"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."

It's time for our holiday short stories read! This year we have three works that should be appropriate to the season and will inspire stimulating discussion (as usual).

First, we have the story Ah Pan for Christmas, by Paul Keens-Douglas. This text is not available online, but I will be sending it to you by e-mail. We may have some audio versions coming. The text I will be sending was transcribed from CBC’s "As It Happens" podcast.

To provide some context: "They call him Mr.Tim-Tim and in the English speaking Caribbean, Paul Keens-Douglas is a storytelling legend. He was born in Trinidad and spent his childhood in Grenada, where holidays are celebrated to the beat of the steel drum and the groove of calypso music. In Trinidad, the steel drum is called ah pan and in this Christmas story, it’s what reconnects one man with his family on Christmas Eve."

Next, we have the classic A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. We've all seen a number of movies and re-enactments of the story but how many of us have actually read the text?! This is available to read online at Project Gutenberg and runs about 80 pages long.

A Christmas Carol was originally published in 1843. The story, suddenly conceived and written in a few weeks, is one of the outstanding Christmas stories of modern literature.

And to round out the readings, another classic, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. An online version, running 84 pages (with illustrations) is available on Google Drive as a PDF.

The story follows a young prince who visits various planets, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. Despite its style as a children's book, The Little Prince makes observations about life, adults, and human nature.

All three of these will set the tone for the holidays and provide a great ending to 2025's Booze and Books activities!

PS: The event title quote is from Vincent Van Gogh.