The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

The first book in Agatha Christie's 'Tommy and Tuppence' mysteries is so much fun, it's hard to handle. After World War I, Prudence Cowley (Tuppence) happens to bump into her childhood friend, Thomas Beresford (Tommy), and as they are both hard-up on money, they decide to create 'The Young Adventurers, Ltd.,' a rather unconventional private and unofficial detective agency. Tommy and Tuppence put an advertisement in the newspaper stating that they are two young adventurers willing to do anything or go anywhere... No unreasonable offer refused. Their ad is answered more promptly than anticipated. Spunky Tuppence and steadfast Tommy find themselves absolutely in over their heads in a plot to find a missing young American named Jane Finn and a secret document. If the documents falls into the wrong hands it could plunge England into revolution, and then anarchy. The problem is, the only one who knows where the document is to be found is the missing American. Tommy and Tuppence resourcefully attempt to uncover the location of Jane Finn and the document, as well as discover the true identity of the mysterious man who goes only by the name 'Mr. Brown.' Mr. Brown is the head of a desperate group of anarchists who kidnap, kill, and maim lightly enough. But despite the anarchists ruthless nature, even they live in constant fear of the elusive Mr. Brown... The Secret Adversary.

 

My friend gave me this book for my birthday and I am ever so grateful that she did. Once I started reading, I zipped straight through it. It's so darn entertaining! Tommy and Tuppence are such fun characters. When reading the Poirot mysteries, I sometimes wish that Ms. Christie took more time in fleshing out her characters and less time on the plot, although I do love her plots. I just like when writers put effort into their characters to make them realistic and believable. Both Tommy and Tuppence never lacked for personality, that's for sure! They act and converse like real friends. It's a joy to read their conversations. They literally sparkle when together. The whole book is very witty and full of those plot twists that set Agatha Christie a couple notches above most mystery writers. Also, if you like a little romance, Tommy and Tuppence are not a married couple in this first book, so some delightful jealousy ensues. It's always cute when characters like each other, but won't admit it until one or the other has an admirer. I also like that in these books the guy isn't a complete idiot. I know, idiot males weren't really trending in the '20s, but it was still refreshing to see Tommy being the intellectual rock of the partnership. Tuppence is very clever and has an uncanny intuition, but she often jumps into things before thinking them out. Tommy always thinks things through, which sometimes annoys Tuppence, but often leads her to thank him later. They complete each other wonderfully. There are some good side characters in this book (Albert being my favorite), and the villains are wonderful, but it is undoubtedly Tommy and Tuppence that steal the show. All in all, this book is a masterpiece of light and fun entertainment. You can read it anytime and it'll give you a lift. It's one of my favorite Agatha Christie's I've read so far.

                                                    

This is from a t.v. series that wasn't that great, but I like the picture.

The dialogue is just too good in this book, so I thought I'd share a couple lines with you :D

~ "I should have a great objection to dying" ~
-
~ "... I always help old ladies over crossings, and pick up parcels for old gentlemen, in case they should turn out to be eccentric millionaires..." ~
-
~ "The moral guilt," Tuppence pointed out, "would be theirs - not mine. You must admit that there's a difference between stealing a diamond necklace for yourself and being hired to steal it."
"There wouldn't be the least difference if you were caught!"
"Perhaps not. But I shouldn't get caught. I'm so clever."
"Modesty always was your besetting sin," remarked Tommy.
-
~ "Nothing," said Tommy "could be plainer than your words - unless it was your face." ~

*
And there are lots of other wonderful lines, which you can find if you read the book yourself. And now, until next time old bean, Cheerio!

                                                                            ~ Irene
 
                                                                   

I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

~ Ever since she was a child, Joan Webster has known where she is going. That is to say, she is a rather stubborn and independent woman. As she has always desired to be wealthy, the young Englishwoman jumps on the chance to marry the rich (and insanely old) owner of a successful chemicals company. Joan's Intended lives on an island in the remote Scottish Hebrides, so her wedding is scheduled to take place on the island of Kiloren (her fiancee's remote island), but adverse weather conditions cause her to be stranded on the nearby Isle of Mull. Every day Joan prays that the weather shall improve and that a boat shall come to take her to her wedding, and every day Joan grows more and more attached to the people and way of life of the Isle of Mull, as well as developing a growing attachment to one person in particular ~

Sound like a romance to you? You're right. Sound like one of those cliched stories where a spoiled woman meets honest and hard-working peasants and falls in love with one peasant in particular and learns what life is really all about (*cough cough* It Happened One Night)? You're (kinda) right again. Sound like a movie that's okay but you probably wouldn't enjoy? You're wrong! This movie is wonderful and I strongly doubt anyone would NOT enjoy it (except maybe my dad).

'I know where I'm going!' was filmed on location in Scotland, and when you put that fact together with the talents of two excellent filmmakers -Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger- let me tell you, magic is made! I have recently watched quite a few movies by Powell and Pressburger (who's productions were formally known as 'The Archers' productions) and while it is quite hard to choose, I think this one might be my favorite so far. The cinematography is gorgeous, the scenery is gorgeous, the two main actors have great chemistry together, and the story-line is just too romantic and magical. There is also a great deal of Scottish folk lore and tradition contained in this film, which is an added bonus to anyone who loves Scotland and its traditions, such as myself.

When Joan Webster first realizes that she will not be taken by boat to the island of Kiloren, she is forced to stay at a large house, currently used as a boarding house for weary travelers. There she meets Torquill MacNeil, a Scottish native of the Isle of Mull and currently on an eight-day leave from the navy. This movie was filmed during the last year of World War II. Fog is the fiend that keeps Joan from her Beloved (or maybe not so beloved???) fiancee, and while I have all the sympathy in the world for dear old Joan, I don't regret the fog, cause man alive does it give us some epic shots!

Joan's host and Torquill's good friend, Katrina, returning from a hunt with the hounds.

Joan's first night spent on the little Isle of Mull has her saying a prayer to God that the fog will lift from the waters, so's she may be be wedded as soon as possible to her Beloved (or IS he????). Needless to say, God has a sense of humor. The fog certainly lifts, but in its place God leaves a bevy of gale-force winds. It is impossible to leave for Kiloren. Mr. MacNeil, whom Joan is not yet well acquainted with, offers to take her to a little shack a few miles away where an old woman owns a wireless set. There she may call her Beloved (I'm still not convinced). On their travels there and back, Joan is at first a little stuck up as MacNeil chats with the natives, who happen to be making fun of the 'rich man who lives on Kiloren'. I bet you can't guess who that is.

Joan and Torquill together on the bus.

But Joan softens and can't help liking MacNeil as she tours the countryside with him, getting to know the people of the Isle and learning the ancient folklore of the Hebrides. 

One of the best parts of this movie is when Torquill takes Joan to a local Ceilidh. The two of them watch most of the festivities from outside, which include dancing, singing, and lots of bagpipes, but eventually are pulled into the lively Scottish dancing themselves. The singing is really good, as is the dancing. I love Scotland!!!!!

Joan and Torquill watching the festivities... Well, at least one of them is.

Although Joan is having a perfectly lovely time with Master MacNeil, she grows more and more desperate with each passing day for the winds to die down so that she may travel to Kiloren. Why? you may ask. Well, Miss Webster is a bit of an idiot. All her life she has wanted to be rich, and since she is ambitious and independent, she thinks (or thought) she had accomplished this ambition by hooking up with ol' Consolidated Chemical Industries, even though she doesn't really love him. But hey, money is what counts, right? Well, that's what Joan always thought, but something is happening to make her change her mind, and our headstrong heroine is desperate to leave the Isle of Mull before all her long-thought over hopes of wealth vanish in the mist. In fact, she is so desperate to run away from her feelings, that she may go so far as to risk her own and others' lives in the process.

That is all I want to spoil so I'll leave you to watch the movie to find out what happens to Joan and her ambitions. This really is a lovely movie, and I'm sure you won't regret watching it. It's cozy and warm, and leaves one with a very satisfied feeling. I'll just leave you with this and a few other screenshots and then I'll be going.

#smoothestwaytoputyourarmsaroundagirlever

~ Haste ye back~

                                      

                                                - Irene

Cloaked by Rachel Kovaciny

 

Once Upon A Western......

Reading blogs, one finds so many wonderful hidden book and movies. Sometimes by the blog writers themselves! So it was when I was reading Hamlette's Soliloquy (a very lovely blog) that I discovered that Rachel Kovaciny, Hamlette herself, had written and published not just a fairy tale retelling, but a western fairy tale retelling. I thought to myself "What could be better? I should definitely read this!" but didn't get around to it until a couple of days ago. I think I took so long because I was subconsciously worried it wouldn't be that great and then I might have to write a negative review and that would be awkward, and yeah.... But *Spoiler Alert* I had nothing to fear. After all, if I loved a blog written by one person, why would their writing talents suddenly disappear when they penned a book? No idea why. Anyway, on to the review →

We all know the tale of Little Red Riding Hood (at least I hope we do), but Cloaked puts its own twisty twist on it (not a twisted twist, don't worry) and a whole helpin' of western flair! Mary Rose O'Brien (she likes to be called 'Mary Rose') leaves her stuffy home in Illinois to visit her grandmother, whom she's never seen, out in Wyoming Territory. Jubilee O'Brien owns a ranch out in the country and Mary Rose is thrilled to be able to spend her summer in the much fabled 'Wild West'. While on the stagecoach ride to her grandmother's ranch, Mary Rose meets the handsome but strangly unsettling Mr. Connor Linden. It turns out that Mr. Linden is going to stay at Jubilee O'Brien's ranch himself, as he is her new financial adviser. As time progresses on the ranch, Mary Rose enjoys herself immensely as she learns to ride a horse, becomes friends with a real live Indian (well, half German, half Cherokee, but still pretty cool) and meets a very charming, tall and sweet deputy sheriff. Mary Rose should be having the time of her life, and she would be, if it weren't for the uncomfortable presence of Mr. Linden. He seems to follow her everywhere she goes, his sharp eyes watchful as a wolf's. What does he want? Is he as charming as he makes out to be? Or is there a vicious presence lurking under his smartly tailored sheep's clothing?

***

Before I tell you what I liked/loved about this book, I suppose I should get the worst over first. That's right, there are cons. Here we go.

Con #1. A slightly favorable view of Regency England. Although I myself enjoy watching a little Pride and Prejudice as much as the next person, I don't care if men kissed ladies hands and were polite to people they didn't even like, I still hate Regency (and Victorian for that matter) England society. So stifling!!!

Con #2 Like Grandma Jubilee's hair, this book is too short! LOL I wanted more!

And yeah, that's pretty much the only negative things I have to say about this story. Pretty lame, I know. On to the pros! →

I read this book in two short days, but I wouldn't be surprise if you read it faster. It's exciting the whole way through! The true meaning of the word 'page-turner'. I'm always wondering what's gonna happen next, and since it's based on a familiar fairy tale, it's always fun trying to figure out what the western parallels are to the original story. 

Another important thing to note is that all the characters (excluding Mr. Linden. His name is under 'creep' in the dictionary) are charming and fun to be around. At least, I imagine they would be fun to be around if they were not just on a page. Depressing thought, I know. Mary Rose is a realistic teenager ( which probably explains why she's not my favorite character 😄), but she's kind and has plenty of grit. I like her grandmother a lot, and of course Mr. Hauer is too cool. And let's be honest here, Deputy Small is a guy we'd all like to meet. 

A neat thing I noticed in this book is that near the end Mary Rose reflects on how when she's in her most terrible trials and tribulations, her faraway parents' words come back to her and comfort her, despite the fact that they never did get along. Parents aren't just annoying figures to get in the way of your independent dreams and desires, they're actually pretty cool and have feelings too. Who knew. 

Disclaimer: This illustration is not in Cloaked, it's just to add to the vibes of this blog post.

And yet another admirable aspect to note is that Mrs. Kovaciny manages to add some meaningful content about God without being preachy. Two thumbs up on that feat.
One last thing I want to mention is that I was utterly delighted when I took it into my head to look up what the name Connor's true meaning was. This was after I had read two-thirds of the book and realized that Mr. Hauer was the woodsman who killed the wolf in the original fairy tale. Like, it told us in the first chapter that he was chopping down trees for Grandma O'Brien. You think I would've made the connection, but I didn't. Anyway, I thought it was kinda cool that Linden was a kind of tree and Mr. Hauer cut him down, in a manner of speaking. Don't worry, it's not as gruesome as it sounds. So I got to thinking and I looked up Connor and it means hound or wolf lover! I love Easter eggs! And get this: Hauer means hewer or cutter in German! I should've known this, since Mama's German, but I didn't. So cool.

And there you have it. My review of the western fairy tale 'Cloaked'. I encourage you to go out and buy this, and then read it (duh). It really was super enjoyable. I look forward to reading more of Rachel Kovaciny's westerns (like Dancing and Doughnuts) and I hope more are forthcoming. Audios til next time!

                                                                                  ~ Irene

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

Nicholas Nickleby

When one thinks of Charles Dickens, one thinks of 'A Tale of Two Cities' or 'Great Expectations' or the classic Christmas tale 'A Christmas Carol'. I don't know about you, but I had never heard of Nicholas Nickleby until I was searching for a Charles Dickens movie to watch and I found a 2001 mini-series based on this book. By the way, the mini-series is not bad at all, and I believe you can watch it on Youtube. But this little review is not about the mini-series, it's about the book.

Don't take this the wrong way, but there's a reason that 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'A Christmas Carol' and all the others are mentioned over this novel. I feel as though, overall, this book is a little scattered, not compact enough to be a really engrossing novel. Like, it's not as well put together as ATOTC or 'Great Expectations', but I am not blaming Dickens for that, as Nicholas Nickleby was only his third novel. Anywho, despite moments of hilarious wit, and passages of philosophical beauty, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone just delving into the world of classics. It might well be too overwhelming for a beginner. Trust me, I should know, as I am sadly lacking in my knowledge of the classics. I haven't read too many. This book is pretty darn wordy and the uninitiated of Victorian language could easily get lost in some of Dickens' descriptions of things that I personally don't think really matter. I also think this book is maybe just a little too long, but it was originally published weekly or monthly (I can't recall which) in a newspaper, so it's lengthiness is understandable. But really, enough with the negative points. This book has much to recommend it as well.  

James D'Arcy as Nicholas Nickleby in the 2001 mini-series.... I love his hair.

Charles Dickens nobly unveils the horrors and evil that took place at the notorious Yorkshire 'Schools' in 1800's England. Having spent time as a child laborer (*cough* slave) himself, Dickens understood what it was like to work day and night with barely enough food to live by and live in a loveless environment (I hate the that word in that kind of sentence but I couldn't think of anything else). He may have had his problems, but at least he didn't shrink from the task of attempting to rid England of terrible establishments much like the fictitious Dotheboy's Hall depicted in Nicholas Nickleby. A supremely epic part in this book is when Nicholas himself, who was employed at the Hall as a teacher/assistant, stops the evil Wackword Squeers (owner and schoolmaster of Dotheboys Hall for Boys) from beating a little boy. Modern day curses and abuses pale in comparison to old-fashioned insults. I mean, Nicholas totally REKTS Squeers. It really is epic! A fight ensues and Nicholas crushes the nasty schoolmaster, after having figuratively done so in speech. I absolutely love it. That is one of the things that I like about Nicholas. He doesn't just sit around worrying when he sees wrongdoings taking place. He actually does something!

I also like his sister Kate a great deal. She is a kind and strong character, although I would've admitted that dear old uncle Ralph is a monster faaaaaar earlier than she did, but I guess that's just because she's a nice person and didn't want to think that her only uncle was a complete jerkface. #kindofunderstandable

A few more good characters include Mr. Linkinwater, Miss La Creevy (SPOILER: The two aforementioned characters get married and it's the cutest thing ever), Mr. John Browdie, Newman Noggs, and we mustn't forget the crippled Smike, a supposed orphan whom Nicholas 'kidnaps' from Dotheboys Hall and becomes a provider and dear best friend to. There are soooo many other good characters (Dickens was always good at characters), but those are just a few of my favorites. Be prepared to be disgusted when you meet Mr. Arthur Gride. I have one word for you: Ew. Like, he's so gross it's not even funny.

Anyway, there you go. A short little review of *big inhale* 'The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings and Complete Career of the Nickleby Family'. 

That is literally the full title. It's also why I didn't have to write a summary, so I'm not complaining.

If you enjoy classics or are looking for a book to expand your collection of already read classics, I would recommend this. If you're just looking for a light read and this story looks interesting to you, I recommend watching the film series instead of reading the entire book. That's all for today folks. May the bright stars of the night shine their brightest throughout all your days and may the misfortune and darkness of the starless night never befall you. Ciao.

~Irene

Kate and her hubby in the movie.

The Search (1948)

Everybody agrees that M-G-M's 'The Search' is a wonderful motion picture. Everybody, ya here???Okay, The Search is a pretty adorable movie. And seriously sad. And then seriously happy. And it has a young Montgomery Clift in a uniform, so what more could you ask for? Jk, Jk, there's more to Montgomery Clift than just his looks. He's also a fabulous actor, and although in this movie he just plays a regular old G.I., he plays it so well that you never for one moment think of him as actually acting. It's all genuine.

- After World War II there were many unwanted orphans roaming through Europe, friendless and parentless. Some were simple war orphans, their mothers and fathers either killed fighting in the war or else killed by bombs, but many others were former concentration camp victims, their parents gassed or shot, or just plainly starved to death. Among these former death camp victims is Karol Malick (played by a fabulous Ivan Jandl), a 9-year-old Polish boy who runs away from the English and American soldiers and nurses who only desire to help him. Having been in Auschwitz for a very long time, he has lost trust in almost all humanity. He runs away, not knowing where he'll go, only knowing he mustn't be captured by anybody ever again.

Karol

Enter Steven, a regular old G.I. looking forward to going home to America after a long war in Europe. Whilst sitting and eating lunch in his jeep, he spots the runaway Karol hiding in the ruins of some wrecked building, watching very hungrily as Steve eats his k-rations. Steve leaves his food for Karol to eat and manages to catch him and bring him to the house he's staying at, where we meet Steve's housemate, Jerry. Both Steve and Jerry grow an attachment to the boy, but Steve is Montgomery Clift, so that means he's the main character of course. While Steve attempts to teach Karol (whom he called Jimmy) to speak English (which is honestly the cutest thing ever) and grows more and more attached to him, Karol's mother, who is still alive, searches all over Europe for her lost son -

So, Montgomery Clift doesn't even enter this movie until probably a good twenty minutes in, and even then the film is split into his and Karol's relationship and Mrs. Malick searching for her son. But let me tell you, every single scene with Karol and Steve will just melt your little heart. They're too adorable.  This movie is quite dark at times, especially when it shows the war orphans and the repercussions of their time and treatment in the concentration camps. It's also rather depressing when Karol starts remembering that he had a mother and wonders where she's gone 😢 You see, everyone believes that Karol is an orphan so Steve spends a substantial amount of time wondering how to tell Karol that is mother is dead. But yo, the end is not sad, and like I said, I would watch this movie a lot just to see Steve and Karol together. It's also just a good movie, so yeah. I don't want to spoil too much so I'll just stop there. I'll just leave a few pictures here....

~Irene

The Borrowed House by Hilda van Stockum

First of all, I would like to start this blog post off with my most sincere apologies to my sister Irene, who has honestly been doing all the work on here. Although I do have somewhat legitimate excuses, those excuses always had a break in between where I could have, maybe, quite possibly, written a short and sweet blog post, like the one I am doing today.

So, with that out of the way, I shall begin my 'feelings splurge' about the most enchanting, mesmerizing, and honestly, kinda nostalgic (in a non-nostalgic way, if you catch my drift), novel I have ever read!

"The Borrowed House" by Hilda van Stockum

 

If any of you have ever read a Hilda van Stockum novel, you know what I mean when I say 'enchanting' (if you haven't read one, you might wanna get crackin'). This applies to almost all of her books (I can't say for sure because I have not read them all), but this one especially. 

 

For a brief summary, 'The Borrowed House' (set in WW2) is about a young German girl named Janna, currently being looked after by a nanny, who thinks Hitler is the most wonderful person in all of creation (obviously didn't do much research).  Her parents, who are two famous German actors, eventually send for her and she moves into a big old house in Amsterdam. Unfortunately for her, they have to share it with a rather disagreeable couple and their annoying son, Heinz. As she leads a rather lonely life with her parents always off doing plays she begins to notice rather strange things, like how the third story is smaller than the fourth, and how there is an extra meatball being cooked when there are no guests arriving. However, being the unsuspecting child that she is, Janna thinks nothing of it...That is until a game of hide-and-go-seek sends her stumbling through her big old wardrobe into a hidden room. A hidden room with a rather charming and good looking forger. His name is Sef, and he helps forge papers for the Dutch resistance to save Jews. Janna, still being extremely lonely, decides to keep Sef's secret and they soon become close friends, but with that friendship the truth about Hitler and the war is slowly revealed to Janna and she begins to realize that everything she ever learned was a total lie.

I don't want to spoil too much, so I won't go into any more detail on the plot. HOWever, I will go into more detail on why this book is so amazing and how you really need to go and read it right now.

To start off, the inner 'child' is brought to life inside of you, especially when Janna finds Sef. I mean, who didn't dream as a little kid that they would find a strange person in  a hidden room in their house and become close friends with them? You didn't? Well then, you really missed out, 'cause I remember imagining that and it was always a blast! There's just that small ounce of 'I want something completely out of the ordinary to happen' inside of everyone, and that's one thing I love about all of Hilda van Stockum's books, not just 'The Borrowed House'. She portrays what everyone remembers about their childhood, with maybe a little extra jam spread on top of that, because how many of you found a strange boy hiding in a hidden room in your house? I only found a strange girl hiding under my bed, then I realized it was my sister.

Aaaaanyway, moving on, the second most amazing thing about this book, is Sef. I'm just gonna go ahead and fan girl right here, 'cause he's SPECTACULAR! Everything about him just speaks 'AWESOME!', as Janna would quite agree. A little fun thing that the author put in the book, which I think added a perfect touch, is that Janna is obsessed with the story 'The Nibelungen' and she thinks the main character of that book, Siegfried, is the best thing since sliced bread. Now for those of you who are not up to date (or out of date?) with German culture, the Nibelungen is probably one of the most famous works of German literature, like, ever. I once watched an eight hour silent film version from the 30's, was not impressed, and in that aspect, Sef and I are completely on the same page. Siegfried is the hero in that story and Janna likes to imagine that Sef is Siegfried, much to his chagrin. Anyway, at some point in the story, something happens (I won't say what, 'cause spoilers) and Janna's image of Sef being this amazing vision of Siegfried come to life is completely crushed. Needless to say, Sef and I were very relieved after that (we're very close). Getting back to the point, Sef's whole attitude and demeanor and attitude towards everything is just so 'on point', 'iffin ya know what I mean.

The third most amazing thing about this book is that, despite it having nothing to do with fairy tales and being a completely different genre, it still gives off those magical fairy tale vibes that make any story ten times more stupendous! Irene and I were just discussing this because I randomly picked the book up this morning and read through the whole thing for the billionth time in one day, but we agreed that 'The Borrowed House' has earned it's keep on our list of truly magical stories. It is a truly magical book, and it will leave you with a strange sort of longing. If you're the type of person that likes to feel that longing, I suggest you read this book! (Along with the rest of Hilda van Stockum's books)

Whelp, that's my fairly 'short and sweet' blog post about one of my favorite novels ever and I hope you realized just what you're missing and quickly order this book from your local library. Seriously, you will not regret it.

Lots of well wishes and roses!

- Anna

Irene's Top Ten Favorite Christmas Carols

                                         'Tis the season

Merry Christmas everyone! I wanted to have Anna write a list of her favorite Christmas carols, but unfortunately we have been very busy, and I am just now getting around to writing this little list, because hey, we need at least one Christmas post, right? Anyway, here's a list of a few of my favorite carols. I excluded songs like Jingle Bell Rock and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, because although they are groovy, they're not exactly carols.

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: Although I am not ranking these in any particular order, I will say that this exceedingly British carol is definitely near the top of the list. It personifies the solemnity of Christmas morn. We have so many songs singing praises of the joy (which is splendid) of Christmas that it's nice to have one telling grown men to remember that if it weren't for Christ coming into the world, we'd all be in Satan's clutches. And the words are so epic, ya know! And I also have a soft spot for songs in the minor key...

'This holy tide of Christmas all others doth deface!'

2. Once In Royal David's City: This is Mama's favorite Christmas carol, and I can't but agree with her that it is a beautiful hymn. So quiet, so peaceful. This one sounds like the very early morning on Christmas day, when everything is still quiet but the world knows Jesus is born.

'He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all, and His shelter was a stable, and His cradle was a stall; with the poor, the weak, the lowly, lived on earth our Savior holy.'

3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing: Okay, who doesn't like this carol? It's so happy! I like how the melody builds and builds up to the last line.

'Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!'

4. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear: Rather like number 2 in aura, this Christmas carol has more of an icy feeling. Like you're outside on a midnight clear, drinking it the quietness of Christmas morn. It's a lovely carol.

'It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth, to touch their harps of gold. "Peace on the earth, goodwill to men, from heav'n's all gracious King." The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing.'

5. Angels We Have Heard On High: This carol is gorgeous, in my opinion. So clear, like bells ringing in the frosty air. I looked it up, and that one part (you know what I'm talking about) is a melisma, and it's just so beautiful. Like snow delicately falling over the sound of those crystal clear bells.

'Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains, and the mountains in reply, echoing their joyous strains. Gloria, in excelsis Deo.'

6. Carol of the Bells: The only negative thing about this carol is that you kinda need a large group of people to sing it correctly. But when you do, my is it beautiful! It's so haunting, like it's waiting in a dark forest filled with snow and anticipation for the coming Christmas day.

'Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, throw cares away. Christmas is here, bringing good cheer, to young and old, meek and the bold....'

7. O Holy Night: Although this carol isn't my absolute favorite, it stills deserves to be on this list. It's calm and serene, and then passionate and moving. 

'A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.'

8. O Little Town Of Bethlehem: This has to be the coziest Christmas carol out there. It's so dreamy, like lying before a fire on Christmas eve. It does mention the word sleep several times, so no wonder it's so dreamy.

'O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; yet in the dark streets shineth the everlasting Light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.'

9. We Three Kings Of Orient Are: My family and I sing this carol often in our morning prayers throughout the Nativity fast, so it never was exactly fresh and new, but I still thought it was awesome when I was a kid (courtesy of minor key), especially the verses. I think it's wonderful that the Three Kings finally get a song (and by finally, I mean 1863).

'Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume. Breathes a life of gathering gloom; sorr'wing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb.'

10. Silent Night: Did you honestly think I wouldn't put Silent Night on here? Although this carol is sung almost too often, a good rendition of it (like the Regensburger Domspatzen version) is always beautiful. A wonderful carol to sing late on Christmas eve, it is one of the most soothing and beautiful carols out there.

'Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. 'Round yon Virgin Mother and Child, holy Infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.'

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

                                 'Glories stream from heaven afar, heav'nly hosts sing Allelluia; 

                                           Christ the savior is born, Christ the Savior is born.