Monthly Archives: December 2020

Reflecting on 2020

Posted on December 31, 2020 by Adam Randall

I thought to myself “writing a summary of my year on New Year’s Eve/early New Year’s Day has started to become an annual tradition, hasn’t it?” but taking a look, it seems I didn’t do that last year, which is … Continue reading →

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Looking at Christmas Trees

Posted on December 27, 2020 by Adam Randall

I like Christmas tress. I think they look great and nothing gets me into the festive spirit quite like seeing a nicely decorated Christmas tree. But this year, I started to think about something Christmas tree-related which is a bit … Continue reading →

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The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

Posted on December 24, 2020 by Adam Randall

Pretty much everybody has heard of Santa Claus. The story of the man who delivers presents to children across the world every year on Christmas Eve is one which most of us will have been told as children… but have … Continue reading →

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Kindness and Guilt

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Adam Randall

There’s a certain toxic behaviour that I see quite a lot of. Thankfully, this is very rare among the people in my life, but I see it a lot on television (and other fiction) and I know that my friends … Continue reading →

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Could COVID-19 be a hoax?

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Adam Randall

I was out taking my evening walk the other day when I noticed that some local graffiti artists had made a statement over a COVID-19 information poster at the bus station. They had just written two words one was “HOAX” … Continue reading →

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The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Adam Randall

This children’s novel is written in a very clever style – the whole book takes the form of a diary which has been given to the titular Tracy Beaker so that she can record her thoughts and feelings to try … Continue reading →

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Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

Posted on December 5, 2020 by Adam Randall

As a writer, I love thinking about the English language (and other languages too, but less so, since I can’t write or speak them) and so it was really interesting to read Mother Tongue, because it gave a full history … Continue reading →

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Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Adam Randall

In Twelve Years a Slave, Solomon Northup recounts the twelve years of his life in which he was forced into slavery in America. At times, it’s pretty horrible and difficult to read, but it’s important to read in order to … Continue reading →

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The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Adam Randall

In my travels around the internet and popular culture, I often hear Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels talked about as if they were awful people – as if they were responsible for the monstrosities caused by the dictators in history … Continue reading →

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Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Adam Randall

This is one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read and that’s certainly not a bad thing. It’s not easy to fit Her Fearful Symmetry into any pigeon holes, but to sum it up succinctly: twin sisters in America … Continue reading →

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