Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-polar-express"
Stories at Christmas
Thought I’d put my blog up after Christmas this time. Next one will be back on Saturday.
I hope you received plenty of books in the formats of your choice for Christmas. Am currently reading the second Richard Osman book and enjoying that.
I’m also reading a couple of excellent flash fiction collections. Whoever said you only had to read one book at a time?!
Naturally I enjoyed stories via film over Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The Muppet Christmas Carol is a must. How can you not love an adaptation where the narrator, in this case Gonzo, recommends you read the original book?
The other must is The Polar Express. I’ve not read the book but the film is wonderful. Has a bit of a dark edge to it as well. Definitely not twee and something to make you think about the nature of belief.
Oh and Hogfather. I didn’t get around to re-reading the Terry Pratchett classic this time (I usually do) but did watch the film.
Have you found a good film adaptation makes you read the book? I have. One of my earliest introductions to Dickens was watching the Alec Guinness version of Oliver Twist. I just had to read the book directly after watching that.
And yes it can be fun spotting where lines (especially of dialogue) are kept word for word with the book and where it is clear some editing has gone on.
Do I mind if the film adaptation doesn’t stick to the original book entirely? Not if it is done well.
The Lord of the Rings is a classic example. Not everything from the books goes into the film version (and that goes for the extended version too) but the spirit of the book shines through those movies and that is fine with me.
I hope you received plenty of books in the formats of your choice for Christmas. Am currently reading the second Richard Osman book and enjoying that.
I’m also reading a couple of excellent flash fiction collections. Whoever said you only had to read one book at a time?!
Naturally I enjoyed stories via film over Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The Muppet Christmas Carol is a must. How can you not love an adaptation where the narrator, in this case Gonzo, recommends you read the original book?
The other must is The Polar Express. I’ve not read the book but the film is wonderful. Has a bit of a dark edge to it as well. Definitely not twee and something to make you think about the nature of belief.
Oh and Hogfather. I didn’t get around to re-reading the Terry Pratchett classic this time (I usually do) but did watch the film.
Have you found a good film adaptation makes you read the book? I have. One of my earliest introductions to Dickens was watching the Alec Guinness version of Oliver Twist. I just had to read the book directly after watching that.
And yes it can be fun spotting where lines (especially of dialogue) are kept word for word with the book and where it is clear some editing has gone on.
Do I mind if the film adaptation doesn’t stick to the original book entirely? Not if it is done well.
The Lord of the Rings is a classic example. Not everything from the books goes into the film version (and that goes for the extended version too) but the spirit of the book shines through those movies and that is fine with me.
The Joys of New Books and Revisiting Old Favourites
I hope you received (and gave) plenty of book related presents over Christmas.
I was delighted to receive a flash fiction related book and am enjoying reading that at the moment.
There is something so special about receiving new books. But I also love the joys of revisiting old favourites. Books are for life!
I took in a lot of my favourite Christmas stories via films - Hogfather, A Christmas Carol (the definitive version by The Muppets, of course!), and The Polar Express. I never get tired of these.
A major joy of a new books is in discovering an unknown world (regardless of what genre it is) and getting to know characters new to you.
The joy of old favourites is knowing these already but enjoying these things all over again. I never tire of that either!
I hope the New Year brings you plenty of opportunities to enjoy your old favourite books and to discover many new to you.
Happy reading for 2025!
I was delighted to receive a flash fiction related book and am enjoying reading that at the moment.
There is something so special about receiving new books. But I also love the joys of revisiting old favourites. Books are for life!
I took in a lot of my favourite Christmas stories via films - Hogfather, A Christmas Carol (the definitive version by The Muppets, of course!), and The Polar Express. I never get tired of these.
A major joy of a new books is in discovering an unknown world (regardless of what genre it is) and getting to know characters new to you.
The joy of old favourites is knowing these already but enjoying these things all over again. I never tire of that either!
I hope the New Year brings you plenty of opportunities to enjoy your old favourite books and to discover many new to you.
Happy reading for 2025!
