On our drive home from celebrating Thanksgiving with family in Cleveland, we listened to the audio version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, in anticipation of the soon-to-be released movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The iTunes audio book, narrated by Rob Inglis, kept us (my husband, teenage son, and me) quite entertained during our six hour car trip with the many adventures the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and the band of thirteen dwarves with whom he travels as they journey to Lonely Mountain to reclaim the lost treasure. Goblins, wolves, heroic eagles, trolls, giants, dragons and large spiders are a few of the characters Bilbo Baggins comes across as he travels from the safety of his home to the lost dwarven kingdom under the Lonely Mountain.
Luckily, outside of listening to the story, our trip home did not include any scrapes with goblins or giants. We encountered only the kindest of people at the few rest stations we stopped at for refreshments and gasoline.
Another book/musical to be coming soon to the big screen is Les Miserables written by Victor Hugo. Both the book and musical Les Miserables are favorites of my husband, Chuck. It looks like we may be heading to the theater on the day after Christmas to see the movie. Until then, we will be listening to our favorite songs on the Broadway musical soundtrack.
During the month of December, local independent businesses around town have hidden a photo of Dr. Seuss’s character, the Grinch, in their establishments. Find 16 of the 60 or so hidden photos and you can enter a drawing for books and toys held on December 28 at Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville. Our grandson, Liam, will be staying with us next weekend, so we will probably read Dr. Seuss’s book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and then try our luck finding him around Naperville.
Enjoy your holidays and remember to shop locally!
