<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><div><span>Awesome! Thank you! I've read a couple of these, but the others sound wonderful.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>And thanks to Dan'l for the Willis recommendation. I remember now having heard about that, but I'd completely forgotten. Now I have presents for myself!</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Craig</span></div><div><br></div> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <div class="hr" style="margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); height: 0px; line-height: 0; font-size: 0px;" contenteditable="false"
readonly="true"></div> <font face="Arial" size="2"> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Michael Conrad <mickjeco@gmail.com><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> urth@urth.net <br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Thursday, December 19, 2013 8:39 PM<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> (urth) Christmas sf/f? (Craig Brewer)<br> </font> </div> <div class="y_msg_container"><br><div id="yiv6662290996"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"Can anyone recommend good sf/f about Christmas, barring Wolfe stories? (Those I know.) I see a few collections online, but they look bland. You guys have better taste than Google, so I'd rather listen to your advice."</span><br>
<div><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br></span></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">I like Gene's stories a lot (just reading through "No Planets Strike" and "And When They Appear" for a project - as usual with Gene, you find more and more layers with each reading, and researching the odd and unfamiliar words and references reveal whole new levels of meaning - lots of stuff I didn't notice on first reading!)</font></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">For non-Lucan Christmas stories, I would recommend:</font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">"Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus" by Frederick Pohl - both a sweet love story and a view of the increasingly corporate nature of Christmas.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">"Nackles" by Donald Westlake - a modern view of the dark companions of St. Nicholas in European folklore like Krampus and Knecht Ruprecht (who also makes an appearance in "And When They Appear") </font></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">"Into Egypt" by Stephen Vincent Benet - a Nazi officer makes a surprising discovery among the hordes of displaced Jews relocated to the death camps.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">"Bless me Father For I Have Sinned" by Ray Bradbury - A priest on Christmas Eve receives and makes a confession on the great sin of his life - an incident that Bradbury himself has noted as autobiographical.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">"The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien - well, the Fellowship left Rivendale on Christmas Day! (Tolkien wrote an annual letter to his children, by the way allegedly from Father Christmas, that grew more and more involved each year, and were charming. My kids loved reading them every Christmas. They're collected as "Letters From Father Christmas."</font></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">"The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde - a beautiful story for children and adults. </font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br>
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