A Lot Like Christmas

 

A Lot Like Christmas / Connie Willis 
NY: Random House, c2017.
544 p.

I enjoy Connie Willis' books, and so decided on her 2017 collection of seasonal short stories for my holiday reading this year. A Lot Like Christmas is an expanded version of an earlier collection, Miracle and Other Christmas Stories (which I read in 2013). There are 5 new stories in this book, but it's been such a long time since I read the first one that I enjoyed rereading all the stories which I vaguely recalled, as well. 

The five new stories are all a delight. There are more aliens in these ones, foreshadowing her recent book Road to Roswell, perhaps! I think my favourite one was the longish story All Seated on the Ground (which won a Hugo). It has aliens, Christmas carols, and entertaining characters. There's one about a world in which the main character works for a company that creates huge themed Christmas displays, to impress others; another tips the hat to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The new stories were uniformly appealing. The only story I felt was a dud, and I felt this way the first time I read it, was In Coppelius' Toyshop. Too 80s & mean feeling, and I still don't like it! 

Another element to enjoy in this book is Willis' intro, talking about why she writes Christmas stories and what makes a good one. Plus the list of Christmas movies to watch and books to read in the back has been expanded since the first edition, and there are even more great suggestions to keep you busy with holiday entertainment. Highly recommended if you're looking for some unusual and thought-provoking Christmas reading that is also a lot of fun.