(via Shutterstock) Forget decking the halls … at least for right now! With Christmas almost upon us, adding more pop culture ornaments to my tree is the order of the day, and yes, while I buy far too many new ones every year – is there such a thing? I Continue Reading
Festive novella review: The Austen Christmas Murders by Jessica Bull
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) With 2025 being the 250th birthday of one Jane Austen, it seems entirely fitting that this delightful The Austen Christmas Murders by Jessica Bull find pride of place in the festive reviews section of SparklyPrettyBriiiightmas. Now, as far as we know, and primary evidence is not Continue Reading
Movie review: Eternity
(courtesy IMP Awards) Does love survive death? We all like to think so; the innately romantic part of ourselves, which might get trampled down by life but never really goes away, wants to hang onto the comforting idea that not even death can stand in the way of love, true Continue Reading
On 11th day of Christmas … I read Christmas People by Iva-Marie Palmer
(courtesy St. Martin’s Griffin) This seems to be the Christmas for festive romcoms with cleverly out-there premises and one of the best so far has to be Christmas People by Iva-Marie Palmer. In this sparklingly fun but emotionally grounded novel, Jill Jacobs, a wannabe screenwriter based in L.A. who’s had Continue Reading
Festive graphic novel review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
It has to be the famous story ever told about Christmas … apart from the obvious other one, of course, where the Son of God born in a manger kicks the whole idea of Christmas off. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall Continue Reading
Festive book review: The Christmas Party by Sophie Claire
(courtesy Hachette Australia) Life, for all its glorious moments, rich opportunities and heartwarming interludes, can also be a cold and brutal place. We all know that; we’ve been there, seen it doing its dark and uncaring thing and wondered how something that can be so good, so uplifting and wondrous Continue Reading
On 10th day of Christmas … I listened to two more festive albums – Molly Johnson’s It’s a Snow Globe World and A Holly Jolly Jill Barber Christmas
(via Shutterstock) It’s a Snow Globe World by Molly Johnson (courtesy SoundCloud) If you’re a Canadian, you will be well and truly familiar with the towering musical presence that is Molly Johnson, a singer active since 1979 who excels in delivering pop and jazz numbers with evocatively soulful ease and Continue Reading
On the Christmas cover! Gromit and Shaun the Sheep together for the first time in 30 years
(courtesy Radio Times) What a delight! Shaun the Sheep has joined Gromit, of legendary Wallace and Gromit fame, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Close Shave which saw Shaun enter the home of perhaps Aardman Animation’s most well-known creations, and devour everything in sight! The third instalment in the Continue Reading
Movie review: Zootopia 2
(courtesy IMP Awards) Is it possible for a sequel to better or at least emphatically equal its predecessor? Most of the time the answer to that question, especially when it comes to movies is a firm and unequivocal “NO!” but in the case of Zootopia 2, the sequel to 2016’s Continue Reading
On 9th day of Christmas … I watched Home for Christmas (Hjem til jul) S3
(courtesy Netflix) One of the most enduring of recent festive viewing traditions has been the Home for Christmas (Hjem til jul) series, now in its third season, which offers up gently soap operatic storytelling with an almost tangible sense of what we think Christmas should look and feel like. Unlike Continue Reading