The Blabbing Bibliophile : A Christmas Carol- A Review/ Reflection

	Hey out there to all my fellow readers! I hope you're getting some much-needed reading crammed in to what I'm sure is a jam-packed holiday schedule! I'm eyeballs deep into a series right now, so I won't be reviewing until I'm done with all of them. However, I decided to embrace the spirit of the impending Christmas season and re-read an old classic. What else could I be talking about besides A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? I'm not sure if what I'm about to say below will serve as a proper review, but as more of a reflection during this cheerful... yet also fearful time in the world. What do you think? There has seemingly been nothing but unrest in the world lately, so yesterday (a slow day at my office) I decided it would be nice to take an afternoon and re-read a piece that focused on the positivity of human spirit and the season of generosity. Reading this story for the first time since I was a kid, there was so much I didn't remember. I must say, out of everything to take away from this tale this go round, everyone should know how profound a character Fred is to the overall message Dickens is trying to convey. Scrooge's nephew is absolutely under-rated and deserves heaps of credit for his spirit towards not only the holiday, but also towards his crabby, old uncle who no one else can bear to be around. There was a sliver of his monologue that really jumped out at me. I think it's one of those emotions that was relevant then and is still relevant today. Fred states, "...I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round- apart from veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it, can be apart from that- as good a time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really we fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys". There is so much going on in society with terrorism, commercialism, an ugly Presidential race (in the US), and general prejudice, bigotry, racism, xenophobia, etc. that I have to wonder... A lot of the world celebrates Christmas as they do Hanukkah, Kwanza, and other festivities this time of year. One is no better than the other, and they're all equally important to each and every one of us. When you sit down to enjoy a holiday movie, time with family, or decide to shut out the world with a timeless story such as this one, pump the brakes a bit before you immerse yourself. Instead of separating each other into our religious, racial, financial, or spiritual denominational boxes, keep the spirit of the holidays in your heart. Show kindness and generosity to those around you. Whether lesser or better, we're all going to wind up in the same place one day side-by-side. I'm really glad I took some time out of my afternoon to focus on the positivity of the lessons Scrooge has learned. It's so easy to get sucked into the negative and think that that's all there is left to the world. Find the good, positive, kind, and generous, and grab on tight! All I can do is keep my fingers crossed that this timeless message and theme trickles into the brains of any others who choose to read this story or snuggle down for the film. Treat every day like it's Christmas and keep that good spirit towards your fellow man all year round! Happy Holidays!! As Tiny Tim so famously states, "God bless us, everyone!" My Final Rating: five out of five stars

Hey out there to all my fellow readers! I hope you're getting some much-needed reading crammed in to what I'm sure is a jam-packed holiday schedule! I'm eyeballs deep into a series right now, so I won't be reviewing until I'm done with all of them. However, I decided to embrace the spirit of the impending Christmas season and re-read an old classic. What else could I be talking about besides A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? I'm not sure if what I'm about to say below will serve as a proper review, but as more of a reflection during this cheerful... yet also fearful time in the world. What do you think?

There has seemingly been nothing but unrest in the world lately, so yesterday (a slow day at my office) I decided it would be nice to take an afternoon and re-read a piece that focused on the positivity of human spirit and the season of generosity.

Reading this story for the first time since I was a kid, there was so much I didn't remember. I must say, out of everything to take away from this tale this go round, everyone should know how profound a character Fred is to the overall message Dickens is trying to convey. Scrooge's nephew is absolutely under-rated and deserves heaps of credit for his spirit towards not only the holiday, but also towards his crabby, old uncle who no one else can bear to be around. There was a sliver of his monologue that really jumped out at me. I think it's one of those emotions that was relevant then and is still relevant today. Fred states,

"...I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round- apart from veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it, can be apart from that- as good a time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really we fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys".

There is so much going on in society with terrorism, commercialism, an ugly Presidential race (in the US), and general prejudice, bigotry, racism, xenophobia, etc. that I have to wonder... A lot of the world celebrates Christmas as they do Hanukkah, Kwanza, and other festivities this time of year. One is no better than the other, and they're all equally important to each and every one of us. When you sit down to enjoy a holiday movie, time with family, or decide to shut out the world with a timeless story such as this one, pump the brakes a bit before you immerse yourself. Instead of separating each other into our religious, racial, financial, or spiritual denominational boxes, keep the spirit of the holidays in your heart. Show kindness and generosity to those around you. Whether lesser or better, we're all going to wind up in the same place one day side-by-side. I'm really glad I took some time out of my afternoon to focus on the positivity of the lessons Scrooge has learned. It's so easy to get sucked into the negative and think that that's all there is left to the world. Find the good, positive, kind, and generous, and grab on tight! All I can do is keep my fingers crossed that this timeless message and theme trickles into the brains of any others who choose to read this story or snuggle down for the film. Treat every day like it's Christmas and keep that good spirit towards your fellow man all year round! Happy Holidays!!

As Tiny Tim so famously states, "God bless us, everyone!"

My Final Rating: five out of five stars