Christmas Books vs Christmas Films

Meandering past the book aisle in the supermarket my attention was drawn by the array of festive themed covers of 'chick lit' books. I've never really noticed a huge amount of Christmas themed books launched around this time before despite the fact that the movie business seems to rake it in, but this year there are masses of them. Seriously, in the average small supermarket section about 60% of the books are these romantic comedy style books. Much more than the ubiquitous celebrity autobiographies that you normally see at this time of year.

The reviews promised 'bubbly', 'sparkling' writing with 'unputdownable' (I kid you not, that was on the cover of one of the books). They were all adorned with cartoonish drawings of attractive young women with Christmas trees or typical Christmas scenes like snow-covered villages and masses of presents. I couldn't get hold of a Christmas-themed Mills and Boon, which is a pity, but I picked up what I thought was a cross-section of the rest to test them out and see if I'm better off picking up a book than turning into True Christmas Movie Channel 24+1.

The first book I read was the most promising - Miracle on Regent Street by Ali Harris. The story of an underdog storeroom girl who is unloved by all and decides it's up to her to transform the fortunes of the ailing department store which is similarly unloved in the lead up to Christmas. Guess what? Along the way she finds love and friendship, and realises that Christmas really is magic after all. It was easily-readable, and the writing moved the plot along without jarring, but it was a predictable affair with little of the charm I'd hoped for. The sort of thing I'd read on a beach, but I wouldn't want to read about Christmas on a beach.

Film comparison: like those Christmas films that are made for tv with someone like Robson Green in it. Alright, but it's not exactly Muppets' Christmas Carol is it?

The second book I read was Something From Tiffanys by Melissa Hill. A whole book based around the premise that Tiffanys jewellery store is magic. I've been there, it's beautiful, but it's not enough for a book. The plot is even weaker than the premise, but the writing holds a few twists and turns to keep you reading long past the point you're fed up of the characters muttering the words 'that famous blue box'.

Film comparison: a TV advert; but a good one. Like that John Lewis advert where you're aware they're manipulating your heartstrings, but you still go 'aww' when he rushes past his presents to get his mum something.

The third book was Comfort and Joy by India Knight. I didn't realise this was a sequel until after I read it, which annoys me because now if I want to read other things by the same author the first book is ruined. It didn't say it anywhere on the book. Bad publisher. Otherwise, it was...an odd book. More about the relationships between the family than any actual plot, it focused on the Christmas period over a number of years and glossed over the remaining months (including a marriage breakdown being reduced to a sentence with no explanation). It all seemed very bitty, and the culmination of the story taking place abroad meant it even lost the little Christmas cheer it had (I want Christmas to be snowy and reference mulled wine or eggnog. Always.) I've never read anything by India Knight, but it seemed to be of the more 'ooh I'm a firecracker, look I'm using swearwords and talking about sex for no reason' end of chick-lit. Again, not massively what I want at Christmas.

Film comparison: The Christmas day special of a soap. Like Eastenders, where someone will die and a family will get blown apart, but hey we put some fairy light on the Queen Vic! Not really Christmassy at all.

The last book I read was Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley. This one promised the most 'traditional' Christmas offering - the cover had a small village covered in snow and it had chocolate in the title. The book itself seemed very confused, and read like those stories in People's Friend where the characters seemed very confused about what era they actually live in (they reference the internet, but otherwise I would've said this was a reprint from the 50s. There was also some sort of narrative about religion in there that just made it even more muddled, and the main character was the most unlikeable person I've read in a long time.

Film comparison: Like a true life movie, but a really naff one. The ones that don't even have a child star that's now grown up in them.

So if I had to choose between books and movies this Christmas based on this cross-section of offerings? I'd choose movies. Then I'd make a big pot of eggnog and break open the celebrity autobiography I've got used to on Christmas day.

What are your favourite Christmas books? Is there hope out there? Let us know in the comments.

Don't forget we're reading a good Christmas book, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, throughout the rest of the month. Check out more details here and feel free to join us for a Christmas drink on 2nd December

* * * * *

Christmas - Table of Contents

Point Horrorween

Coming up to Halloween this year, I was feeling a bit uninspired by the season. There's been a real lack of good horror films this year, and I longed for the days when a Point Horror book could leave me so scared I'd sneak downstairs to hide it under the dog's bed so it wouldn't be in my room while I slept. With this in mind, I revisited the stack of Point Horrors gathering dust on my bookshelf, knowing although they wouldn't be as scary as when I was 12, at least I'd enjoy reading them; and so the Point Horrorween challenge was born - to read as many as I could around Halloween.

At around 150 pages each (and with big writing, hurrah for big writing!), they don't take long to read, and they're written in a style to keep the plot moving and keep low-tolerance teenagers engrossed, so you whizz through them.

I started with Dream Date by Sinclair Smith, which is probably the worst book in the series to begin with. I always preferred the 'ooh the cheerleader's running amok with an axe' to the 'ooh it's a ghost' books, and Dream Date is firmly in the paranormal camp. That also means that it lacks the 'ridiculous plot-twist' element that, like all bad horror movies, makes Point Horror so compelling. Another bonus point for them being so quick to get through is that when they're a bit rubbish, you can quickly swap out for another book.

Slightly miffed by my poor start, I opted for the legendary The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick. This is a book that if you've read any Point Horror, you've probably read. It's up there along with The Babysitter (which unfortunately I didn't have to hand during the challenge). I don't want to give anything away, but The Lifeguard has it all - the ridiculous plot-twist, the staggeringly overblown descriptions of eighties fashion, then ending of every chapter on a massive cliffhanger and the paragraphs and paragraphs of slightly bimboish girls lamenting that someone doesn't realise that they're lusting after him.

The more I read of the Point Horrors (and I managed 19 before my attention got drawn to a new book rather than rereading them), the more I like them. They are like watching bad films - you enjoy them because you can mock them, and even though they're rubbish, they do draw you in. I found myself staying up to finish Halloween Night by the Point Horror master, RL Stine (even though it was one of his weaker efforts), and at one point, I did have to go and put Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersley Cusick under the dog's bed because I was in the house alone and someone in the book kept breaking in. There's also a lot to laugh at, like in Dream Date where the main character laments, over about three pages, that she can't wear her hair down for school because she's 'not a femme fatale'. Seriously, this is the level of writing in these books, they contain such crazy details - in Krazy 4 U By A Bates around 40% of the book is dedicated to describing the healthy food the main character eats, and actually contains multivitamins as a plot point.

Having found a further bagful of Point Horrors, I think I've got around another 20 to read, plus I've a stack of Chris Pike books which are pretty much the same but not Point Horror branded, so I think another Point Horrorthon is in order soon. If you'd like to join in, let us know and we'll feature a follow-up on the blog!

Exciting News!!!!

LeedsBookClub are delighted to announce that we are being joined by the rather fabulous fellow book addict - 

Booky O'Hare 

- henceforth to be abbreviated to BH!

With a special interest in young adult fiction, all things fright-inducing and a scary obsession with the Labyrinth (SOUL SISTER!!!); we can't wait for her to get stuck in and start blogging!!

Best of luck Booky! 

And welcome to the LBC family!!