My Head Is Full of Books: Letters from Father Christams by J,R.R. Tolkien

"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Letters from Father Christams by J,R.R. Tolkien

Finally. Now I can face this holiday season with a sense of awe and wonder. Why? Three reasons:

1. The Seattle University Christmas Choir concert Friday night was remarkable. My favorite songs were those that were sung in the round, or from remote locations from around the cathedral. Christmas carols are running through my head. My daughter had a short solo on the song Silent Night, so that was my obvious favorite.

2. I bought a beautiful poinsettia and then stumbled upon a few reindeer unexpectedly. I would like to report that Santa's reindeer are looking very healthy as they build up their reserves in preparation for their Christmas deliveries.

3. I've just finished reading and looking at the drawings in Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien. Between the years of 1920 to 1942, Tolkien wrote a letter to his children as Father Christmas. He also sent them original drawings. He regaled his children with fun tales from the North Pole that included the antics of his pet polar bear, wars with goblins, and other delights. The illustrations had me awestruck. They were so detailed and matched the action mentioned in the letter. If you can get your hands on this book, set aside a bit of time to marvel at the precious gift that this famous author gave to his children.