Had I read the book before seeing the movie, I might have enjoyed this more fully. It helps tremendously that it’s read by Dick Cavett, who captures that wry tone of voice that Jean Shepherd used in narrating the movie. The primary difference between the two is that the events in the book are more a disconnected set of stories, rather than events woven together to make it flow. But still, an entertaining story and worth 3 ½ hours spent listening to it.

Audio version, via Audible. ( )

Simply the best Christmas tale. Why did I wait so long to read this?! I grew up loving the movie and being proud that it was written by a Hoosier who lovingly wrote about where I grew up (the "region"). Reading this collection of short stories (taken from another short story collection by Jean Shepherd) that inspired the cult classic Christmas movie, I was in awe of how truly funny it was. I literally laughed out loud on multiple occasions much to the annoyance of my cats. I can't praise it enough. It's fantastic and I want to reread it every holiday season. It's too damn good to read just once. For fans of the movie adaptation, humor, and Hoosiers. Not to be missed! ( )

I love the movie and have for years. This book is....just ok. The stories are the same, but in the movie, it seems they are all tied together more neatly. In this book, the stories each get their own chapter and they don't really relate to each other. The book is more like a mash-up of magazine or newspaper features, which makes the movie more entertaining. ( )

Well worth reading to get a slightly different slant on this Christmas Classic. ( )

More of a 3.75. I have the ebook and the audiobook. I listened the the audiobook and it was the most disappointing part of the book. Being used to hearing Jean Shepard's narration, it was a shock to the system to hear someone else telling the story. Especially because their narration was bland and a little momotoned. All of the movie is there--with minor changes here and there. The story switches back and forth between older Ralphie's present day and him flashing back to memories from his childhood. It isn't all one long story based on Christmas like in the movie. It was funny and a little weird considering I have been watching the movie multiple times a year since the 80's. The story of the movie is ingrained in my memory, so it was odd hearing the story as a mish-mash of seperate memories. Not a bad story, though I do regret purchasing the audio version. ( )