This was my introduction to Washington Irving, and I love his expressive and descriptive language. My favourite stories were not the likely suspects of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", although I enjoyed them. Rather I preferred his reflections on "Westminster Abbey" and others. Reminders of mortality and the inexorable passage of time seem a fitting way to begin a new year.

The only kid version I’ve loved for reading aloud.

So dull

in the next edition of dani listens to audiobooks of classics she probably should know: sleepy hollow was super disappointing. it may have worked better when stories were to be read aloud, but i was bored. i cannot deal with books bringing an iconic monster/creature/supernatural thing into existence, and then barely doing anything with it. i do not care about ichabod or his desire for wealth or his feud with 1820s gaston, or the excessive or the indulgent listings of turning animals into food (vegetarians, just don't). and i know a lot of older books are explicitely racist, but this one is awful. even thought there are very few black characters, they're all shown as caricatures who feel honored to be in the presence of/work for white men.

This was a fun story to pass the time and get into spooky season. It was not terrible, just extremely verbose. Not something I want to read ever again. Yet another classic to tick off my bucket list.

So many run on sentences. Hard to reconcile the remake with the time period. A significantly older man vying for a just turned 18 is common for the time but creepy to read now. I kind of think he got what he deserved

Not what I was expecting

For some reason I thought this was a much longer story. Still worth reading but not what I expected it to be. There is not much depth to the legend.

So sweet Ichabod Crane was no hero but rather a greedy man who was interested in Katrina Van Tassel's inheritance. The Van Tassel's are good people and Brom Bones seems to be truly in love with Katrina and is of course none too happy to see Ichabod interloping.

Katrina is a flirt so she gives Ichabod some hopes and he keeps dreaming about the lands he will inherit after he marries her and what he will do with them. There is a lot of description of food as well, don't read it while hungry.

I didn't feel spooked at all.

Spoiler

To me, the Headless Horseman is none other than Brom Bones who scared away the weak, pathetic gold-digger Ichabod and ended up marry the girl of his dreams

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In the end, Ichabod got what he deserved. That to me is a happy ending!