I Agree in every particular. I first read these when I was 9 or 10 (young enough to hope against hope for a miracle on my eleventh birthday). They've come with me ever since. I've bought new copies because my originals are so battered I daren't read them any more. Christmas isn't about trees, presents, family or religion; it's about the sense of burgeoning mythology and mystery in The Dark is Rising; about half-hearing Will's music on the ice-sharp wind. I saw the trailer for the fim about a month ago and I hope I don't see it again. It attempted to ruin memory after memory and I'd rather have those memories than an over-hyped, ill-considered, carelessly-executed piece of Hollywood trash.