ALBUMS

THEN:

Verve Presents: The Very Best of Christmas Jazz – Various Artists

Traditional Christmas standards are nice, but there’s something equally comforting about jazz legends putting their magic touch on Christmas favorites. This Verve collection includes selections from Mel Tormé, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie & His Orchestra, Dinah Washington, John Coltrane, Billy Eckstine and more. Put a little swing in your stocking!

NOW:

A Very She & Him Christmas – She & Him

The duo, better known as Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, turn their eye for the kitsch on classic Christmas standards for a gorgeous holiday album. Fans of the movie Elf will be thrilled to hear “Jovi the Elf,” a character played by Deschanel in the movie, finally sing more of those carols we loved hearing so much.

—Sharon Penny

BOOKS

THEN:

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

This is a book that reaches beyond the shackles of the sci-fi genre into pure, delightful adventure. Time travel, magicians, shape-shifters, werewolves, Gypsies, an evil and psychotic clown, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge – all romping about in 19th Century England. Don’t all those things together sound utterly fantastic? The Anubis Gates is just that.

NOW:

11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King

The master of horror tries his hand at science fiction with a suspenseful tale of traveling back to a simpler time. A high school teacher discovers a portal back to the year 1958, and then decides to stop the assassination of JFK. Simple? Not at all! A great holiday read from the master.

—Sharon Penny

FILMS

THEN:

The Purple Rose of Cairo

Escapists will remember Woody Allen’s winsome The Purple Rose of Cairo as a love letter to the magic of movies. Few films delight as much while exploring the conflict between real life and fantasy – or, who we are and who we want to be.

NOW:

Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen has hit his stride with the fantastical Midnight in Paris. This romantic comedy sends hopeful novelist Gil, a believably sincere Owen Wilson, back to 1920s Paris, where he hobnobs with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Zelda Fitzgerald, and confronts the illusions of his own romance with his more suited-to-the-suburbs fiancé.

—Jenn Thornton

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To read more film reviews and December movie releases, visit Flicks with Style!