A Christmas Carol is a timeless classic that I've loved for a long time and make a habit of reading again every couple of years just to be lost in the Dickensian tale of redemption and emotional rebirth.

To me, the story is about how you should open your eyes to the world around you and whilst you can be appreciative of what you possess, you should also do what you can for others. Put simply, being selfish and cruel will only make your world colder, and Ebeneezer Scrooge is the epitome of the worst there is in the world both the one Dickens during the nineteenth century had seen as a journalist and now 178 years later.

Ebeneezer Scrooge is man whose greed has eaten away what good there had been in his youth, the allure of money has cost him so much but he doesn't see it because he's been blinded for so long. His like-minded business partner Jacob Marley had passed seven years previously and we see just how unwilling to spend his wealth by living in the dead man's former rooms.

I love the way the lessons are told, the glimpses both good and bad into Scrooge's life and those around him both past, present and future - though if you aren't familiar with the story either from the various films, adaptations for television or the book itself? You will need tissues for the future glimpses because they hurt no matter how many times I've read the book.

A true classic of Christmas.... though I always wonder just HOW does Scrooge expect that Turkey to be cooked in time for lunch?