perfect short cozy christmas read

An absolute horror-show of a book. The two worst people in the entire world decide to not celebrate Christmas for a year and their Nazi suburban beehive neighbors treat them like they're hosting a donkey show in the front window. There isn't a single character in this book who passes the basic test of decency. The couple lie to their daughter and treat her like a non-person. The husband is a hateful a-hole. The wife is shallow and defeated. The neighborhood men are bullies. The neighborhood women are a backbiting hen house. Despite the faint glimmer of kindness in the last chapter, this book is a contemptable look at contemptable people. Merry Christmas, shitheads.

This is a very fun and short Christmas book from John Grisham. Its a bit of a departure for him, but it still has some of his classic writing styles and characters.

The book is a bit absurd and ridiculous with its premise and execution, but its meant to be a fun, silly read. Definitely the type of book that can be read in a day or two, depending on how fast a reader you are.

The movie is fairly faithful to the book, with only a few scenes added or changed, but overall felt very faithful.

I did enjoy seeing the tallies of how much people spend on Christmas for various things, and I think the book has a good message about balancing the material nature of Christmas with the idea of participating in events to spend time with people.

Overall, a fun quick read. More like a Novella than a novel. I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10. Very fun and cozy.

Who hasn't at some point thought about skipping Christmas? There's so much time and effort that goes into a festive and merry holiday season. The planning, cooking, baking, buying, hiding, wrapping, decorating, ... well the list is seemingly endless each December!

This fun read makes one think about who we celebrate Christmas for - ourselves or others? The various festivities really illustrate both sides of the coin but in the end it seems that it's all about making a nice day/season for everyone.

Funny. Realized it was familiar and is basis for movie Christmas With The Kranks.

Listened to on chapter a day.

Christmas With the Kranks seemed to be on every time I was looking for something to watch on television while on vacation time so I decided to do what I do best and finally pull this off the shelf and read instead of watch. The premise here is a cute one - new empty nesters decide to skip their usual Christmas festivities and take a cruise. When their daughter surprises them with news she’ll be home for the holidays after all the entire neighborhood pulls together to make the spirits bright. If you’re are looking for good olde timey Christmas feels this novella might be right up your alley.

A lighthearted, quick read regarding what happens when a husband and wife do not conform to the neighborhood’s holiday rituals. At times humorous and other times okay.

One of my favorite "Grisham" translations... Probably, because every Christmas I have the same idea/wish of skipping it! And being a child from a mixed marriage and having both Ortodox and Catholic Christmas does't help a thing! :) Same feeling goes for Easter :)

Honestly, when I got to the ending, I thought "what was the point of this?" The author, it seemed, slapped two different concepts together and as a result, created a very disappointing book.

First half had great potential in the Krunks fighting a losing battle against forced gaiety and the commericialization of Christmas. I was rooting for the Krunks to make it to the end.

Then the daughter decides to come home.

All is lost as they attempt to recreate Christmases of the past for the daughter. Why?

I was very deflated at the end to see the Krunks cave. There was no lesson in this except that when spoiling your daughter, no sacrifice or compromising of ideals or caving to the Stepford neighborhood is too much.

Author could have made a blistering commentary on the overblown excess of the season, and caved to it instead.

A light holiday read, this book actually makes me tear up at the end. (Ignore the horrifying movie, Christmas with the Kranks, which was loosely based on it.) This is the story of a rather unlikeable guy who, with his only daughter away for Christmas, convinces his wife that they will actually save money and enjoy the holiday more if they "skip" Christmas and go on a cruise instead. No donations, no decorations, no gifts, just a cruise. Of course, forces conspire against him, sometimes too over-the-top, often hilarious, as he learns his lesson. The main problem with this book is that Luther is almost too unlikeable. He's fairly mean to his wife, is rude in the way he turns away people trying to get him to participate, and doesn't entirely change at the end. But the story is very engaging, and again, the ending is fun and touching.

2013 reread: Still loathe Luther, but also love even more how close knit his neighborhood is.
2016: Seriously, he's so awful. And I want to know more about Marty Whatshisname.
2024: It's been a few years since I've read this, and this year I listened to the audiobook, mostly with my eyes narrowed. It's not that Luther is awful. It's that EVERYONE is. His neighbors call the cops on him twice. They bully and harass him for not putting up decorations. A journalist (instigated by a neighbor) takes pictures of their house and writes an article about how awful they are. The cops almost arrest him about of pure spite for not donating to their Christmas fund, EVEN THOUGH he's promised them a $100 donation for their big summer fundraiser. The Scoutmaster, in front of his scouts, extorts money out of him for a dead tree! I know that some people get carried away at Christmas (hey, I'm probably one of them) but the absolutely foul treatment of everyone, even total strangers, because they aren't going to celebrate Christmas is really kind of horrifying. Everyone pitches in at the end, Luther does something selfless, sure, but what's going to happen tomorrow?

One of the few instances where the movie is better than the book... the book was missing the humor I had come to love.

Featuring ~ dual 3rd person POV, Christmas (duh)

This short book follows Luther & Nora. Luther is frustrated about spending $6,100 on Christmas last year, so this year they are going on a cruise and skipping Christmas. The plans are made and the tickets are purchased when they get news that their daughter, Blair, is coming home for Christmas. So now they are rushing around trying to bring the magic back into their home. Can they pull it off in time for Santa's arrival?

Overall, a super quick likable Christmasy tale.

Narration ~
Dennis Boutsikaris ~ 3 hours and 42 minutes ~ he did a fine job.

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