my favourite read for this year?...well madam it's...

My SO and I watched a documentary about The Topp Twins last night. A pair of truly unique, yodelling, lesbian, comedian, policial activist singers (and I'm fairly sure I've left a descriptor or two off here). They are a similar vintage to us and we remember seeing them busking in Queen Street, Auckland several times in the 1980's, singing their blend of personal/issue-driven country songs. They have toured the world, wowed crowds, had their own tv series, battled cancer and changed lives. They have been there at the forefront of just about every major issue this country has faced over the last thirty years - no nukes, anti-apartheid, maori land rights, gay rights and breast cancer awareness. They still giggle away at their own stories as they tell them during their gigs. They are New Zealand icons. And one of the things that sets them apart from successful celebrities and is i think a big part of their success and their celebrity is that they are always themselves. Even as they inhabit their other personas, Ken and Ken, Dilly and Prue, Camp Mother and Camp Leader, the bowling ladies, and Belle and Bell Gingham, they are still themselves while holding up a mirror to who we are. Being themselves has enabled other New Zealanders to do the same. Its one of the things I admire most about them. And for all the famous folk who worry about a loss of privacy in sharing their lives with the world somehow the Topp Twins complete openness has lead to a refreshing respect for them. There is nothing to know about them that they haven't already mentioned. I rate this as one of my top tv watches for 2010. Other top watches this year - Glee and still got it after all these years award goes to The Office (US version).


Top read - this year has to go to The White Cat by Holly Black. Honourable mentions go to The Graveyard Book and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

Top Movie - haven't seen Inception yet but my fave for this year is Kick Ass.

Top moment - getting a phone call the day after posting a manuscript, watching my kids perform on the stage, the soccer field, the sprung floor and other arenas.

Top write - this year goes to my YA - My Sister's Shadow. I am very proud of this story. There have been some very positive noises about this from publishers. I have my fingers crossed

So, next year is approaching like Superman. What's on the agenda for 2011? I think I better make some plans, then if I tell you, I will HAVE to do them!!