North York Central Library Blog

And so it begins. Ceaseless Christmas music in the stores. Aggressively cheerful sales people circle displays like piranhas. On my first Christmas shopping expedition this year, three different sales people in the same store tried to sell me the store card for ten bucks. Me: no…no…NO! The last sales pitch was so irritatingly relentless yet perky that Ebenezer Scrooge, that famous Christmas hater, took possession of me momentarily, and I said I had absolutely no use for the card, hated shopping, and hated malls. I’m surprised the old “bah humbug!” didn’t shoot from my lips. The young sales person looked like a little Christmas elf after being told that her grandma got run over by a reindeer and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sorry little retail elf. I don’t mean to be a Christmas buzz kill. I really do love Christmas, and would never say, as Ebenezer Scrooge did, “Every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding.” Shopping brings out the worst in me. I look at all the stuff in the stores and see future garbage, lying in a landfill somewhere (Bah Humbug!) I can relate to Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardy. When Dumbledore looked in the mirror of Erised, which shows the most desperate desire of a person’s heart, he saw himself with a pair of warm, cozy socks. I'd see the same thing in that magic mirror –  I share Dumbledore's love of comfy socks. But I’d also see lots and lots of stories. Enough stories to last a lifetime. 

At this time of year I fancy Christmas stories, "in keeping with the situation" (to borrow the words of Scrooge's housekeeper, Mrs. Dilber.) I'm looking forward to the seasonal treat I requested a few days ago, now waiting for me at my library: Christmas at the New Yorker: stories, poems, humor, and art, which has work by John Updike, Garrison Keillor, E. B. White, and more, plus lots of New Yorker covers and cartoons. And here's a present for fans of the illustrious magazine: you can download issues of The New Yorker on the library website, using Zinio. Not just the current issue — you can get yourself a virtual stack of issues to keep you content through the holidays.

One of the most unforgettable Christmas tales is O. Henry's The gift of the magi, which tells the story of a poor young couple who are desperate to get each other the perfect gift, despite their meager funds. You can find this short story in Christmas classics from the modern library. There are also eBook and eAudio book versions of the story:

eBook — available via Hoopla	eBook — available via Hoopla	eAudio book — available via Hoopla

Cold winter nights put me in the mood for listening to stories by the lit Christmas tree. There's so much to choose from! As a radio junkie, I was happy to discover Christmas comedy recordings from National Public Radio, which you can get via Hoopla on the library website.

I’ve watched the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol dozens of times. I’ve yet to see a better Ebenezer Scrooge than actor Alistair Sim’s. But, (and this is a little embarrassing for a librarian to admit) I have never read the book by Charles Dickens. This year I’ll turn the lights out, and listen to this tale of ghostly visitation and redemption by the light of the Christmas tree. But which version should I choose? The one narrated by Martin Jarvis, the award winning British voice actor? “Jarvis simply dazzles” according to the Publishers Weekly review. Tempting, but I feel a strong pull towards the one narrated by kooky comic Jonathan Winters, which is a National Public Radio favourite. His is a “distinctive and charming” reading, according to the blurb.

Audiobook CD	eAudiobook available via Hoopla

For me, it wouldn’t feel like Christmas without A Child’s Christmas in Wales, a short, lyrical prose work by poet Dylan Thomas. One reason I’m a radio junkie is that I love the nuances of voice and speech – tone, warmth, accent and personal idiosyncrasy. What a treat it is to listen to A child’s Christmas in Wales read by the author. You can find this wonderful recording in Naxos Music Library. Use your library card to log on, and access the wealth of content there. If you'd rather read the story, consider the edition with illustrations by award winning artist Edward Ardizzone. Torontonians might enjoy Canadian mystery writer Howard Engel's comical parody of the Dylan Thomas classic. A child’s Christmas in Scarborough, tells of “uncles, aunts and cousins stuffed into an overcrowded living room, draining the punch bowl and scavenging for presents.”

Another audio gem is the Canadian Christmas comedy classic Dave cooks the turkey by Stuart McLean, host of CBC radio’s The Vinyl Café. Go ahead and read it if you insist – the library has the slim 22 page book. Weird that a librarian would try to dissuade you from reading anything at all, but in this case, I strongly urge you to listen to the audio version, rather than read the book. McLean’s characteristic folksy delivery and perfect comic timing adds so much. You'll find the audio version on the CD Stuart McLean at the Vinyl Cafe the Christmas concert.

If you like less nostalgia and more edge to your Christmas reading, consider these books:

It wouldn't be Christmas without music. I stayed up far too late one night recently, searching for Christmas music "best of" lists online (secular, not sacred.)  Here are some of the titles that came up:

• Christmas with Johnny Cash — CD
• A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra — CD, Hoopla
• An Oscar Peterson Christmas — CD
• Ella wishes you a swinging Christmas, Ella Fitzgerald. — CD, Hoopla
• Soul Christmas — CD, Hoopla
• Christmas Collection, The Carpenters. A "schmaltz blizzard of vaguely terrifying good cheer" according to Rolling Stone. CD, Hoopla
• What a wonderful Christmas, Louis Armstrong and friends. Includes the comically sinister 'Zat you, Santa Claus'. CD, Hoopla
• A Motown Christmas. Includes Michael Jackson singing "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus" before his voice changed. Fantastic! Hoopla
• James Brown's funky Christmas — Hoopla
• A Christmas gift for you from Phil Spector — CD
• Merry Christmas. Mariah Carey — CD

If some Scrooge let me listen to only one Christmas music collection this year, it would be the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack to the 1965 animated television special A Charlie Brown Christmas. (It came up on many "best of" lists during my late night search.) It's available on Hoopla, or you can reserve the CD. Want to hear it right this second? Go to Naxos Music Library (Jazz). Merry Christmas, in keeping with the situation!         Related blog posts:

A child's Christmas in Wales. Get into the holiday spirit with Hoopla music and movies. I want a goat for Christmas.