A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana—the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film and the live musical on Fox. The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family’s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker’s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father’s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie’s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie’s unstoppable campaign to get Santa—or anyone else—to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”? The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.
Do you believe in love at first sight? Allie McHale is spending this brutal Christmas Eve snowstorm in a barn in Marietta, Montana when suddenly she hears a horrible crash on the freeway near her ranch. She discovers a handsome lone survivor, a prisoner in handcuffs, and despite her apprehension about harboring a criminal, she rescues him anyway. Jacob Reeves, on his way to Salt Lake City to testify against his organized crime family, is miraculously saved by the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on, who has every reason not to trust him, but getting through a freezing Christmas Eve forces them to work together to survive. During the long night, their chemistry is off the charts and Jake realizes that Allie could be the love of his life. But as soon as the storm is over, he’ll be gone. Is Jake destined to break both of their hearts, or will a Christmas tragedy end in a miracle?
Has the boy who broke her heart… Become the man to mend it? Widowed nurse Shona has returned to the safety and familiarity of her Scottish childhood home. Getting roped into playing Chief Elf to lifeboat crew leader Alasdair’s Santa wasn’t part of the plan, but his delicious smile has the power to tempt her out of her comfort zone… She still hasn’t forgiven the reformed bad boy for once breaking her heart—could he now be the one to rebuild it? “Reunion with His Surgeon Princess a sweet and exciting royal romance story. Author Karin Baine has a spell-binding way with her writing. I could visualize the story as it unfolded on the pages. She also did a marvelous job of bringing these two characters together for their happy ever after despite their emotional baggage. Highly recommended for all readers of medical romance.” -Goodreads “Their One-Night Twin Surprise is an absolutely adorable story with all the emotions and tensions. Author Karin Baine weaved this story of betrayal, friendship, loneliness, love and family amid the medical drama in a spell-binding way to the pages.” -Goodreads
Learn Something New This Christmas We hate to admit it, but after years, sometimes even decades, of reading the same Luke 2 story of Christmas, we get a little bored—we lose some of the awe we ought to have when discussing the greatest miracle in history. That’s why The Characters of Christmas was written, to help you take a fresh look at the Christmas story by getting to know the minor characters that played a part in Jesus’ birth, such as Zechariah and Elizabeth, the Shepherds, and Herod. As you slow down, engage your imagination, and enter into the stories of these women and men, you’ll see the most important character—Jesus Christ—with new eyes. And with discussion questions and a Christmas song suggestion at the end of each chapter, it’s perfect for engaging your whole family. Break free from the familiar, and discover something you never knew about the story you’ve always heard.
Britt Davis is ready for the fight of her life. Her snake of an ex-husband just filed for custody of their nine-month-old son, and come hell or high water, she will keep her baby. But she wouldn't have a future to give her precious Dillon if it weren't for the stranger who risked his life to save her. Then her gratitude is shattered when she comes face-to-face once again with her hero…her ex's lawyer? Quentin Ross knows there's something not right about the important custody case dropped suddenly in his lap. Who would take a baby away from his mother right before Christmas? Now his career is on the line, but so is Britt's love and respect. What's a hero to do?
Christmas Wood is full of animals: Badger, Fidgety Fox, Owl (not Wise Old Owl, just Owl), the Rabbit family, Tiny Mouse, and Robin. It's nearly Christmas and all the animals are getting ready to celebrate Badger is looking for new friends, Tiny is making (or is that eating) gingerbread, and Rosie Rabbit just can't get ANY peace and quiet! Five festive stories from the animals in the wood all come together in a fantastically Christmassy finale in a barn with some rather special guests.
"'Twas December 24th, and three brave knights were just settling in for the night when out on the drawbridge, there arose such a clatter! The knights try everything to get rid of this unknown invader (Santa Claus!), a red and white knight with a fleet of dragons"--
High atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, an office Christmas party turns into a deadly cage-match between a lone New York City cop and a gang of international terrorists. Every action fan knows it could only be the explosive big-screen blockbuster Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis blew away audiences as unstoppable hero John McClane, author Roderick Thorp knocked out thriller readers with the bestseller that started it all. A dozen heavily armed terrorists have taken hostages, issued demands, and promised bloodshed — all according to plan. But they haven’t counted on a death-defying, one-man cavalry with no shoes, no backup, and no intention of going down easily. As hot-headed cops swarm outside, and cold-blooded killers wield machine guns and rocket launchers inside, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown between anti-hero and uber-villains. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight... to the death. Ho ho ho!
An intertextual study of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight examining the motif of gift-giving or handsel, this work explores the Christmas hero and looks at the rich culture of medieval crafts and entertainments, especially the drama and the carol. This neo-historical account of the ener gies of yule contains a diversity of contexts outside the Middle Ages, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to Murder in the Cathedral. The book's innovative method involves semantic collation, a careful sifting through and alignment of the semes of two texts in a literary diptych, and concludes with a thesaurus of the vocabulary which follows the structure of the pentangle. Through the study of the concepts of Earth, Craft, Virtue, Christmas Joy, and Wound, the pentangle thesaurus brings some balance to the interpretation of the poem by correlating the elements of Creation and Incarnation. It concludes with speculations on the Gawain-poet's relationship to mysticism traditions, especially those indigenous to the North and Midlands in the late 14th century.