As highly as we might like to think of ourselves, almost all live cloaked in an eclectic assortment of lies, omissions, half-truths, fabricated portrayals and aspirational representation. It’s not a deliberate intent to deceive that drives us necessarily; rather we are often driven by a need to minimise vulnerability, to Continue Reading
Books
Book review: Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole
For all the mess we have made of things so far, humanity retains a fascinating capacity for believing we will be better in the future. It is perhaps the ultimate coping mechanism or the grandest of mass delusions; whatever it, for all the broken down societies and blue screens of Continue Reading
Book review: Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
There is a glorious sense of feel good wonder that comes with the very best romantic comedies. It’s that innate sense that, all indications to the contrary, and let’s face it, at the moment COVID-19 is the reigning bestial monarch of those contrary indications, life is marked with transcendent romantic Continue Reading
Let’s read with … Dolly Parton? COVID-19 hasn’t stopped storytime …
If you were pick anyone to sit snug as a bug in a bed in their pajamas and read a picture book to you, the odds are good surely that you would pick someone as wonderful as Dolly Parton. She’s bright, smart, effervescently lovely and has the perfect sing-song cadence Continue Reading
Book review: The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
In 1993, ABBA released a song by way of More ABBA Gold that they first recorded in 1982 – “I Am the City” gave a persona to the urban conurbations most people now live in and replete with a pounding, upbeat insistent beat and penetrating lyrics, it felt like the Continue Reading
Book review: The Year Without Summer by Guinevere Glasfurd
History tends to be remembered by most of us in big broad brushstroke terms. We can rattle off dates and times, impressive statistics and jaw-dropping moments but if pressed, we are usually unable to talk about this or that epoch-defining event affected the people who lived through it. Fortunately we Continue Reading
Easter festival 2020: If I Were the Easter Bunny (illustrated by Louise Gardner)
If you were the Easter Bunny, and who knows you may well be, I imagine you, like I would be a wholly happily giving type of bunny, right? I mean, it stands to reason; how could you be in charge of dispensing so much selfless joy, all in brightly-coloured chocolatey Continue Reading
Book review: The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow
When aliens invade Earth, as they are so wont to do, things don’t quite go according to planned. The Ilori, arriving as invading forces often do, with an overwhelming power and force designed to cower the indigenous population into easily-controlled submission, find humanity easily rattled and prone to shoot, a Continue Reading
It’s time for another brightly-coloured adventure! Say hello to “Chickabella Counts to Ten”
SNAPSHOTAre you looking for a counting story to read aloud with your kids? Chickabella is back for another adventure. Join Chickabella as she closes her eyes for a game of hide and seek with her family and friends. Little ones will love counting down with Chickabella, joining in with each Continue Reading
Book review: The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Rather fittingly given the precarious viral-afflicted times in which humanity currently finds itself, Emily St. John Mandel is best known for a book which examines the aftermath of a pandemic that sweeps across the globe in a frighteningly fast timeframe, taking over 99% of people with it, leaving civilisation in Continue Reading