December | 2010 | Reading Upside Down

From the monthly archives: December 2010

New Year, New Focus

By Susan On December 31, 2010 · 13 Comments

I don’t generally make New Years’ resolutions, probably because I have a terrible track record of actually keeping them. I don’t even bother with the anti-resolution of ‘My resolution is to not make any resolutions’, although in this case it is motivated less by an expectation of failure and more by concern that the [...]

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The Ties that Bind

By Susan On December 28, 2010 · 9 Comments

Today I attended a gathering in memory of my cousin Luke, who would have turned 40 today had he still been alive. He passed away at the age of 13.

I was 8 months younger than Luke, so I was only a child myself when he died. I have very few clear memories of him [...]

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Christmas Gingerbread

By Susan On December 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I found the most Awesome Cookie Cutters Ever and purchased a set for myself and a set as a Christmas gift for a friend.

Here is our first batch, baked just in time for Christmas. I give you our NinjaBread Men. The kids decorated the cookies and even provided weapons for [...]

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Christmas Break

By Susan On December 22, 2010 · 2 Comments

I will be closed for Blog Renovations for the next few days, planning a triumphant and totally amazing return just after Christmas.

There are exciting plans in the pipeline for 2011 including a new website project in partnership with Meredith from Oh, The Thinks you Can Think, a revamped Reading Upside Down blog [...]

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Do You Enjoy Poetry?

By Susan On December 14, 2010 · 2 Comments

I’m rather unpredictable when it comes to poetry.

I enjoy many of the mainstream poetry ‘classics’ – Wordsworth, Keats, Donne, Coleridge for example. I loved studying them at school and have continued to read them periodically for pleasure. I still giggle at the bawdy humour of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and love the poetry of [...]

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Book Review: The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C Morais

By Susan On December 14, 2010 · 2 Comments

Summary (Allen & Unwin)

Abbas Haji is the proud owner of a modest family restaurant in Mumbai. But when tragedy strikes, Abbas propels his boisterous family into a picaresque journey across Europe, finally settling in the remote French village of Lumiere, where he establishes an Indian restaurant, Maison Mumbai.
Much to the horror [...]

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Book Review: Samuel’s Kisses by Karen Collum

By Susan On December 13, 2010 · 1 Comment

Summary (New Frontier Publishing)

Samuel loves going shopping with his mummy.
He smiles and blows kisses to all the unhappy shoppers.
Samuel delights in spreading fun and happiness to all
those around him.

A warm, sparkling story that will make your heart soar.

Comments

Another wonderful picture book found through Twitter.

This [...]

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Book Review: The Calligrapher’s Daughter by Eugenia Kim

By Susan On December 13, 2010 · 1 Comment

Summary (Allen & Unwin)

Najin Han, the privileged daughter of a calligrapher, longs to choose her own destiny. Smart and headstrong, she is encouraged by her mother – but her stern father is determined to maintain tradition, especially as the Japanese steadily gain control of his beloved country. When he seeks to marry fourteen-year-old Najin [...]

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Book Review: I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington

By Susan On December 13, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Summary (Random House)

Who is left behind when a family falls apart?

It was four o’clock in the morning.
A young woman pushed through the hospital doors.
Staff would later say they thought the woman was a new mother, returning to her child – and in a way, she was.
She walked [...]

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My Mission, Should I Choose to Accept It…

By Susan On December 13, 2010 · 4 Comments

Today I am catching up on reviews. Here is the pile of books I have prepared in advance…

So, I’d love to stay and chat, but I need to go and write, write, write and then write some more. There will be reviews published here and at Suite101 as well as some [...]