Hi, I'm Liam. I've just started my new blog, at book-worm-hole.blogspot.co.
5 people to spend Christmas with.
I love collecting weird little facts and bits of knowledge, and four of the people I'd like to spend Christmas with are people who also do just that. Two of them are my favourite authors, Neil Gaiman, (who somehow manages to write amazingly in every genre and for every age group) and the dearly missed Terry Pratchett, who bears a lot of responsibility for my love of books. Victoria Coren Mitchell is gorgeous, clever and funny and very brilliant, and Stephen Fry because he's just lovely, and would be an awful lot of fun. The fifth person I'd like to spend Christmas with would have to be my sister. We're really close, she's always been my greatest source of support, and afterwards we'd be able to message each other and share "Wasn't that awesome!" stories.
4 Books under my Christmas tree.
The Box of Delights by John Masefield. It's one of my favourite Christmas books, it's full of magic and mystery and just manages to capture the feel of a traditional Christmas while throwing in loads of fantasy. I think my ex-wife must still have my old copy, because I don't have it anymore, and there's a new edition out with Quentin Blake illustrations on the covers that would make a perfect gift for me.
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I know it's not a Christmas book, but it is my favourite. I must have half a dozen copies with different illustrators, but there are loads more out there and I'm always looking to add to my collection.
The Winds of Winter by George R R Martin. I started A Song of Ice and Fire over twenty years ago, and I'd really like to finish it one day. How amazing would it be to find a copy of the next book under my tree? Unfortunately it's not very likely this year.
Mythos by Stephen Fry. My mum bought me Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology book recently, and I loved it, so I've dropped a few hints about this one, which is Stephen Fry doing the same thing for Greek mythology. I read a lot of these stories when I was a kid, but little since, and it's great to see them retold by such good writers.
3 Christmas foods.
First one would have to be mince pies. What is Christmas without them? Home made for preference, but honestly I'd eat any. Second would be Stollen, because I'm a big fan of marzipan, and whoever thought to put it inside a fruit cake was a genius! Third one would probably be pigs in blankets, because I couldn't just eat sweet food all Christmas, and these are the best part of any Christmas dinner.
2 Christmas films I can't live without.
Definitely It's A Wonderful Life. I go to see it at the Tyneside Cinema every Christmas, and every year I finish watching it through tears. It's the perfect reminder that the most important part of any life is the people that you have around you,. that the only way to truly measure your accomplishments is by how much difference you've made in other peoples' lives, and that we never really know how important we are to others.. It tells us to never give up hope, no matter how bleak things might look. It's one of those films that breaks your heart, and then tells you to be thankful for what you've got.
Apart from that, I'm not a big fan of Christmas films. I'm going to have to go with The Nightmare Before Christmas. We used to put it on around Halloween and it marked the end of Halloween preparations and the beginning of Christmas preparations. I think I still know all the words to all the songs too.
1 Christmas song, on repeat.
I hadn't heard this song until a couple of weeks ago, and I've had it on repeat pretty much ever since. Its Christmas in the Air (Tonight) by Scouting for Girls. I was introduced to it by Aimee-Louise and it's one of the nicest Christmas songs I've heard in years. It's a celebration of the magic of new love, at a magical time of year, and how right it feels.
And that is all Liam wants for Christmas.
No comments