Everyone would have a good time, [at least enough to figure out what the ending would have been, It's been seventeen years since I last read this story collection (the year it came out, actually), and this time, I figured out why I've never come back to it: despite my enjoyment of most of the stories, there were enough of them I didn't love that it left me feeling rather meh about the whole thing. A must for anyone looking for a good Christmas story. Maybe I'm cold-hearted, but I was just not that sad by the end. It doesn't help that "Epiphany," my least favorite, is the last one in the collection and therefore the one that made the final impression on me. Unsolicited space travel? This book has a lot of magical realism/speculative fiction in it which I enjoy. Connie Willis is the only author whose short stories I like as much as her longer works. "Inn" is the single best use of the biblical nativity story in relation to modern life, but all of these stories capture some aspect of the spirit of goodwill and generosity toward other people that Dickens was on to. It’s not a secret that I’m a fan of Connie Willis’s writing. This is the kind of book that is very hard to rate, for a few reasons. Three Short Novels by Connie Willis Jo Walton. Anne Hathaway (wife of Shakespeare)-Wikipedia Possibly it's that the religious beliefs of the ma. Connie Willis was like my crack. Even the Queen: And Other Short Stories (1998) – sound recording of five stories read by Connie Willis including "Even the Queen", "Death on the Nile", and "At the Rialto" Willis, Connie (1999). You know, those things academics write that are total made-up BS and clearly a desperate attempt to publish something (anything!). The Oxford Time Travel series written by author Connie Willis consists of 4 novels and one novella altogether, which were published between the years 1982 and 2010. But what sets the collection apart from being just a collection of sci-fi stories with a Christmas theme is that Willis offers stories that must take place at Christmas. The ending had a lovely magical fee to it. Connie Willis, author of Doomsday Book, on LibraryThing. Dire straits abound in these riveting recs from the Crosstalk author. It gets 5 stars for squelching my Inner Grinch and actually giving me holiday spirit. But I will mark it 4-stars, because the whole point of this collectio. Connie Willis offers readers an early holiday gift with this wonderful short story collection. This is one I even have a signed copy of. Connie Willis has written a large number of Christmas stories for _Asimov's_. So, I finished this a couple of days ago. Her internal mechanisms work really well—sometimes too well, bluntly, with the jokes too clearly telegraphed, and the plot getting wrapped up too neatly. Miracle and Other Christmas Stories. There is a holiday themed mystery, an examination of the original Christmas story and even a story that sets out to prove why Willis thinks "Miracle on 34th Street" is a superior holid. After discovering Connie Willis when her book Blackout came out I eagerly searched for her other books in vain. Three words: cerebral paper cut. I did really like Death on the Nile, though, and the one about there being no more dogs. And why read them in January? I often have a tough time with short stories (because they need to be really good for me to enjoy a collection). But also, I … Connie Willis is a writer of ideas. Yep. Or perhaps I did, and I just don't want to accept how bleak it felt. This was a fun book filled with truly unique Christmas stories - which as the author pointed out - is very hard to do! An eclectic mix of short stories revolving around the theme of Christmas with the title story being the best of the lot. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published I just finished my annual reread of Connie Willis' Miracle and Other Christmas Stories. Willis is well-known for her humor and "comedy of manners" plots, which usually involve characters runni. I prefer long books. Over 2000 years of Christmas story retellings makes it truly hard to be original! Great short stories by one of my favorite authors. Willis is the reverse of a lot of the other writers I’ve been reading lately, who tend to rely on esoteric prose to paper over narrative holes. Yes, it's got some stories that deal with themes common to science-fiction and have sci-fi elements, but it's more than that. Where do I even begin! A Christmas favorite, I have just begun my annual re-read. Miracle and Other Christmas Stories is a collection of eight short science fiction and fantasies by Connie Willis, plus an introduction and an afterword. Check. Get this from a library! Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. I can't get enough. After discovering Connie Willis when her book Blackout came out I eagerly searched for her other books in vain. ", my heart just doesn't know how to justify giving 4-stars to something related to the most sentimental and, dare I say it, twee holidays of the year. Some disappointments: "The Winds of Marble Arch" and "The Last of the Winnebagos" did not live up to my expectations at all. Okay, so what's a Nice Jewish Boy like myself doing reading Christmas stories? Mostly, it's because while the writing was good, and the some of the stories were excellent, it was still a book about Christmas. A couple of the stories, the ominous story and the preacher road trip, ultimately fell flat for me, but for different reasons. I didn't understand the message of "The Winds of Marble Arch". Christmas-reading fun from a master storyteller who can take on most any genre and does in this short story collection. Home Groups Talk More Zeitgeist. I am obliged to admit at this point that short stories are not my favorite literary form. Mind you, I’m not the only one. Connie Willis, an sf Grand Master, has received (I believe) seven Nebulas and eleven Hugos for her fiction. I usually dislike short story collections because they seem to be all depressing and incomplete. ", my heart just doesn't know how to justify giving 4-stars to something related to the most sentimental and, dare I say it, twee holidays of the year. Thanks to the MacHalo Buddy Read for forcing me to read this! The historical aspects of the story here are enhanced by cleverly self-referential fictional details. There is a holiday themed mystery, an examination of the original Christmas story and even a story that sets out to prove why Willis thinks "Miracle on 34th Street" is a superior holiday film to "It's A Wonderful Life." "The Last of the Winnebagos" hasn't aged well since it imagines a pretty crazy future of highways and travel limitations. I still haven't made it to her earlier works like To Say Nothing of the Dog or The Doomsday Book - both books that others say are her best work. Both the introduction and the speeches are as entertaining as the stories. -- Sir Walter Raleigh. The story, first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in February 1982, involves a time-traveling historian who goes back to the Blitz in London, to participate in the fire lookout at St. Paul's Cathedral. I was interested in hearing how Connie Willis is narrating her own stories. I just wanted to read something by Connie Willis for reasons that a couple of my Goodreads friends will understand. Time is the Fire is a collection of 10 Hugo and Nebula award-winning stories by Willis, ranging from short stories to novellas. This is the one Christmas book I read every year, unfailingly. I still haven't made it to her earlier works like To Say Nothing of the Dog or The Doomsday Book - both books that others say are her best work. Connie Willis is so talented and so good at crafting interesting, surprising situations and complex, lifelike characters. If you haven’t seen the collection or read that particular story, it’s certainly worth looking into. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Students may jest about the ben. It's a total hilarious parody of excessively detailed, over-analyzed, and misinterpretive academic essays on really flawed esoteric opinions. Then I thought about it more, and realized my expectations for Connie Willis are impossibly high. I "honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year," but this book, and each story, are. Mencken! I am not a fan of short stories but Connie Willis is one of my favourite authors so these should be okay! This is one of the best Willis stories I've read and the one I'd recommend people pick up first, as it's a standalone. The ominous story felt unfleshed out, as if Ms Willis had an idea but was uncertain what to do with it and the preacher road trip had me until the last paragraph when the story just ende. I do reread it every year but mostly out of reading habits at Christmas. Unsolicited space travel? Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. It combines Willis heartfelt love for Christmas with … I think it's too easy to lean on communication problems to create tension in a story, and such abysmal communication is often unrealistic. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers story was a very close second. But like I said, lack of communication can irk me. I’m not a big fan of sci-fi so people who are fans of that genre will appreciate this book more than I did, I’m sure. She writes these really engaging, time travel-y books that keep my interest like no other. However, the good stories in the book more than made up for this shortfalls. Yes, it's got some stories that deal with themes common to science-fiction and have sci-fi elements, but it's more than that. Working name of US teacher and author Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (1945- ). I also enjoyed "In Coppelius Toyshop" which turned into a horror story where a self-centred man gets lost forever in a toyshop.". please sign up Are you familiar with the work of Connie Willis?If you have been wondering where to get started with her massive backlist of short stories. I also enjoyed "In Coppelius Toyshop" which turned into a horror story where a self-centred man gets lost forever in a toyshop. They are "soft sci fi" and focus tightly on individuals. The winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, Connie Willis captures the timeless essence of generosity and goodwill in this magical collection if Christmas stories.  These eight tales — two of which have never before been published — boldly reimagine the stories of Christmas while celebrating the power of love and compassion.  This enchanting treasury includes: To see what your friends thought of this book, Mm, hard to tell. Do not miss this collection. A few of these stories were rereads for me, and I loved them even more this time. This book was recommended to me by T. I was a bit worried about trying it because I haven't been very fond of fantasy lately. And just for the record, my absolute favorite story in that collection is Even the Queen. I've criticized the last two Oxford time travel books (Blackout/All Clear) for their excessive bloat and repetitiveness, and it was nice to revisit this original story in that world which nails the length. "Epiphany" I save for the new year, when things are gray and going back to humdrum, and it brings Christmas back into my heart. Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. This collection of twelve short stories from Connie Willis features huge variety. Connie Willis (US, born 1945) Homepage; ISFDB Bibliography; Wikipedia Entry; Winner of 11 Hugos (and nominated for 13 more). Willis's stories are timeless in the sense that the humor is often grounded in universal human behavior and personality types that we all know. I enjoyed it the first time I read it last year, and even more so this time, knowing full well from the beginning about Mencken. "Newsletter" and "Epiphany" are my favorites, with "Miracle" and "Inn" coming close behind, but all the stories are gems. "A Letter from the Clearys" was a reread too, and another one I enjoyed more the second time around. Her books are complex using science fiction time travel to fact check she takes us back to times we could only imagine and then see firsthand through the eyes of the time traveler how difficult it can be to only observe never change the outcome. In longer novel form, I think this is a good thing; I enjoyed Blackout/All Clear quite a bit. She’s also a little too friendly for my tastes, but then I’m a miserable person. I don't know how else to explain it without ruining it! I like them all but it is not a book that I would say that I love. On trial for murder? It was fantastic and funny and made me want to read more scathing, pithy, and hilarious commentary by Mencken. Willis is the reverse of a lot of the other writers I’ve been reading lately, who tend to rely on esoteric prose to paper over narrative holes. I had a moment of pure happiness when I realized that it was the holiday season, and that meant I got to read this book again. But I will mark it 4-stars, because the whole point of this collection, as Willis makes clear in her introduction, is to move away from the traditional of sickly sweet Christmas stories that result in heart burn and tooth ache (or sensations indistinguishable from). The first novel of this series is titled as ‘Doomsday Book’. It’s part of Connie Willis’ marvelous short story collection, Impossible Things. It contains 10 of Willis' short stories, most of which have been previously-printed in numerous venues. Of the eight Christmas stories in this collection, I enjoyed "Inn" the most, a reworking of the nativity where a choral singer helps a homeless couple expecting a baby who have lost their way. At the base of each is human emotion, searching, hope, sometimes love. "Newsletter" where people seem to be infected with niceness rather than Christmas grumpiness was amusing and I enjoyed the 'Ghost of Christmas Present' (as in gift), whose role is to give people what they really want, in "Miracle", although I found the story rather long. Connie Willis is a writer of ideas. Start by marking “Miracle and Other Christmas Stories” as Want to Read: Error rating book. [ He should have just taken the kid to the basketball game. Overall, Time is the Fire was a grab-bag of great and average stories. Nominated for 2 World Fantasy Awards. Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. This is a mix, which is a way of padding out a few good stories, or of selling unsellable poor stories, depending on your point of view. There's this magnificent shift in the story, in which you realize you've gotten the setting completely wrong, because you assume at the beginning... and it's written cleverly enough that nothing contradicts your assumption, but when you go back and reread the opening paragraphs, you see exactly what you missed the first time. "Inside Job" is about a man and his assistant who debunk mediums in Hollywood - and then they encounter a new medium in town who may be truly channeling the spirit of H.L. It doesn't help that "Epiphany," my least favorite, is the last one in the collection and therefore the one that made the final impression on me. Connie Willis’ Fire Watch begins her Oxford Time Travel series by focusing on a time traveling historian who visits St. Paul’s Cathedral during the Blitz after a computer error changes his assignment from visiting St. Paul to visiting the cathedral named after him. And technology is the only weakness in many of these stories. [Connie Willis] -- A fan's collectible anthology by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductee contains each of the author's ten Nebula Award- and Hugo Award-winning tales. I'm so glad I decided to buy this collection for kindle this year as I've been wanting to read it for some time. Connie Willis is an American author of science fiction stories and novels. Christmas is bearing down on us, and because you all have so much time to read during the holidays, Lee thought you might like a list of my Christmas short stories. Willis, a multiple Nebula and Hugo Award winning author and a SFWA Grand Master, has written over 15 novels and dozens of short stories since … Time is the Fire is a collection of 10 Hugo and Nebula award-winning stories by Willis, ranging from short stories to novellas. Removing this book will also remove your associated ratings, reviews, and reading sessions. She has written some stories that I consider to be classics. Connie Willis, author of Doomsday Book, on LibraryThing. And for some reason, while my head says "but there were so many great stories! In this book of short stories, Connie Willis does what she does so well and takes a well known story and reinvents it in her own style. Since it wasn't expensive I gave it a try. I was impressed at the writing, because like I mentioned before, Willis is great at vividly sketching in a world and its rules, and the frustrations. Not many people are keen on the idea of a book automatically grafting itself to their consciousness. Students may jest about the benefits of learning by osmosis, but the side effects are painful to say the least. But somehow this author manages to do it. The best of Connie Willis : award-winning stories. Mostly, it's because while the writing was good, and the some of the stories were excellent, it was still a book about Christmas. It's about paranoia and post-nuclear explosion life. After each story is an afterword written by Connie Willis about the story. Though she is an acclaimed science-fiction writer, much of her works also explore the social sciences as well. Connie Willis' short-story ``Schwarzschild Radius'' is based on events in the life of Karl Schwarzschild, who gave the first exact solutions to the equations of general relativity. It was on sale for $1.99 in early December 2016 a great value. It was released by the Bantam Spectra publishers in the year 1992. Sometimes that popularity gets judged by book sales; sometimes—as in the case of many short story writers—the popularity gets judged by awards and award nominations. And of course it wasn't there yet. Her internal mechanisms work really well—sometimes too well, bluntly, with the jokes too clearly telegraphed, and the plot getting. After I move into a world, I want to stay there, settle down, and get to know the neighbors. She has a few other works that I really like. When I saw that a book of her short stories was coming out, I immediately snatched it up. As she states in her introduction, it's hard to re-invent the wheel when it comes to holiday stories and she doesn't attempt to do so. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s. . I admit that I found this book in the sci-fi section, but I honestly think it transcends that. She has received seven Nebula awards and eleven Hugo awards for her fiction; Blackout and All Clear— a novel in two parts—and Doomsday Book won both. September 20 - Of course the first thing I looked for was the fire watch stone. Possibly it's that the religious beliefs of the main character are enough different from mine that I just wanted to argue with him, but in general it just wasn't a good way for me to end the book. Instead, she takes the convential stories and gives them her own unique twist making them entertaining and magical at the same time. October 31st 2000 I "honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year," but this book, and each story, are nuggets of purest Christmas, buoying my spirit and filling my heart, again and again. Even if you have read the stories elsewhere, having them together in one binding is special. Willis is well-known for her humor and "comedy of manners" plots, which usually involve characters running around, unable to communicate, and completely misunderstanding each other. I hate to sound like an advertisement, but this would make a great gift for anyone who loves science fiction. This collection was fine, but not overly exciting - there was one story I really enjoyed (Newsletter) but the others did not make me overly invested in them, so three stars it is. We’d love your help. So overall a bit of a mixed bag but worth reading for the good bits. I had a moment of pure happiness when I realized that it was the holiday season, and that meant I got to read this book again. Published on October 10, 2017, A Lot Like Christmas is an "Expanded, Updated Edition of Connie Willis' Beloved Miracle and Other Christmas Stories" For more details and a table of contents, visit this entry on the conniewillis.net blog. The Connie Willis short story "Winter's Tale," which combines factual information about Anne Hathaway with a fictitious Shakespeare identity theory, also characterises the nature of the relationship as loving and the bequeath of the second-best bed as romantically significant. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s. I'm getting into the holiday spirit and thought I'd read this thematic collection. Welcome back. This new collection of stories from the multi-award-winning author of Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog contains: Before I became a romance reader, I was addicted to sci-fi. Time is the Fire is a collection of 10 Hugo and Nebula award-winning stories by Willis, ranging from short stories to novellas. My first Christmas read of the season wasn't a success, but this one really hit the spot. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers story was a very close second. She is not what you would call a speedy author. She writes the Oxford Time Travel series. My favorite is "Newsletter.". Her books are complex using science fiction time travel to fact check she takes us back to times we could only imag. Connie Willis is a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and a Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. See 1 question about Miracle and Other Christmas Stories…, ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, Good Minds Suggest: Connie Willis's Favorite "In Over Their Heads" Books. She began publishing sf with "Santa Titicaca" for Worlds of Fantasy (Winter 1970/1971 #3), but appeared only intermittently in the field until the early 1980s, when she became a full-time author, winning several awards almost immediately. ‘The Best Of Connie Willis’ is a collection of award-winning short stories by Connie Willis. I liked all the stories, but didn't really love them. She is not what you would call a speedy author. Buy The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Willis, Connie from Amazon's Fiction Books Store. Connie has won numerous Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards, has been inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and also is a SFWA Grand Master. "Epiphany" I save for the new year, when things are gray and going back to humdrum, and it brings Christmas back into my heart. There's a bit of fantasy, a bit of science fiction (although nothing that's purely space opera), stories about the end of the world, about time travel, and about UFOs. I really enjoy short stories and the finality of them. Connie Willis is the only author whose short stories I like as much as her longer works. The final story "Epiphany" was also somewhat long and felt a bit forced to me. Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:00pm 12 ... Uncharted Territory is the story of two explorers on a new planet who have to … These are really nice stories, full of the spirit of this time of the year, whether they involve an unsolved mystery or possible alien invasion. 5 stars this reading, so see the above as 4 1/2 stars. "Fire Watch" packed much more of a punch, and it's the perfect length for the story, with its craziness and sleepless, neurotic feel. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. It's funny because it's so, so true. "Adaptation" was quite a touching story where a young divorced man hopes to see his daughter over Christmas but his ex-wife keeps finding excuses for her not to be with him. My yearly tradition is to start around Thanksgiving with the introduction - just as wonderful as the stories - and work my way through slowly. It also imagines a zombie Emily Dickinson fighting an alien invasion!! First, she is no professional narrator. The absolute funniest story, in my opinion, is the fantastically titled "The Soul Selects Her Own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective". This said, she does a real nice job reading her stories. (Such irony!) Technology and science are background elements. Dire straits abound in these riveting recs from the Crosstalk author. Even after reading Jack. The ending had a lovely magical fee to it. But the wealth of supplemental material in this edition (Afterwords by the author discussing the genesis of each of the stories, and the text of three classic Willis speeches) make it well worth purchasing - even for those who already have all these stories in their personal collections. (These numbers refer to awards for best novel, novella, novelette and short story only! The ominous story felt unfleshed out, as if Ms Willis had an idea but was uncertain what to do with it and the preacher road trip had me until the last paragraph when the story just ended, no conclusion, no payoff, it just stopped. _Miracle and Other Christmas Stories_ (1999) is a collection of eight _Asimov's_ yuletide tales dating from 1985 to 1997. However, I think this story particularly hinges on the reader's emotional attachment to dogs as pets, in order to invoke similar feelings about other issues. 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