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Richard Paul Evans - The Christmas List

December 03, 2009
 Radio Clips

The Glenn Beck Program


The Christmas List


By Richard Paul Evans

GLENN: Okay. I'm looking at USA Today. This is A Christmas Blizzard, The Christmas Secret, The Christmas List, The Christmas Promise, The Christmas Cookie. I mean, I'm just looking at all the and you know who we have to blame? Richard Paul Evans. Because I believe

PAT: You started this, didn't you?

GLENN: Come on.

PAT: Was it The Christmas Box that started all of this?

EVANS: Yeah, The Christmas Box. The next is going to be The Christmas Sweater Box.

GLENN: Wait a minute. Now we're thinking. Now we're thinking. You have The Christmas List out which is number 4 on the holiday gift guide books. This is USA Today. The Christmas List is out. It is a great, great book. It is modern day A Christmas Carol. So wait a minute. No, it wasn't him. A Christmas Carol.

EVANS: That's right.

PAT: But it wasn't The Christmas Carol. It was A Christmas Carol.

EVANS: I own "The."

GLENN: Yeah. You own "The." It's starts with The Christmas.

EVANS: The Christmas.

GLENN: It's you.

PAT: I wrote The Christmas Lint. It's about what accrues in your belly button after you wear The Christmas Sweater.

GLENN: Really?

PAT: And then you put the lint in the box, in The Christmas Box. So that's it hasn't done real well.

EVANS: There were two parodies of The Christmas Box right after. The Christmas Pox was one of them.

GLENN: That's very good, that's very good. Seriously, weren't you the guy really that kind of started the Christmas, the little Christmas Gift book kind of thing?

EVANS: The Christmas Box was such a phenomenon, we sold eight million copies. And then what happened, the year after The Christmas Box hit number one, it was selling at levels we hadn't seen until Harry Potter. And so the next year the New York Times reported it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Box because there were hundreds of imitations. And my wife would walk through the stores and say, oh, look, there's your book. And she was like, oh, no, it's one that looks just like your book.

GLENN: You know what's amazing is they do it all the time. I mean, how many vampires books are there now.

EVANS: Exactly.

GLENN: Because Stephenie Meyer did Twilight which, by the way, I can't no self respecting I had to turn my man card in about 15 minutes into that movie. I mean, I just

PAT: You went to the New Moon thing?

GLENN: I went with my wife. I went to the New Moon thing. And if the guys take their shirts off and stand around and talk anymore, I'm just going to I mean, I looked at him, we went with our wives and I looked at a friend of mine and we were sitting next to each other and I went, dear heavens, let's turn them. And he went, the man card? Yes, turn it in. Who do we turn it in to right now? But that's the same thing that is happening.

Now, you took the book The Christmas List, you took a new approach to scrooge.

EVANS: Yep, what really happened was last year my book Grace which was your book of the month was

GLENN: I loved that book.

EVANS: Very heavy topic dealing with child abuse and it did extremely well.

GLENN: Hang on just a second. If you haven't met Grace, is that last year?

EVANS: It was last year.

GLENN: If you haven't read Grace, it is such a good book. I saw and I don't mean to relate to the story per se. I saw myself as the central character just because of the way, it was the way we used to think, it was the way our life used to be, it was the settings that we all remember. I mean, you painted that time period and that boy's life so well, it was like me. Different story obviously but it was, it just, just fantastic. There are few books that come out and you don't remember the words. You see the pictures that you had in your head. And Grace was one of those books for me. Anyway

EVANS: It was that way with me, too. It was very autobiographical, really describing my childhood and some of the struggles we had. But after, like a woman in Texas said to me, she said, loved the book, loved Grace; I was depressed for three days.

GLENN: Yeah.

EVANS: I said, well, that wasn't really the point. And I thought, so after I got home for the holidays, I went and watched The Christmas Carol with my family, and I said it always makes me so happy. I want to write something that makes my readers feel that way. And so I went back to write The Christmas List, which is about a modern real estate developer, he's lost his way, he's divorcing his wife who's dying, his only son won't speak to him. And then in the course of this the newspaper makes a mistake and runs his obituary. He reads his obituary, he doesn't like what people have to say, what they are writing about him on the Internet. And after a few more things happen, he decides he wants to change his legacy.

GLENN: So basically because if the, at least the movie version and I don't think I've ever actually read The Christmas Carol, or, I'm sorry, A Christmas Carol, I don't think I've ever read that. But I know the movie version pretty much ends with him standing at the grave and seeing his tombstone. So you just took and started with that moment of revelation.

EVANS: Exactly. And so as he goes back and he goes back to visit, he has a secretary create a list of people he's harmed. He's delighted that there's only five names on the list, until she explains these are the finalists, these are the people whose lives you've completely decimated. So he goes back to try to make right, try to see if he can fix things, and it's not quite as easy as saying I'm sorry.

GLENN: Do you, when you write your books, do you write them with the hope of doing good? Or the, "I'm just looking to tell a good story," or is it a combination of both?

EVANS: Well, I think I come from a central belief system. I'm very optimistic about humans and I believe in hope. So I think all my books are a book about hope and they are also on some level about that God does indeed love us. So when you come from that background, then anything I write is going to show that. But most important is to write an entertaining story because if you don't read it, then you haven't done any good.

GLENN: What was the book you wrote about the healer with Tourette's?

EVANS: The Gift.

GLENN: Another great book. You have 14 novels, more than 13 million copies of books in print. I saw today that you received the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century award. I mean, over Mother Teresa? I mean, I don't I mean, I don't mean to, you know, put you out on the spot here, but out of 100 years, you're the guy?

EVANS: No, there were a few of us.

GLENN: Oh. So it was like The Christmas List, they are like, these are the five. Okay, who else was on the please tell me Mother Teresa made that cut.

EVANS: I honestly don't know. I just remember going to this meeting with a bunch of congressmen and senators and listening to a very long talk.

GLENN: You were the humanitarian of the century because you went and you listened to these guys talk. Nobody else would do it. I did it out of the kindness of my heart, I listened to it. And you also, volunteers of America National Empathy Award for your work helping abused children. I know you have taken a ton of the money that you have made from these stories and you have truly affected lives, and you do it with just great, great words and great stories. You are a fantastic storyteller. And as always, good to have you on the program.

EVANS: Thank you so much, Glenn.

GLENN: You bet. The name of the book is The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans. I notice that somehow or another Richard has made sure that The Christmas Sweater is not on that list from USA Today.

EVANS: Nothing to do with it.

GLENN: Which it doesn't make any sense because I think he owns it. It is The Christmas Sweater, not A Christmas Sweater.

All right. Richard Paul Evans. The name of the book is... The Christmas List, available everywhere.

Glenn Beck, Chad Prather, and Steven Crowder on Dr. Seuss and the idiocy of cancel culture

Blaze TV hosts Glenn Beck , Chad Prather, and Steven Crowder weighed-in with similar but different thoughts on the fascism associated with canceling Dr. Seuss.

Glenn Beck can't help but wonder, "What is wrong with us?" in light of the Dr. Seuss books that have been cancelled due to "hurtful and wrong" illustrations — that takes America one step closer to complete insanity.

Chad Prather approached the issue from a comedic perspective, stating that "Dr. Seuss is dead and could not be reached for comment."

Steven Crowder explained that Dr. Seuss books were banned for being offensive and insensitive to some. So Steven decided to parody the six banned children's books with progressively titled and hilariously inappropriate versions.

Read the full story from TheBlaze News here.

'We DON'T destroy books'

"They are banning Dr. Seuss books. How much more do you need to see before all of America wakes up? ... This is fascism!" Glenn said. "We don't destroy books. What is wrong with us, America?" - Glenn Beck. Download the podcast here.

Chad Prather's comedic take on why Dr. Seuss got canceled

"Dr. Seuss is dead and could not be reached for comment'"- Chad Prather. Download the podcast here.

Dr. Seuss BANNING Bonanza! New Progressive Book Titles Revealed! 

In this 7+1 segment-- Crowder uncovers, new, unreleased Dr. Seuss titles that will be released in the near future (parody). Download the podcast here.

Use promo code BLAZE to save $10 on one year of BlazeTV.

Want more from BlazeTV?

To enjoy more Glenn, Chad, and Steven subscribe to BlazeTV - News & entertainment for people who love America.

Finance Fascists: The Credit Chokehold That Will Bankrupt America

"What's your climate credit score?" That's a question Americans may have to answer if the green global elites get their way.

While the media has distracted us with Orange Man Bad! and Russia, Russia, Russia!, the Left has been busy working on the fundamental transformation of America with a primary pressure point — YOUR money through YOUR bank. Democrats, forgetting the words of MLK, like to group people into categories. They judge you based on what skin color you have, your religion, occupation, your ideology, and now … your carbon footprint.

On his Wednesday night TV special this week, Glenn Beck exposes how they're now planning, not only to categorize you, but to give you a score. It'll determine everything for you: whether you can buy a home, get a new car, open a business … EVERYTHING. And if you don't bend the knee? You'll be blacklisted. But this isn't some far-off conspiracy theory. Multiple big U.S. banks are part of a private U.S. financial group enacting these policies now. It's here, and we're ALL at risk.

Watch the full episode below:

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

'We'll take the hits, but we WON'T let people lie': CPAC organizer hints at lawsuit over 'Nazi' stage design claims

Unlike the mainstream media, we at the "Glenn Beck Radio Program" decided to actually do the research and get to the bottom of CPAC's controversial stage design, which many on the Left have suggested was purposefully shaped like an obscure Nazi symbol. We got our answers straight from the source — and it's not what the media is suggesting.

American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp joined Glenn on Wednesday to share the real story of the stage design, who designed it, and why he's taking legal options against those smearing the Conservative Political Action Conference's name seriously.

Matt told Glenn he'd never heard of the alleged Nazi insignia, noting that even a staff member who "studied anti-Semitism in college" did not recognize the obscure symbol. He went on to explain how the stage designing firm, Design Foundry, and Hyatt Hotels worked collaboratively with CPAC event organizers for months throughout the designing and construction of the stage. However, when pressured by the cancel culture mob on social media, both companies "ran for the tall grass."

"Both the Hyatt and [Design Foundry] looked to CPAC and said [they] had nothing to do with this stage. That's outrageous," Matt stated. "This whole process takes months ... everybody saw this. Everybody had to figure out how to construct this. Everybody had eyes on it from every angle. And nobody in that process ever raised their hand and said, 'Oh, you know, I took a European history class, and I noticed [that the stage design looked like a Nazi symbol.] Nobody."

Matt went on to add that, while CPAC expects attacks from the Left, they also have every intention of standing up for themselves, the conservative community, the Jewish community, and all the people who love America.

"We're fine with taking the hits. We always take the hits, it's part of being a prominent conservative group. We'll take the hits, but we won't let people lie," Matt said.

"I can't tell you how many people have called me during the course of this most tumultuous of years and said, at what point does the conservative community, do the 74 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump, do the people who love America, and think it's okay to read Dr. Seuss, and love Thomas Jefferson and Mount Rushmore, at what point do they start pushing back on the cancel culture? At what point do they say, this is a line you can't cross? I think we're at that line," he added.

"We called our conference, 'America Uncanceled.' The whole thing became about them canceling us. At what point do we not have the right to say,' you can't treat us this way'? You're disparaging us. You're destroying our reputation. You're destroying our ability to be respected members of our community. So, I'm taking your challenge of pursuing our legal options very seriously. And I think we have to go broader. We can't let these companies just follow the woke mob. We can't do it."

Watch the video clip below to catch more of the conversation:

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

Jim Acosta perfectly demonstrates why CPAC attendees chanted ‘CNN sucks’

CNN reporter Jim Acosta was confronted at CPAC by The Federalist reporter David Marcus with a valid question: "When are you guys going to start covering Cuomo?" His answer — or, really, lack of an answer — perfectly demonstrates why he was earlier surrounded by CPAC attendees chanting, "CNN sucks!"

On the "Glenn Beck Radio Program" Tuesday, Glenn and producer Stu Burguiere react to a video clip of the exchange with Acosta, as well as the mainstream media's double standards when it comes to Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Watch the video below:

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.