Audiobook22 hours
A Lot Like Christmas
Written by Connie Willis
Narrated by Eliza Foss, L. J. Ganser, Lori Gardner and John Keating
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
Holiday stories and traditions enchantingly reimagined-with an insightfully satirical twist. Featuring five stories new to this collection, plus seven previously published stories, now all collected together for the first time. From the award-winning author of Crosstalk. No one could ask for a better present than a collection of Connie Willis Christmas tales. These are amazing stories, representing all the best of the Connie Willis experience: true Christmas gifts to her many fans. They are full of humor, absurdity, human foibles, tragedy, joy and hope. They both send up and embrace many of the best Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas newsletter, Secret Santas, office parties, holiday pageants, and Christmas dinners (both elaborate and spare). There are ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come; debates over which is the best Christmas movie (Connie argues for the original Miracle on 34th Street, hands down); Rockettes; modern-day Magi; and the triumph of generosity over greed.
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Reviews for A Lot Like Christmas
Rating: 4.07575753030303 out of 5 stars
4/5
66 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A collection of SF-ish Christmas stories - from aliens arrive and react only to carols, to a sudden storm all over the world for a white Christmas, to...All of them are very weird, most of them are excellent. Good read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Connie Willis's Christmas stories are little symphonies of dialogue, disorganization, and conflict with the modern world in which optimism triumphs and romance succeeds. Her sadder writing is often incredibly powerful because she knows how to grab your heart and squeeze, but I prefer her comic work for the same reason. This is a delightful anthology with many original ideas, and the one that sticks with me best is the one about the visiting aliens who disapprove.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5“Miracle”A very funny comparison between “Miracle on 34th Street” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Willis makes very clear which one she prefers in the introduction and in this story), which benefited by my having just watched the former this year and being very familiar with the latter. With a little help from a random spirit who shows up on her doorstep, Lauren finds out that what she really wants for Christmas may be right in front of her.“All About Emily”A twist on the AI story – is Emily really as appealing and non-threatening as she appears? One actress is about to find out. Lots of references to film and Broadway shows that went right over my head, but it was still entertaining.“Inn”A member of the choir has an encounter with apparently time-traveling homeless wanderers.“All Seated on the Ground”Hilarious take on what might happen if aliens came to earth around Christmastime. They look on disapprovingly until they respond to a Christmas carol – but did you know how violent some of them are? Can we communicate without instructing them to start mayhem?“In Coppelius’s Toy Shop”A creepy story in which a self-absorbed man gets exactly what he deserves.“Adaptation”A man working at a bookstore gets his own adaptation of “A Christmas Carol.” Funny and thought-provoking of how the clasic story might look in our own day and age.“deck.halls@boughs/holly”What might our crazy Christmas decorations look like if we allowed people with computer programs to do it all for us? Linny works as one of those folks and decorates your house to your specifications. Because it’s all online, she doesn’t get out much to meet folks, but when a Mrs. Shields hires her she starts seeing an awful lot of the nephew...“Cat’s Paw”Not exactly Christmas-y but a classic mystery story with a Christmas setting. Touffet and his chronicler Bridlings go to a manor house where Lady Charlotte has them meet her intelligent primates, when her father is murdered.“Now Showing”In a future where there are hundreds of movie options and going to the movies is a whole day affair complete with remakes, sequels, shops & restaurants based on movie themes, Lindsay finds that her ex Jack Weaver didn’t really leave her in the lurch but is doing significant work showing that some of the movies simply don’t exist. Hijinks (and possibly true love with a scoundrel) ensue, chockablock full with movie references both Christmas-y and not (of which I actually got several).“Newsletter”In a family where the holiday newsletters are practically a competition, Nan Johnson has nothing to say. But when aliens appear to be taking over family and friends – all of them wearing hats and behaving most unusually nice to each other – she might just have something to share after all.“Epiphany”A reverend goes on a road trip with a gut feeling that the Second Coming is actually here. By turns funny and thought-provoking, challenging you to think about the ways in which the story of a baby in a manger didn’t really fit what anyone was looking for based on prophecy either. Also had my favorite line of the bunch: “He was a Presbyterian, not a Pentecostal. He did not have visions.”“Just Like the Ones We Used to Know”My least favorite of the collection. A snowstorm starts and encompasses all of the U.S. and a lot of places that it really shouldn’t be a white Christmas. Did global warming cause a superstorm? Or is it something else entirely?Verdict: Overall, I really enjoyed this short story collection but as I would only reread some of them, I give it four stars.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5If repetition, poor attempts of sounding geeky, imaginative and funny and all-around boredom is the writer's vision of a well-composed book, then I'm sorry but I was clearly the wrong reader for...this. The way I see it, this doesn't even deserve a full review, sorry:(
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Having never read the original version of this book, I can't comment on how this re-issue is different, but I can say that this collection of Christmas stories has something to appeal to anybody looking for the "Christmas spirit." My favorite parts of this long story collection are actually the beginning and the end. Willis opens with an introduction to Christmas literature and film, explaining her opinions and motivations. We know right away that her stories will be affirming but not shmaltzy, and will include some science fiction; she sets the tone for the following engaging stories. The variety of entries is most satisfying, and the last story about a global snowstorm is timely, thought-provoking, and satisfying. Readers will want to return to this collection every Christmas season, and it give it as a holiday present.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An expanded edition of Miracle and Other Christmas Stories, with four stories that did not appear in that volume, although at least some of them are available elsewhere.A charming collection of Christmas stories in a science fiction and fantasy vein. They have Willis's trademark wit and romantic complications. Standouts include "Newsletter," "All Seated on the Ground," and "deck.halls@boughs/holly."