Rating: 
Summary: Skipping Christmas
Review: Terrible book. The plot had all the originality of a TV sitcom.
Rating: 
Summary: Skipping Christmas
Review: I thought it was wonderful! It is a nice fast reading story with a wonderful ending. How many of us have thought the same thing, to skip Christmas. It put a funny side to the whole thought. And when you come to the last page, you can't help but have a smile on your face. I would love to read more stories like this one. It is wonderful for young people to read and see a light and funny side to adults. You too will be glad that you did!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good holiday reading
Review: This book is easy to read and does a good job in driving home the message about the true meaning of the season. It's surely not his typical courtroom drama but certainly entertaining. Would love to see the movie..
Rating: 
Summary: a wonderful look at the hectic nature of Christmas
Review: Luther Krank wants only one thing for Christmas -- to skip the holiday altogether and escape with his wife Nora to a cruise in the Carribbean. Frazzled by the expense and materialism of Christmas, and with their daughter away in Peru with the Peace Corps, Luther sees this as a perfect opportunity to leave the chaos behind. Little does Luther realize that no matter how hard he tries to skip Christmas, fate, and his neighbors, ultimately play a hand in bringing Christmas back into the forefront.Grisham does an excellent job spinning a tale in which he describes all of the things that make Christmas so hectic ... long lines at the grocery stores, crowded malls, bills piling up. All of these things are easily identifiable with those who celebrate the holiday. Grisham pokes fun at these things through the character of Luther Krank who sees Christmas as a materialistic holiday and one that he wishes to escape from. Opposite Luther is his wife Nora who agrees with her husband about taking a vacation since their daughter is away but whose heartstrings are constantly tugged at by the Season. It is fun to see the encounters between Luther and his neighbors as he tries to defend his ideas and how they react. Grisham has created a definite Christmas classic in this novel, one which satirizes the materialism of Christmas, but in the end brings out the true meaning of the holiday.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I got this for Christmas from my husband and had it read within a day. It was humorous but also realistic, since we had plans on "skipping Chrismtas" ourselves this year. The way the neighborhood sticks their noses into the Kranks' business is essentially small-town America. If you don't partake in the riots and nauseating decor of Christmas, something MUST be wrong with you! The only problem that I had was that after all the nastiness that the neighbors put the Kranks' thru, all became peachy in the end. The constant "selfish" theme was set around the Kranks, with no mention of the town being selfish because they weren't getting free food and drink off of them this year ($6,000 dollars worth!). Good for fairy tales, but I think I would seriously have to evaluate my neighborhood "friends" had I endured a Christmas like these people.
Definitely worth a quick read if you're in the mood for something lighthearted and witty.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down.
Review: I'm not a real big book reader, but this one was small and was by a well known author so I thought I'd get it to have something to read while riding on vacation. I couldn't put it down. It was soooo funny. I read the whole thing on my trip back from Florida to SC. I'm sure the normal readers of the author were a little surpised and taken back by this different setting. But I
absolutely loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Light, Festive Holiday Read
Review: John Grisham takes a break from writing legal thrillers and puts a new spin on the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holidays in his novel, Skipping Christmas. As Luther Krank, an accountant, tallies up last year's Christmas expenses and headaches, he decides that the best plan for this year would be to skip Christmas all together. Especially with his daughter out of the country aiding the Peace Corps. While it took a little convincing for his wife, Nora, the Kranks agree to restrict Christmas spending, Christmas decorations and Christmas parties and instead spend their money on a cruise. However, the Kranks learn that thier new Christmas activities, or the lack thereof, may be more of a headache and disaster than they planned for. With many laughs along the way, Grisham tells a wonderful, festive story with true Christmas spirit shining through in the end.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful light-hearted read
Review: Someday we may see families curled up on couchs on Christmas Eve, the television for once turned off. Rather than watching It's A Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street, they'll each have a copy of Skipping Christmas in their hands. It took me a while to warm to this novel, but when I did, it was inescapably ensearing, and quite humourous. (It's rare for me to laugh out loud while reading a novel, but I certainly did with this one!) The story takes us into the lives of Luther and Nora Krank who have decided, for one year and one year only, they're going to skip Christmas all together. They've just sent their daughter away for a year with the Peace Corps, no family's around, and they'd frankly rather take a cruise than worry about buying gifts and decorating the house. In the end, they find skipping Christmas isn't as easy as they had envisioned. As I said, it took me a while to warm to this story. The first half of the novel didn't really click with me. I got the feeling Grisham was just going through the motions, writing a weak satirization of Christmas commercialism, but it turns out he was just setting the stage for the rest of the story. So, while I understand this was part of the story as well, I can't give the story a full five because I felt he did fall into an uncustomary lull at the beginning. Still, this is a very worthy Grisham novel, and one that should brighten everyone's holiday spirits. Recommended for everyone, especially if you like light-hearted Christmas fare. Matty J
Rating:
Summary: Quick Read -- Is this really Grisham?
Review: What a great reminder of the true meaning of the season! I can't get over the fact that this was Grisham. I read this book in about 3 or 4 hours, not a huge time committment, and it's worth every minute. The book is a perfect lesson that it's not the gifts, lights, cards, and other secular annoyances that take the spirit out of Christmas, it's how we choose to respond to them. Grisham shows how many of the unpleasant tasks we associate with the holidays can prove to be an important part of the spirit of the season. As an example, putting an 8 foot Frosty on your roof is not a pleasant task, but when everyone on the block works together to get it done, it transcends the annoyance and reminds the participants of the love of neighbor and peace that the season is supposed to represent.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining holiday reading
Review: Have you ever tried to skip Christmas? Blair, Luther and Nora's only child, is away with the Peace Corps in Peru, so Luther and Nora decide to skip all the Holiday fanfare and expense and spend some money on themselves. Easier said than done, when the entire town is watching and campaigning for Christmas. Skipping includes saying no to the city's firemen when they come round to sell their horrid fruitcakes, no to the doe-eyed boy scouts selling Christmas trees, and no to the entire neighbourhood, that always sets up a huge Frosty on every roof. The ending was a bit of a disappointment, though. I wanted a light book to read over the Holidays and this hit the spot. I am probably one of the few people who has not read John Grisham before, but I enjoyed this book and have been favourably influenced towards his other works.
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