Guest Post by Lovereading – Helping to find your next book.

Any list like this is bound to cause controversy as the criteria for what makes a work of literature good is subjective and based on the reader’s personal taste. These lists are good; however, as in their very nature they draw people’s attention to great works of art and hopefully introduce some new readers to books they weren’t previously aware of.  Here then is a very small and subjective selection of some of the best books ever written.

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles: An incredible and very strange book that was originally rejected by publishers. Informed by Bowles’ own life and experiences of having lived a large part of his life in Morocco, this unusual tale of expats crashing up against a combination of the heat and the bewildering culture of North Africa is written in simple yet beautifully unadorned prose. The final section’s detailed description of Kit’s downfall in the dessert is unbelievably chilling and simply breath-taking.

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller: One of the greatest cult favorites of all time which also happens to be one of the greatest books of all time. A tour de force of writing that makes a novel with no discernible plot into a wild ride that you never want to stop. From the strange incident with one of Ghandi’s followers in a house of ill-repute to the bed bugs that crawl over him as he sleeps on a mattress on the floor of a friend’s apartment, this tale of a man’s penniless but fearless journey through Paris is a testament to all that can be good about life, even when you have nothing.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest by Ken Kesey: The story of the charismatic Randle McMurphy and his attempts to breathe some life into the mental institution. The fact that Randle is not insane but simply faking in order to avoid prison make his ultimate all the more poignant, but it is Kesey’s analogy of life itself as something stifled by an overpowering and unjust system that is the most thought provoking and sad message of the book.

The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde: Written by a man whose own flamboyance and personality seem to obscure the incredibly quality of his work. The Picture of Dorian Grey is often marketed as a gothic-horror-esque novel and this is a reflection the horror, encoded here, that Wilde was forced to live throughout his life due to his sexuality. This is not a book that needs to be read with any reference to its author though as it is simply a brilliant read.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler: Under-appreciated during his lifetime and certainly not the subject of too many revision books, Chandler’s work is now recognized as much more than simply pulp-fiction. The English born crime fiction writer took to the genre to new levels, particularly with his tales involving Philip Marlowe. Despite all of the brilliant shifts in plot and the sheer un-put-down-ability of this book, it is the way in which Chandler exposes the human heart in all its base ugliness that is truly the mark of greatness that characterizes this incredible piece of work.

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During the holidays, you start belting out some of your favorite Christmas songs when they come on the radio. You sing all the lyrics, and you may even perform some of the instrumental parts, but you probably don’t think about the history or story behind these songs.

That’s about to change. Here are some fun facts about a few of your favorite Christmas songs.

All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)

Donald Gardner and his wife had a baby in 1944, and while she was resting, he took over her 2nd grade class. He was asked to write and perform a song for the Christmas program, and to get inspiration, he asked the class what they wanted for Christmas. While they were telling him what they wanted, he noticed that out of the 22 kids, 16 of them were missing their two front teeth. The song was performed and the crowd loved it.

Blue Christmas

Blue Christmas was originally recorded in 1950 by Ernest Tubb. In 1957, Elvis Presley recorded the song, but it didn’t debut as a single until 1964. The first time that Elvis performed the song live occurred in 1968.

Deck the Halls

Deck the Halls is a popular Christmas song used on television for two major reasons: it doesn’t have any religious ties and it is royalty free.

Dominick the Donkey

Dominick the Donkey was written and performed back in 1960. While it gained popularity in Italy and America, it didn’t gain much visibility in the UK. Chris Moyles, a DJ in the UK, started playing the song more regularly and told his listeners that they could download it on both Amazon and iTunes. Because of this, Dominick the Donkey made it to the charts in the UK for the first time in 2011, 51 years after its debut.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Gene Autry was in the annual Hollywood Boulevard Christmas Parade and was on a horse and carriage a few floats ahead of Santa. During the parade, Autry noticed that none of the children seemed to care about any of the upcoming floats except for Santa and noticed that they were yelling, “Here comes Santa Claus”. The song was written shortly thereafter.

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

This song was first recorded by Jimmy Boyd. He was only 13 years old at the time.

Jingle Bell Rock

Jingle Bell Rock was first recorded by Bobby Helms and is considered the first “rock and roll” Christmas song ever made.

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

This song was first recorded by Brenda Lee when she was 13 years old. The song was recorded in July, so the producer put the air conditioning on blast and even bought and decorated a Christmas tree to put Brenda in the holiday spirit.

You’re a Mean One (Mr. Grinch)

This song was written by Dr. Seuss but was recorded by Thurl Ravenscroft, who was also the voice of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger. The song appears three times in the movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Clara Christen is selecting her top 5 Christmas songbooks for guitar. Join her in her quest by visiting Guitar Place.

It’s that time of year again. Here in Utah, we’re getting hit with sporadic snowstorms. Christmas lights are shining around the neighborhood and my family is consuming hot chocolate frequently to “warm up”. There are many traditions people have for Christmas. One popular thing is to sit down as a family and watch Christmas-themed movies.

I have a big list of movies that I like to see around this time of year, but in the interest of time (mine as well as yours), I’m keeping this to a top ten. So, my personal favorite list of Christmas movies:

1:White Christmas. I’ve watched this movie every year since I can remember. Danny Kaye remains hilarious and the musical numbers are still entertaining. Who could ever forget Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby impersonating the Haines sisters with their Sisters song. Even Bing couldn’t help but laugh during that one!

2:Scrooged. Bill Murray playing a Scrooge-like character is awesome. Yes, the movie screams 80’s, but I still love to see it every year. It’s a fun twist on a classic tale.

3:Miracle on 34th Street. I grew up on the original, but love the remake as well. I try to watch both versions each year. This movie has reaffirmed the existence of Santa to my five year old. My nephew tried to convince my son that Santa wasn’t real, and my boy kept telling him to watch this movie. “It proves Santa is real!”

4:A Christmas Story. What is it about this movie? I mean, it really doesn’t have much of a plot, but I love it! I love the character dynamics and the cheesy lines. “Frag-il-e. It must be Italian!” “Honey, I think it says fragile.” (Come on, you know the part I’m talking about!)

5:National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. What can I say? I like the comedies. Again, this is a movie I grew up on. It brings nostalgia to me as well as laughter.

6:Muppet’s Christmas Carol. I like classical movies as much as anyone else. But do we really need to see another version of a Christmas Carol after watching this one? It’s great! And I was able to introduce this story to my kids at a young age because of this movie.

7:Elf. I think this is one that my kids will watch every year until they die. It’s silly, fun, and has a good moral.

8:It’s a Wonderful Life. Were you waiting for me to mention this one? I know I would be cast into the deepest pits in hell if I didn’t. This movie is not only popular, it’s become a Christmas icon. Enough said.

9:The Bishop’s Wife. Again, a movie I’ve watched since I was a toddler. It’s more serious, but still entertaining. I do like the remake version as well, but tend to watch this original version more often.

10:How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Another classic that is fun for the whole family. Note: I also liked The Grinch, but it didn’t make the top ten list. The original animated version is what I enjoy more.

Honorable mention: Arthur Christmas. Obviously, I haven’t watched this every year since it recently came out, but we’re definitely planning to add it to our list. I thought it was witty and engaging, and my children loved it. Maybe Santa will give it to us for Christmas this year. 😉

So what do you think of my list? Have I missed one that you think should be on here? If so, what movie would it replace? What order would you put it in? I’d love to hear what movies are dear to your heart during Christmas.

It can be really difficult to come up with innovative ideas for gifts year after year and more often than not it’s a last minute dash round the shops to buy some toiletries set or taking the easy option of buying gift vouchers. The old saying goes that it is the thought that counts, and if you put in a little thought to a gift it will be appreciated much more. Theming gifts around someone’s favorite book will be a guaranteed hit, and you don’t have to be terribly creative either.

Narnia

For Christmas, a Narnia gift is perfect. The land through the back of the wardrobe is chilly and frosty on a permanent basis, and the series of novels have been popular for decades with both children and adults alike. Make up a traditional hamper basket with items associated with the books such as a hat, glove and scarf set, some Turkish delight, a model lion, a copy of the book or a voucher for a digital downloaded copy and a DVD of the film series.

Harry Potter

Everyone loves the stories about Harry and his battle against the evil Lord Voldemort and the books were instant best sellers when released. The perfect gift for a Potter fan is the “Weasley sweater” which Molly Weasley knits for Harry and Ron as a Christmas gift in the first book. Patterns are available to download online, so get out your King Cole DK yarn and needles and get ready for Christmas. Or you can make it easy on yourself and find a turtleneck sweater. If a jumper seems too much of a challenge, make a Gryffindor scarf in stripes of claret and gold King Cole DK yarn and bundle it up with some jelly beans, DVDs of the movies, a pair of toy glasses and a magic wand.

Twilight

The Twilight series of books and movies has been incredibly popular with the teenage market so if you have an awkward to buy for teenager this could be the perfect choice. Cover a plain cardboard box with black paper and fill it with everything and anything vampire related such as a copy of Dracula, DVD of the Twilight movie, some black nail polish or temporary tattoos, black or lacy clothing and anything else which has a gothic feel to it. The vampire theme is so popular for gifts at the moment that a few minutes on the internet will throw up thousands of possibilities.

James Bond

The movie franchise has a higher profile than the original novels, but James Bond gifts are a great idea for Dads, uncles or brothers. Buy ingredients to make the classic vodka martini, and put them in a smart case alongside a pair of classic cufflinks, a book about code breaking or a spy novel, vouchers for a meal at a posh restaurant or a phrase book for some obscure foreign language. If your budget doesn’t run to a full sized Aston Martin or Jaguar, buy a toy model similar to the ones driven by Bond in the movies and put that in the box too.

Citations:

• Photograph of Harry Potter Scarves by Aine D Via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Guest article by blogger M Peers.  Peers is a massive Harry Potter Fan which gave her the inspiration for this article, after she decided to knit a Gryffindor scarf as a present using King Cole dk yarn from Yarnfest’s online store.

Image by: Dynamosquito

Humans are great at scaring themselves. There are examples everywhere; from the Y2K bug to superstitious refusals to walk under ladders.

It seems like the common thread that runs through some of the scariest things we have conjured out of our collective consciousness is the idea of a lack of control, over both our environment and the situation we happen to be placed in at that time.

Nothing embodies this sense of gut wrenching powerlessness and vulnerability quite like a big supernatural monster that is trying to kill you.

But apart from the lack of control, there must be some other reasons why we get so terrified of things that we know are not real, right? Well, let’s have a look at some of the more famous scary beasts out there to try and find out.

 

The Minotaur

The story of this man with the head of a bull is more tragic then terrifying really, but this mythical character must surely have endured throughout thousands of years for some reason.

Minotaur’s mum was cursed by Poseidon into having sexual passions towards a giant white bull on the island of Minos. Despite all of her advances the bull remained steadfastly uninterested, so her husband (being an understanding kind of guy) built her a hollow bull that she could climb inside of. Needless to say, the bull liked it and the result was little Minotaur.

The man-eating Minotaur is scary today because it embodies the idea of mindless brute strength, and as such forms an archetypal monster model that is still used to great effect today.

 

Pennywise the Clown

From the mind of Stephen King, this monstrous creation almost completely ruined my childhood. Pennywise is an alien who eats people but thinks they taste best when they are full of fear. Therefore it can take the form of whatever its victims fear the most.

However, when this beast is trying to snare children who might not know they should be scared, it takes the form of a particularly grotesque clown in order to lure them closer to it.

As well as being a terrifying embodiment of the “child snatcher” archetype like Freddy Kruger, Pennywise also reveals something else about what we find scary: a completely self interested desire to get what you want with little or no regard for anyone else.

 

Creepy Children

From Japanese horrors such as ‘The Ring’ to ‘The Exorcist’, children have been used to unnerve the hell out of us in cinemas around the world.

In our culture, children are obviously meant to imply dependence and innocence, so the idea of a child knowing more about a situation then you do and be actively using that knowledge to try and harm you is a really freaky idea.

Imagine that you came home one day and your five year old child had mastered the art of video conferencing in order to plan your birthday. Even though this is essentially a happy thought, it is still a little unnerving though right?

Also, sinister things sound a lot more sinister if heard coming from the mouth of a ghostly pale child that you have just witnessed crawling out of your TV.

I know there are lots more monsters out there that I haven’t mentioned, but I could spend all day doing this and I have other things that need to be done.

So it’s over to you. What monsters instil you with fear and can you think of any more mundane explanations for the shivers they cause in your spine?

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James Duvalis an IT specialist who still occasionally thinks that Pennywise may be lurking around the corner somewhere. When not writing blogs for companies such as Intercall, James likes to ride the countryside on his motorbike and pretend he is out-running some hideous space beast.