Does Christmas music make anyone else crazy? At a certain time of year, we just can’t escape it. From Black Friday to White Christmas, it is all a distraction, and the soundtrack to the season seeps everywhere. Love them or hate them, these songs have little to nothing to do with the original Christmas....

My wife falls asleep immediately, head to the pillow, but I like to read myself into the dream world. I climb into bed and pull my headlamp over my curly hair. I aim the light at the pages and read the words working my way through the ink, a story bleeding from the author’s heart and honed by his mind....