From the Bookshelf of 2025 Reading Challenge…

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens

Start date: December 1, 2018

Finish date: December 31, 2018

Discussion: October 2025 Group Read

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October 2025 Group Read

Weyward: Pre-Reading Discussion
By Winter , Group Reads · 3 posts · 17 views

last updated 14 hours, 31 min ago

Weyward: Reviews by 2025 Reading Challengers
By Winter , Group Reads · 1 post · 14 views

last updated Sep 21, 2025 03:59AM

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What Members Thought

Dec 30, 2014 Annet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history, jingle-bells-jingle-bells, family-ties, have-to-read-again, classics, brilliant, hope

Having seen many movie versions of this famous book , I thought it was finally time to read the book this (time of) year and I did!
How talented Dickens was... to invent this story and write it in beautiful language. Maybe I'll reread it again by Christmas time next year, so much detail there, deserves great attention, and my good intention will be to read more Dickens in the time to come. A delightful book, a very talented writer, so long ago... A magical story, famous for its moral and 'advice ...more

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Dec 16, 2014 Michael rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Along with trimming the tree, making cookies and enjoying the lights, there are certain traditions that I look forward to each Christmas. One of them is enjoying stories of the season in various forms of pop culture media -- movies, television shows (if the second season episode of Happy Days where Fonzie comes over to the Cunningham's for Christmas dinner doesn't make your heart grow three sizes with Christmas spirit, I don't know what will) and literary ones.

One of the familiar stories that m Along with trimming the tree, making cookies and enjoying the lights, there are certain traditions that I look forward to each Christmas. One of them is enjoying stories of the season in various forms of pop culture media -- movies, television shows (if the second season episode of Happy Days where Fonzie comes over to the Cunningham's for Christmas dinner doesn't make your heart grow three sizes with Christmas spirit, I don't know what will) and literary ones.

One of the familiar stories that makes its way into my rotation every few years is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I'll still admit I've got a soft spot for the Disney records adaptation that my parents gave me years ago on vinyl with Scrooge McDuck as Scrooge and a lot of catchy songs that will get stuck in your head for days, but I still enjoy visiting the story of Scrooge and the spirits in the original Dickens. I've listened to a couple of audio versions of the story, performed by various actors from Patrick Stewart to Tim Curry, but this year's visit was performed by the man best known for his role as the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker.

I'll admit I've got a certain fondness for Mr. Baker, so it's hard to set aside that bias here. But his performance of this classic story is among the more satisfying and enjoyable I've heard. And given that I'm not generally a huge fan of his readings of classic Doctor Who Target novels, that really surprised me. Baker is restrained at times and completely over the top at times, but it all works. He brings an infectious joy to the transformed Scrooge that works so well that he cast aside memories of the previous audio version I'd listened to with Tim Curry. (He won't necessarily make you forget Patrick Stewart, but then again few actors will make you forget Patrick Stewart).

As always, when it comes to re-reading a familiar story, I'm struck by the nuances that are included in Dickens' original telling and those that don't generally make it into the pop culture adaptations. One thing that struck me this time is that the ghost of Christmas past takes Scrooge back to his childhood and establishes a bit more of his relationship with his sister and tells us her fate. It's helps to establish one more reason that Scrooge becomes as hard-hearted as he is when we meet him in this story. I also find it intriguing to see what his nephew's wife thinks of Scrooge during the ghost of Christmas present segment. Too often, I think adaptations in pop culture emphasize the Cratchett family and Tiny Tim and overlook some of the other connections that Scrooge has.

It's one good reason to be a literary snob and pick up the original source material every once in a while -- whether on the printed page or as an audio book. And this audio book is one of the more engaging and spirited (pun fully intended) versions I've experienced and one that I highly recommend if you're looking for a good way to enjoy a classic and get into the holiday spirit. ...more

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Nov 28, 2017 Caro rated it liked it · review of another edition

Is a good nice story perfect for a short reading to start to have the christmas spirit. A classic that everybody should read when the christmas spirit is away.

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Jan 14, 2017 Catsalive rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2023, pre-bc

Such a wonderful way with language has Mr. Dickens. It's a joy to read.

I, too, have often wondered what makes the doornail the deadest piece of ironmongery. When I mentioned this on a buddy read thread I was given decisive dissertation on the subject. Such fun! I got the giggles at this little piece of imagery: "Scrooge was not much in the habit of cracking jokes, nor did he feel, in his heart, by any means waggish then." No, poor old Ebenezer wasn't one for frivol or japery, especially at that ...more

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Sep 16, 2011 Amanda rated it it was amazing

There's not much to say about this book that hasn't already said by many others (and said better than I am capable of). Obviously, it's a great book. It's a classic for a reason. That said, this was my first foray into Dickens, and two things struck me about this book:

1.) I was genuninely shocked to realize that Dickens had a sense of humor! I chuckled out loud a couple of times. For some reason, I expected this to be a very serious book, and it really was not.

2.) I was also genuninely shocked b ...more

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Dec 15, 2014 Colette rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Although I am not a Dickens fan, I do enjoy a Christmas Carol. The story is timeless. The language, especially those passages describing food, is rich with description. The characters are unforgettable. This is a classic for a reason.

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Dec 21, 2019 Kathy rated it it was amazing

I'm actually pretty ashamed it took me this long to read this. After so many reiterations of this story, I really should have read it years ago. I very much enjoyed this story. Dickens has a beautiful way with words. I will be reading more from him. This story really does encompass the feeling and the meaning of this season. It's not about what you get, but about the people you are surrounded by and the love and happiness you can give. ...more

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