The movie is better than the book. I'm not sure if the book would have been worth the read without having the visualization of the movie.

I didn't totally finish it because Christmas snuck up on me before I was done, but it reads just like the narration of the movie, and that is wonderful. It's so funny. And told in separate shorts rather than novel form. So it's not the entire story you know from the movie, but great high points.

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I read this sometime ago. The movie is not much like the book though I like both very much.
We learn a lot more about the author's childhood including a hilarious account of a drum major who was not paying attention when his baton went up ever so high and shorted out high power lines. Brilliant was the explosion!

Consistently funny, heartwarming and unique in its tone.

The essays used as the basis for A CHRISTMAS STORY, as howlingly funny as anything in the film. A great little Christmas read, for fans of the film or simply for fans of great comic writing.

Reread, 2014: 6yo daughter has watched the movie every day since Thanksgiving, so I busted out the book in a day. Every year I think, I need to get his other books!

Reread 2016: A quick and always delightful reread!

A humorous collection of autobiographical short stories based on Jean Shepherd’s life, from the fictional perspective of Ralph Parker. It is told through vignettes of various events during Ralphie’s childhood, from the perspective of his older self thinking back to the time. Through Ralphie’s stories, Jean shows the magic of Christmas (along with some other times) from the viewpoint of a child.

They are not told in sequential order as you would think going into to this from the movie. That didn’t bother me in the slightest but it may for those who do not know. It makes sense in the case of this book because it is meant to be memories that the older Ralphie is reminiscing about. This made me nostalgic, especially for Christmas past. It had me laughing but also made me miss my own dad.

ASSIGNMENT: I think Ralphie, as the delightful idiot that he is, is kind of like me when I was small. Whenever I wanted something that I know that my parents wouldn't buy me, I try to scheme my way into them buying the thing for me. One time, I wanted a nerf gun. Except I didn't directly ask my mom, I tried to use different methods that doesn't include directly telling her. In the end, I just directly asked, and surprise surprise, she got me one. This is similar to Ralphie in "A Christmas Story", since Ralphie wanted a BB gun, but his mother told him that he would shoot his eye out. So Ralphie decided to formulate a plan that he thought would get him the BB gun. But in the end, nothing really worked out, and it was all pretty much a waste of time, since his dad had already got one for him. Now I am way more straightforward, because I learned from past experience. I hope that Ralphie would learn this too.

This was a fun read, some of the stories are slightly different than the movie, and honestly I think the movie is more enjoyable just because it is so fast passed and keeps things going. Though I am interested in reading more of Shepherd's work,

This is a compilation of four short stories by Jean Shepherd that made up the majority of the movie "A Christmas Story", though not all stories take place near Christmas (the movie changed the timing). The stories cover the Red Rider BB gun, Lil Orphan Annie Decoder Pin, Bullies, and the Bumpasses. It's a very funny collection of stories told in flashback of a young boy in Northern Indiana during the Depression. Fans of the movie should like this book.

For many people, Christmas isn't Christmas unless you sit down to watch the "A Christmas Story" on TBS on Christmas Eve. We all know the classic lines: "You'll shoot your eye out, kid." "Oh, fuuuddgge!" "He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny!" "I triple-DOG dare ya!" You might be surprised that only one of these phrases actually came from this book.

The book, like the movie, is the quintessential look at life in Depression-era Upper Midwest America. Back before the internet invaded our lives, back before satellite/cable TV, heck, even before black-and-white-rabbit-ears TV, the primary means of entertainment was radio, which people listened to every evening: Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger, and Red Ryder. I don't have to explain the overwhelming desire that Ralphy has for the Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle, all because of this radio show.

It might surprise many that the book has little in common with the Christmas movie. The book moves through five interrelated stories, starting with the BB gun story, and progressing through the months after Christmas, ending with the Bumpus Hounds stealing the EASTER ham and the family going to the "Chop Suey place" for their Easter dinner. Kind of a letdown. Shepherd wrote the screenplay to the movie, and he incorporated the stories of the secret decoder ring, the leg lamp, the bully, the Bumpus hounds, and of course, the Red Ryder BB gun, into a coherent and sensible script. I'm glad he wrote it this way; it makes for a much better Christmas tradition and taste of Americana.

The narration by Dick Cavett was pretty good, but there were instances in which his voice was simply overwhelmed by the sound effects. Yes, sound effects. Christmas carols, jingling bells, hounds baying, the kitchen sink gurgling, all of it got in the way. At first, it was cute, but as the book progressed, the sound effects guy got carried away.

I really only recommend this book (and narration) for those that are interested in where the classic Christmas movie originated. This is one of those very rare cases in which I can say, the movie is better than the book.

The less serious pick of the month is one that I'm betting most people did not even know was a book first. Most people know A Christmas Story for the classic 1983 film that many of us relish watching around the holidays. Some may even know that it's a musical now too. But most, never knew it was a book first.

I really enjoyed the book. It's a collection of short stories rather than one singular text like the film and it's easy to see how they turned it into a film so seamlessly. It's not a case of the book is better, though I wouldn't say the film is better either. They each do things that the others cannot and compliment one another quite well. The only significant different between the two ends up being the time of the stories. In the film, the story is situated in the 1950s, while in the book, the stories are situated in the 1930s. Otherwise, they capture the epic adventure that is childhood quite well.

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