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Icon book review: Skipping Christmas

The story ends with an example of the true Christmas spirit, and a heartwarming gesture showing a new and caring light
Posted by Fred Steiner on Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Reviewed by Robet McCool
It's a simple idea – take what you normally spend for Christmas, or even less, and go on a Caribbean cruise. In John Grisham's 2001's Skipping Christmas (Doubleday ISBN 0-385-50583-3) that is the premise, and how horrible it could be.

Luther and Nora Krank see their twenty-three year old daughter Blair off for a two year tour with the Peace Tour, and Luther goes home with a new idea. With Blair gone he totals up what they spent last Christmas, and how much chaos and frenzy the holiday brings to his life.

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Holocaust is happening today in China

There are concentration camps that are killing Uyghur Muslims
Posted by Fred Steiner on Sunday, December 13, 2020

By Amelia Alexander
I remember learning about the horrors of the Holocaust during elementary school. 

Everyone in my class seemed appalled that humans could do such vile things to each other. The systematic killing and torturing of the Jews and other minorities was nauseating to learn about. 

How could 11 million people be senselessly murdered in such a short period of time? Certainly, if we were alive during the Holocaust, we wouldn’t have let this happen for so long, right?  

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Craig Hoffman's top 10 albums of 2020

Let's hear viewers' opinions on Craig's picks
Posted by Fred Steiner on Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Reviewed by Craig Hoffman
This year has seen fewer releases and no live concerts. Still, in 2020, several artists made worthy efforts in creating good to great albums. The full reviews for each release on this list are found in the links to the (Ada) Icon.

Do you agree with this list? Let the Icon know in the comments or on Facebook!

Folklore - Taylor Swift
Swift’s new direction is a good one for this album. Folklore is a commercial and critical success. While unlikely to go down as the artist’s best album, there is more than enough creativity, artistry, and variety to keep the Swifties happy.  

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Icon music review: The top 10 - Best Christmas singles

Here's Craig's list - What's on your top 10 list?
Posted by Fred Steiner on Thursday, December 3, 2020

Reviewed by Craig Hoffman
With the Christmas season around the corner, it is the perfect moment to rathe ten best Christmas songs. Do you agree with this list? Let the Icon know in the comment section!

“White Christmas” by Bing Crosby
“White Christmas” is perhaps the most famous Christmas song of all-time. It’s sold more than 100 million copies around the world. It’s a can’t miss tune for anyone celebrating the holiday season. 

Written in 1942, it’s still a perfect tune for those who can’t get back home for the holidays this year. That includes this reviewer in 2020.

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How the pandemic has affected my generation

And, some healthy things we can do to cope 
Posted by Fred Steiner on Wednesday, December 2, 2020

 By Amelia Alexander
Amelia, an Ada HS student, is the Icon's newest columnist. Writing twice a month, this is her third column. Click here to read her most recent column. You will find all her future columns on our "Columnists" page.

COVID has caused a lot of uncertainty for everyone. This past spring, the majority of us were afraid of the virus, the economic uncertainty of the shutdown, and the uncertainty of remote learning.  

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Icon book review: "Magic Lessons"

Alice Hoffman does indeed spin a charming spell, one that sparkles with literary magic
Posted by Fred Steiner on Sunday, November 29, 2020

Review by Robert McCool
Alice Hoffman's latest chronicle of the remarkable Owens women s “Magic Lessons” (ISBN9781982108847). It completes the enchanting trilogy “Practical Magic (1995) and “The Rules of Magic” (2017) began.

Ms. Hoffman explains the reason she writes most succinctly with a quote from her Aunt Jet, a character in  “”The Rules of Magic” - “she opened a book and therefore was saved, discovering that a novel was as great as any spell.”

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