Hoffmann is such an astounding storyteller! Here are two of his works, The Nutcracker and The Golden Pot. Hoffmann creates magic that feels like it could be real or could be entirely in the main characters imagination, and only the narrator knows for sure until the very last moment.

What better story to read during the Christmas season than the Nutcracker? Made famous by Tchaikovsky's brilliant ballet, here we are presented with a darker tale where a young girl falls in love with a nutcracker given to her by her godfather, a clockmaker. Of course, there is more to both the nutcracker and the godfather than anyone but the girl, Maria, is aware, as well as a dreaded seven-headed mouse king bent on destroying the nutcracker. Over the course of the story, we learn why the war between Mouse King and Nutcracker is being waged, and what exactly is at stake.

Also included here is The Golden Pot. Here Hoffmann creates his own fairy tale in which a clumsy student gets on the wrong side of an applewife and falls in love with a snake, sending him down a strange rabbit hole of magic and mayhem. But, is it all in his head? How will everything end for the young man? This is one of my new favorite stories, as I had somehow not read it before now. I'm glad this oversight has been corrected, because I absolutely loved it!

Two amazing tales here, excellent reads! ( )