58 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas and hates people until one night time seems to stand still and he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas yet to Come.


I remember watching the original movie many years ago ( I am getting on a bit) and subsequent films, cartoons and parodies, but I have never read the book until now. It is a really good book and just what I needed at this time. I don't mind Christmas but being a bloke I hate shopping at the best of times and Christmas shopping is a bloody nightmare !

But this classic tale is just the thing to get you into the Christmas spirit. Although Charles Dickens wrote this in 1843 it is just as easy to read and to appreciate in 2011. You just can't fault it and it is no surprise that it remains an all time classic.

My only wish is that I had read the actual book instead of listening to the Libribox audio recording. I have read three Libribox audio recordings this year and to be quite honest I found them all pretty annoying. There's something just not quite right when you are listening to a book set in Victorian London and find a couple of characters speaking with an eastern european accent ! Don't get me wrong I think it's great that this voluntary organisation is making audio recordings of old classics but it is a little off putting. Maybe it would have been better if one narrator had actually read the whole thing instead of having different actors for each part.

I wouldn't mind reading all the novels of Dickens in 2012, maybe it is something I can do as part of my next 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.

My rating for ' A Christmas Carol' 8/10
My rating for the audio recording 2/10 !

I do want to read more audio books next year but I think personally I will stay clear from free Librivox audio downloads unless there are some that are not as annoying.