heard of before. Those shared thoughts are true gifts any day of the year. Those are gifts I find every day here on Epinions for all to enjoy.

Image courtesy of jurvetson at flickr.com

In that spirit I will share some links to reviews of books that I have loved discovering and reading here. These are links to reviews and 'bottom lines' from some of the most helpful book reviews I have found on this site. I guarantee that if you click on one or ten you will find a gift suitable for some member of your extended 'gift-giving tree'.

Who would not love a charming book for Christmas..??




Always a mix of sweetness and sorrow
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
review by befus

The Bottom Line: A wonderful book to read and to savor, and to enjoy with a young person you love.



Tori Amos Inspired This Female Empowerment Poetry...Written by a Man
Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman
review by smiles33

The Bottom Line: Beautifully illustrated, this poem celebrates young girls becoming strong and independent women. It would be a unique gift for pregnant moms and likely to captivate older girls.



Letters of Love to Christopher Reeve ~ Care Packages
... by Dana Reeve
review by Jev04again

The Bottom Line: This book has it all – touching moments, humor, surprise, spirit, and above all else – abiding love.


--snip--

Make sure to read the rest of my book gift idea essay:

Paper, ink . . .and the journey of a lifetime..!!

. . .at Epinions dot com

--snip--



The Bottom Line
So there ya go. A 'baker's dozen' of the fifty-some book reviews that I have rated 'Most Helpful' here on Epinions.

Click one, click 'em all ...and read. If none of them inspires you to click a shopping link to consider the possibility of gifting one of your loved ones . . .then I have failed my task here miserably. My task in this essay and my task on Epinions for the last 9-plus years.

But not to worry ...I guarantee you will find at least one to be just the right book for someone on your gift list . . .or even for yourself.


Enjoy.

Comfort and Joy

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Lifetime cable network is currently in the midst of their 'Falalala Lifetime movie marathon' for the holiday season. If you need your first light dose(s) of holiday schmaltz/cheer ...flip the channel over to Lifetime. (Can I use 'schmaltz' to describe a Christmas-time movie..?? Is that kosher..??)

Jane (Nancy McKeon) is a yuppie career businesswoman, too busy enjoying the perks of her VP position for a family life. And her boyfriend ...what a jerk. Flirting with other women right in front of her, taking business calls on his Bluetooth, refusing to turn it off for her while they dine out. I know he is screwing around behind her back. Scumbucket.

On Christmas Eve she slides her car on a snowy street and crashes. Coming to, she finds her husband(!!) opening the door and helping her out of the car. She has crashed right in front of their house. Well, his house. No ...their house.

Husband, house, two kids . . .everything but a dog..!! What is this strange world she now lives in..??



It is movie time with sleeper..!!

Image courtesy of eye of einstein at flickr.com.net

Of course, she immediately tries to touch bases with the people in her 'old' life. Her secretary at work knows her ...but not in the same situation she remembers. Her boss at work has no idea who she is, certainly not as one of his VPs. Someone else is living in her apartment.

Luckily her parents still remember her. Veteran character actor Paul Dooley and TV-veteran Dixie Carter (best remembered as Julia Sugarbaker / Designing Women) are delightful in limited roles. Though they do little to help Jane adjust to her new life.


Will Jane ever accept what has somehow happened..?? Will she ever recapture the ten years she has apparently lost..?? Will her husband Sam (Steven Eckholdt) worm his way back into her heart..?? Will her kids find the Mom they know and love inside this now-amnesiac mom..??

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Read the rest of my review of Comfort and Joy at my review page on Epinions.com.



...tom...
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