Bah! Humbug! Ebenezer Scrooge is a bitter old man, working day after day in his office, mistreating everyone around him, caring only about making riches and little else. Christmas Eve is no exception, as he dismisses it as utter humbug. But that might change when a fatidic night, he is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future; and shown the error in his ways. I must admit I found this a very complicated reading, to the point I dragged this book for more than a month when it...

What is the best way to celebrate Christmas? There are many ways we can answer the above question.. But my first answer always will be - To reread A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. My favorite three lines from this book. "No space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused" "It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter a...

‘I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.’Perhaps the ultimate Christmas story, Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol has captivated hearts and minds each holiday season since it’s release in 1843. And what says Christmas quite like using the fear of death to sway a wicked, rich man into opening his eyes to the need for c...

How many of you know an Ebenezer Scrooge? How many of you are Ebenezer Scrooge?Written in 1843, A Christmas Carol is a novella that has stood the test of time.This year, we didn’t put up a Christmas tree, and I haven’t been feeling the “Christmas spirit.” But this book squarely right sided the situation. A Christmas Carol hits on some important societal issues, and it has iconic, unforgettable characters. It also has some laugh-out-loud moments. Here is one of my favorite quotes:“What shall I pu...

“Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire, secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, ...

No Christmas would be complete without a Dickens novel, so out comes my treasured (albeit dog eared) copy of “A Christmas Carol” once again! What amazes me is the fact that no matter how many times I’ve read it, it’s still a must read for me, or it’s really not Christmas!

One of my favourite books of all time. It's a beautiful reminder of the spirit of Christmas, what the holiday represents and how we can be more kind and mindful of our actions.

Update on December 24, 2020: I listened to this on audio this time around; something a bit different for me. I enjoyed the narration quite a lot, but there's nothing that beats reading Dickens in print. This story never fails to cheer, inspire, and give me pause to reflect on those things that I hold most dear in my life. Here's to a 2021 that will hopefully shine much brighter than 2020!Original review (2016):When I think of Christmas and all those things that make Christmas so special, A Chris...

I read this every year at Christmas, and I always will do. Simply because of the atmosphere it evokes. This story is Christmas as far as I’m concerned. It wouldn’t be the same without it. It is perfectly festive and is also appropriately didactic. It is an allegory for what happens to those that are unnecessarily bitter and twisted, refusing to take part in a joyful occasion. It is a glimpse at what could happen to someone who rejects their family upon trivial grounds, and let’s themselves be se...

It has been a decade since I last read this classic, so I decided to look at it again, taking note of what I have forgotten or imperfectly remembered and also garnering any new insights my older (and I hope wiser) self could now find within it.But first, I decided to do a little research, and discovered the great irony underlying the book’s creation: how this tale that warns against miserliness was born because of Dickens' acute need for money, and how its publication resulted in a dispute about...