New Booklist on BookGuide: "Have Yourself a Merry Hard-Edged Christmas!"

“Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?”

This has been a common pop-culture question in recent years, especially when the holidays roll around at the end of the year! Whether you believe this classic 1988 action film is a Christmas Movie or not, there’s no question that there have been a lot of action/adventure films set during the Christmas or year-end holiday season.

Becky W.C. compiled a list of those films for a display at the Lincoln City Libraries' Walt Branch Library in December 2023, and submitted her “video” list to be included in the resources of the libraries’ BookGuide readers advisory pages online.

Check out this new video "booklist" on BookGuide at the following link:

If You Like…Die Hard
a.k.a. “Have Yourself a Merry Hard-Edged Christmas!”

DVD Review: The Eight Gifts of Hanukkah

The Eight Gifts of Hanukkah

(DVD Eight)

 

After facing criticism for the single-track focus of all their Christmas movies, featuring mostly straight, white, WASP-ish casts in November and December, the Hallmark Channel has been diversifying its holiday films in recent years, to include multiple ethnicities and orientations, and even some films focusing on other non-Christmas year-end holidays.

 

The Eight Gifts of Hanukkah was a 2021 offering that explored Jewish culture and heritage. Which was a refreshing change but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t just as typically predictable as most Hallmark movies are! Inbar Lavi plays Sarah Levin, a young optometrist who is recently divorced and slowly making her way back into the dating life, casually seeing two new men. Jake Epstein plays Daniel, Sarah’s best friend, who she’s always overlooked, but who not-so-secretly adores her. When Sarah begins receiving highly personal daily gifts in the eight days of Hanukkah, she labors to figure out who knows her so well that these gifts would have such great personal connection (duh!). Though the plot was a bit cringe-worthy in terms of how obvious Daniel is and how oblivious Sarah is, seeing Sarah’s family celebrating Hanukkah traditions over the eight days was lovely, and the supporting cast had some really strong performances.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Love, Lights, Hanukkah! (the 2020 non-Christmas movie from Hallmark).)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official The Eight Gifts of Hanukkah web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Christmas Book Flood by Emily Kilgore, with illustrations by Kitty Moss

The Christmas Book Flood

by Emily Kilgore, with illustrations by Kitty Moss (jP Kilgore)

 

Readers of all ages will love this picture book that describes the Book Flood in Iceland every Christmas Eve. Known as Jolabokaflod (which translates roughly to Christmas Book Flood), the annual tradition combines the magic and anticipation of Christmas with the joys of reading. People look for just the right book and accessory (warm socks, hot cocoa, a bookmark) for each family member to open on Christmas Eve, then everyone stays up reading all night. Kitty Moss’s beautiful artwork will leave you feeling that cold snow you see pictured on the pages, and aching for the warmth of that fireplace providing warm coziness.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens or How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.)

 

( official Kitty Moss – illustrator web site ) | ( official Emily Kilgore web site )

 

Recommended by Jodi R.
Gere and South Branch Libraries

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Countdown to Christmas: Have a Very Merry Movie Holiday by Caroline McKenzie

Countdown to Christmas: Have a Very Merry Movie Holiday

by Caroline McKenzie (745.594 McK)

 

This book, which originally came out in 2020 (which is the edition the libraries own), also had an updated edition in 2022. This was published by the folks at the Hallmark Channel, as a tie-in to their popular Christmas romance movies, but it is not a guide to their dozens of movies, but instead a guide to the types of Christmas decorating and traditions as seen in such movies.

 

This is really an all-purpose “how to celebrate the holiday book” — decorating tips, recipes, arts & crafts, interspersed with behind-the-scenes featurettes about the making of some of the well-known Hallmark movies, and interviews with Hallmark stars, in which they share some of their own families’ favorite holiday traditions. To make it even more Hallmark-y, there are trivia challenges related to the Hallmark holiday films.

 

All in all, this is an odd hodge-podge. As a fan of the Hallmark movies, I would’ve preferred more about those films and their cast members. As someone interested in Christmas decorating, cooking and traditions, I would have preferred more examples of those types of things. In the end, this book just sort of meanders around the topics it tries to cover. But…if you watch these movies with any regularity, you may appreciate the tidbits about the Hallmark stars.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try watching any of the literally dozens and dozens of Hallmark Christmas Movies (usually romances) that have been produced over the past several years — the libraries have purchased many of these on DVD.)

 

( publisher’s official Countdown to Christmas web page )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!