:thumbsup: Both are very good writers. Another of Dickens works (A Christmas Carol) is a classic of the season. I wager even many of those who have never read the book or seen any of the movies know who Scrooge is.

It was the book club selection for December 2011. I'll bite. Who was Scrooge?

Yes. I'd prefer Wilde, especially since I think the discussion would be more fun, but will also read both. Two very nice selections, especially for a holiday month. As with Auntie Mame, I need a little Christmas, right this very minute, as Thanksgiving disappeared into the maw of a three-day power outage. Cheese and crackers instead of turkey and trimmings.

I voted for "The Canterville Ghost." :) Sorry to hear you had some problems with power outage Issybird. A young lady I know on another board also had her Thanksgiving with her family delayed due to power outage.

Thank you. It was grim, but no lasting damage. The silver lining is that the house was so cold that I didn't have to throw out anything from the refrigerator. And right in the spirit of the holiday, was I ever thankful when the power came back!

A good point. Of course most of us are prone to taking our modern conveniences for granted. Last time we had a power outage here I kept on forgetting and trying to turn the lights on. :rofl: Someone should start a thread about fiction/non-fiction books about people having to do without the modern conveniences. I imagine it would make interesting reading. I wish Zen had gotten enough nominations but those that are up look interesting.

I would hate living in the olden days when there were no refrigerators to keep meat fresh on hot summer days! Glad you got your power back on, issybird.

Me, too, thanks! Geography really alters your perspective. I'm not a native New Englander and I don't know how the early settlers stood them, the endless dark and bitter winters. I would much prefer a summer outage, with more daylight and being able to sit around in reasonable comfort, as opposed to wrapped up in outdoor clothing and blankets. Spoiled food seems like a reasonable trade-off.

^I don't know. I lived in Missouri when power was out for two weeks to hundreds of thousands of people during a heatwave. People died. They are both terrible situations and I'm glad you've got power back.

That's too bad, issy. Glad to hear you now have electricity again. At least life is a banquet, even if your Thanksgiving dinner unfortunately wasn't.