Tag: Christmas stories

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Christmas Book Reviews

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Christmas Book Reviews

Posted on by Jaymie

I usually do a post in October about the Children’s Literature Festival in my area. But due to Covid concerns, it is not happening this year. Instead, I will be posting full reviews – all day – of some of the Christmas books releasing this fall.

I was fortunate to be granted access to several Christmas ARCs this year – far too many to fit into my Wednesday reviews of books for adults alongside the other ARCs I received. So instead of posting them on Wednesdays, you will get to read them all here today.

If you want to pop in periodically, the new posts will arrive every half hour, starting at 11:30 this morning, through 4pm this afternoon. Of course, you can always just come back after 4:00 and read them all.

Here are the books I’ll be reviewing, in order:

BONUS REVIEW: A Very Scalzi Christmas by John Scalzi

BONUS REVIEW: A Very Scalzi Christmas by John Scalzi

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Subterranean in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

A collection of seasonal essays and short stories from John Scalzi. My favorites include:

  • A hilarious Thanksgiving prayer of gratitude,
  • A hilarious conversation with a bitter month of November, feeling crowded out by December and its festivities,
  • A hilarious interview with Santa’s Reindeer Wrangler, and
  • A hilarious list of script notes on the Birth of Jesus (written to “Matt and Luke”).

This is a short collection – around 15 pieces. They’re mostly quirky and often funny. These four listed above had me cackling aloud. I enjoyed the science fiction references as well as the riffs on the Biblical accounts of Jesus’ birth.

If you are looking for humor in your holiday fare, don’t skip this one! (Although, the $40 price tag seems steep for a print copy of such a small collection. I noticed this week that the print copy is no longer showing as an option. $6 for an e-book version is a much nicer price.)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥