We've switched! Hi people, we've finally over here. Still in the midst of migrating - so some book covers may not be available yet. Please do remember to update your bookmarks and RSS feeds. Thanks! Penny has read 'The Four-Hour Workweek' by Timothy Ferriss WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations New York : Crown Publishers, c2007. Call No.: 650.1 FER -[BIZ] Click here for item availability. Tim Ferriss' new book has created a buzz online and is now on the New York Times bestseller list. He explains how he went from overworked and underpaid to working less than four hours each week and achieving this lifestyle all in record time. He presents steps on how to define your ideal four hour work week, eliminate time wasters and repetitive low yield activities and automate most of your activities to free up your time. I have read the online version of the book about two months back as I could not wait for Amazon to deliver the hard copy version. This is an excellent book that provides inspiration and practical tips for small business owners, entrepreneurs and ‘road warriors’. In this book, you can learn * How to define your ideal four hour work week * Eliminate time wasters by keeping a low information diet * How to create automatic streams of income online * How to set your business on ‘remote control’ so that it frees up your time to enjoy the activities you like * How to master outsourcing. Taking Tim’s advice, I have created an email auto responder that now cuts time checking email in half. I have also outsourced some projects to a virtual assistant who could do the job a lot better and faster. This frees up my time to do the critical activities in my work and provides greater satisfaction. Similar books in this category are Stop Working by Rohan Hall and 12332005">Living the 80/20 Way by Richard Koch. Contributed by Penny Chow Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Alvan has watched 'An Autumn's Tale' WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations Qiu tian di tong hua [videorecording] = An autumn's tale / D & B Films Co, Ltd. Publisher: [Hong Kong] : Distributed by Mega Star Video Distribution (HK) Ltd.,c1987. Call No.: 791.4372 QIU -[ART] Available only at library@esplanade Click here and here for item availability. An Autumn’s Tale has the perfect ending. Not as in a fairy-tale happily ever after, but one which leaves you with a warm glow, a wistful smile and wondering what happens to them after the last scene. You do want, desperately, to know what happens next to Figgy and Jenny, yet you are, in some kind of inexplicable contradiction, contented to let it be. And as the final scene is freeze framed, you just gaze at it and keep smiling. Smiling. And smiling. (I know I look stupid like that, but I couldn’t help it!) I say these are the finest roles Chow Yun Fatt and Cherie Chung ever played – a star-crossed couple who never jumped into bed, or locked lips or even progressed to the little matter of holding hands. Yet this is arguably one of the most romantic films the HK movie industry has ever produced, a "quiet love" like no other. The plot seems rather formulaic, but it turns out otherwise. Young, intelligent, artistic girl goes to the Big Apple for further studies and come under the wing of a distant relative, an uncouth, foul-mouth blue-collar worker with a heart of some precious metal, and you know the rest. Yet, you don't. The cast is small, the location is foreign, the pacing rather slow and takes its time to get moving, there aren’t any grand declarations of devotion nor dramatics. But what make this a gem of a film is the acting, which is incredibly nuanced and subtle. So much is said through their body language, and the delicacy of their moments together is heart-aching. And it’s all so natural and true to life that one forgets the two leads are big stars in their own right, and comes to believe they are the characters. You find yourself caring deeply for them, and their relationship becomes very much a matter of consequence to you. Some moments keep playing in my mind. * The hilarious scene about the advice on the proper way to cook soup – you’ll splutter too. * Her stint as a waitress where she appears and waltzes about in a gorgeous cheongsam. * The touching conversation along the beach about having ambition and wanting see the world, or leading a simple life. * The horse carriage ride when he kept stealing looks at her, and the way he did it. (And the only time they touched, when he helped her down the carriage.) * When she found out what the party’s about, and her devastation at not realising it sooner. * The sheer joy on his face and his madcap antics as he breaks from a walk to a trot to running pell mell through the streets of ghetto New York to give her the gift. * Their heartbreaking realisation of what exactly the gifts are they exchanged… pricelessly poignant. (And somewhat akin to the short story "The Gift of the Magi".) * The final scene which makes you catch your breath, and which convinces you, once and for all, that an ambiguous ending is sometimes for the best, and that perhaps there is indeed a table for two, somewhere, someday. Contributed by Alvan Yap Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Charles has watched 'Disclosure' WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations Disclosure [videorecording] Warner Bros. presents ; a Baltimore Pictures/Constant C production ; produced by Barry Levinson, Michael Crichton ; directed by Barry Levinson. Call No.: English 791.4372 DIS -[ART] Click here for item availability. This item is of restricted use. Please approach the Service Desk at library@esplanade to enquire about usage. Based on a novel by Michael Crichton ( Jurassic Park, The Terminal Man, Congo, Airframe, etc) this adaptation turns out to be a very good movie with both Michael Douglas and Demi Moore giving powerful performances. Michael Douglas is good when he acts in thrillers such this. He was excellent in "The Game" and "Basic Instinct" and in this movie, his performance is just as riveting. Moore, young and beautiful in this role, impresses. Tom Sanders (Douglas) is a happily married computer engineer anticipating a promotion and big bucks when his company completes a corporate merger. Much to his chagrin he finds that he has been passed over and Meredith Johnson (Moore) who is credited for engineering the merger is now his boss -- a strange situation for Sanders to be in because Johnson was once a subordinate and lover of his. Read the full review here. Contributed by Charles Remedios Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg 2007 Man Booker Longlist HB Squad ALERT! . gossip + snippets The judges for the 2007 Man Booker Prize for Fiction announce their longlist of books in the running for the prize this year. This longlist of 13 books, the ‘Man Booker Dozen’, was chosen from 110 entries; 92 were submitted for the prize and 18 were called in by the judges. The longlist is: * Darkmans by Nicola Barker (4th Estate) * Self Help by Edward Docx (Picador) * The Gift Of Rain by Tan Twan Eng (Myrmidon) * The Gathering by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape) * The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Hamish Hamilton) * The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies (Sceptre) * Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (John Murray) * Gifted by Nikita Lalwani (Viking) * On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape) * What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn (Tindal Street) * Consolation by Michael Redhill (William Heinemann) * Animal’s People by Indra Sinha (Simon & Schuster) * Winnie & Wolf by A.N.Wilson (Hutchinson) Chair of judges, Howard Davies, comments: “This year’s longlist is very diverse, with four first time novelists as well as some more familiar names. All the books chosen are well-crafted and will appeal to a wide readership.” LINK Other reports The Guardian The Independent BTW, Tan Twan Eng is Malaysian! And yah, use this catalogue if elibraryhub is not working. What do you think? Know of any interesting book-related news? Want to join the Hb Squad? Email us at HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Thomas has read 'The Coma' by Alex Garland WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations London : Faber and Faber, 2004. Call No.: GAR Click here for item availability. Say the name, Alex Garland & I doubt it rings a bell. But say the movie, The Beach & I guess you will have heard about it. Yes, no thanks to the rather chubby Leonardo DiCaprio acting in that show. Anyway, the movie was adapted from the similarly titled novel—also his first one—written by Alex Garland. This review is, however, not about that novel. It’s about his third novel, published 10 years later: The Coma. LINK Contributed by Thomas Robertus Salim Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Penny has read 'Make your travel dollars worth a fortune' by Tim Leffel WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations Palo Alto : Travelers' Tales, c2006. Call No.: 910.4 LEF Click here for item availability. We often have that nagging feeling after traveling to a popular destination that we can get more mileage out of our dollars if only we stayed at less ‘touristy’ places or dined where the locals do. Now in his latest book, Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune: The Contrarian Traveller’s Guide to Getting More For Less, value travel expert, Tim Leffel shares how he and his family can travel around the world at a fraction of the cost. He shares his tips through two families, the Smiths & the Jones. One travels to popular destinations at the most popular time aka, peak seasons and pays more. While the Jones family plans their family vacations in such a way as to avoid the crowds and saves a bundle while getting more value for their travel dollars. One drawback of the book though is that it does not provide enough information as to when is the peak and low seasons to travel to certain destinations. Most of the information is helpful for people planning trips from North America as most of the bargain websites cited are deals that are probably cheaper if booked in the U.S. He also shares many resources, both online and in books and magazines how one can save almost 70% in tour costs, how to save more than 50% off hotels and to find souvenirs for less. A good book for travel buffs as the author also shares ideas for finding deals for travels that are often not found on popular guidebooks and websites. Tim Leffel is also the writer of the book: The World’s Cheapest Destinations. Contributed by Penny Chow Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Ying Wen is reading 'A Bend in the Road' by Nicholas Sparks WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations London : Bantam Press, 2001. Call No.: SPA [RO] Click here for item availability. The Audio Book is also available for borrowing at these libraries: Woodlands, Tampines, Jurong and Central Lending. Unlike typical love stories where two characters usually fall in love and have a happy ending, this novel does not follow the insipid path that other love stories often take. Rather, the story revolves around a teacher and a widower who came to know each other by a twist of fate. Miles’s wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident and had been spending more than ten years of his life on investigating the case to do justice for his wife who was practically his everything. Having lost the one person who meant the world to him, Miles lived with his young son alone. He met his eight-year-old son’s teacher, Sarah Andrews, by chance and discovered that they shared a lot in common because each of them had had a traumatic past to deal with. They gradually developed a fondness for each other which unfolded into a strong relationship, therefore decided to rebuild their lives together. However, the revelation of a devastating truth that had been long-hidden put their love to the test and questioned the strength of the relationship which they had thought would last for a long time to come. This is a heartwarming novel which highlights the importance of forgiveness through a test of personal beliefs. As the poet Alexander Pope once said, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Nothing matters more in life than an open heart which is always willing to accept others. Contributed by Ying Wen Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Elizabeth has read 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations London: Penguin, 2002 Call No.: 811.52 GIB Click here and here for item availability. After twelve years in the city of Orphalese, the prophet. Almustafa, is beginning his return journey home. As he makes his way to the ship, the townsfolk question him on the meaning of various issues central to daily life. On topics like love, marriage, friendship, giving and many others, Gibran offers his mediations through the prophet’s imparted advice and sayings. Hailed by many to be Gibran’s best work, The Prophet was published in the 1920s and contains 26 poetic essays that will invite you to contemplate the inner self. It enables one to have a clearer sense of yourself and of those that surround us all. “Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself, Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love.” “For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill? Seek him always with hours to live. For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness. And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” While these lines may appear a tad trite to the cynical, they did strike a chord in me with their eloquence. These simple words carry great spiritual weight, provoking me to re-think my existing concepts of self, happiness and my relationships to the outside world. Somewhat similar to Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, this book does have a spiritual slant to it. But, the religious aspect does not overpower the intended aim of the essays In fact, if you replace it with Christianity or Buddhism or even Catholicism, the effect will not be jarring at all and the flow and pacing of the book will still remain uninterrupted. In the end, the concept of “God” is irrelevant in this context. The quest for meaning in life is indeed complex and this challenge has been taken on by many learned and wise philosphers, ever since Man has gained consciousness of the self-concept. Let Kahlil Gibran strip away the myriad of hidden layers of Life and be enlightened on matters that will illuminate new perceptions. Contributed by Elizabeth Lee, Librarian, Children's Services Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Dr Goh Keng Swee, a Founding Father of Singapore The recent publication of a biography of Dr Goh Keng Swee, has re-focused attention on the distinguished career of one of modern Singapore's founding fathers. Both the Straits TImes and Business Times published a flurry of articles on the life and achievements of one of the key architects of Singapore's economy and system of government. The publiciation of the unofficial biography was not without its share of controversy. Though it was written by Dr Goh's daughter-in-law. Ms Tan Siok Sun, Mrs Goh Keng Swee took the unusual step of sending a letter to the media distancing Dr Goh from the book, titled Goh Keng Swee, A Portrait. The book traces the life of Dr Goh, from his childhood in Malacca to his retirement from politics in 1984. Now in his late 80s, he is reportedly in ailing health. Certainly, the impression garnered from the review by the Sunday Times (July 8, 2007) suggests a man, while definitely of an intellectual bent, was above all a steely pragmatist, a man who could and did move with force and vigour once judgement had been arrived at. Besides the above biography, you may wish to check out some books written by Dr Goh himself. Most of these are in the field of economics, and deal with issues of economic development and modernization. 1. The economics of modernization / Goh Keng Swee Publisher: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004. Call No.: SING 330.95957 GOH 2. The practice of economic growth / Goh Keng Swee Publisher: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004 Call No.: SING 330.95957 GOH 3. Wealth of East Asian nations / by Goh Keng Swee Publisher: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004. Call No.: SING 330.95957 GOH The National Library will also be conducting a talk by the author, Ms Tan, on 4th August. More details here. Posted by Nur Hakim Low, Librarian, Adult and Young People's Services. Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg No comment Hi all, Just a note to let you folks know that we're in the midst of migrating to the Wordpress platform, so for the time being, we've switched off our comments. We should be up and about in a while - do email us at HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg if you've got something you wanna get off your chest for the time being! All Things Harry Potter, and then some (Editor’s Note: As the countdown to the final Harry Potter book continues to gain in frenzy, we’ll like to add to the mix by presenting our own take on all things Potter in this article by our very own ardent Harry Potter fan, Yasmin Muhammad Asslan. Warning! Spoilers and conjectures ahead…) I can't believe it! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the 7th and final book will be out on July 21st, barely a few days from now! 10 years ago, a single mother named Joanne Rowling took the world by storm with her first published book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, way back in 1997. The original fans (like myself), were probably in secondary school then, and are now working adults. It is timely that we look back at how the series has evolved over the years (I’m assuming one has read all 6 books so far, otherwise this article will be one gigantic spoiler for you). There’s simply too much happening throughout the whole series, so I’ll do my best to condense the important highlights relating to Harry Potter. We first got to know 10 year-old Harry Potter as that ordinary boy who learns that he has magical gifts, that his parents were wizards and that he was leaving the family of his uncle, the Dursleys, to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Book 1 was a story of a young boy's discovery (and in a way, ours) of the life that he was meant to live, and a peek into the overarching chain of events that would develop throughout this series. We learnt of the existence of the school of Hogwarts, its headmaster Albus Dumbledore, its 4 “houses”: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. We learn that Slytherin is the House where most of Lord Voldemort’s evil followers are from. (more on that later) We are introduced to Harry’s closest friends for the first time: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and lets not forget the enemies too: Malfoy, Crabble, Goyle and Professor Snape, Harry’s potions teacher whom loathes. One reason why this series have always caught the imagination of readers stems from the interest in Harry’s parents. The Dursleys’ (Harry’s Aunt and Uncle) told Harry they died in a car crash – no, that was not true! Harry discovers his parents were killed by the most evil wizard of the age, Lord Voldemort also known as He-who-must-not-be-named and, You-know-who. Harry also learns of his celebrity status in the wizarding world as ‘The Boy who lived’ and later on in Book 5, The Chosen One. This status and the death of Harry’s parents open up a seemingly endless Pandora’s Box of questions: Why did Voldemort want to kill Harry’s parents? How did Harry Potter end up as the only survivor of the deadly Avada Kedava killing curse? The list of questions goes on and on and still remains up to this point, the major pull factor of the series. We learn as well that Harry's deepest and desperate desire of his heart was to be with his late parents through the Mirror of Erised. Perhaps this is a hint of the final outcome? We move on to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the Prisoner of Azkaban - No Lord Voldemort, except his manifestation through Tom Marvolo Riddle's Diary. Nobody may have realized it at the time, but Chamber of Secrets was a major foreshadowing of the ending of this series. It HAS to end with the defeat of Lord Voldemort – I could not possibly imagine it in any other way. This is the book where we first delve into this Dark Lord’s past. He was from Slytherin House, a prefect, model student, heir to Salazar Slytherin and his real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle and at 16, already as evil as only a future Dark Lord can get. (Ed’s note – perfect student turns into ultimate villain. Surely, there must be a moral here somewhere.) We learn of inappropriate discrimination in the wizarding world, where people are judged based on whether they are pure-bloods, muggle, half-blood, "mud-bloods" ( a degratory term used to refer to someone who is of muggle (human) parentage) and squibs (wizards with little magical ability). This theme runs strongly throughout the series, with book 6 appropriately enough titled ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’. Prisoner of Azkaban has been hailed as the best book in the series thus far. This maybe due to the fact that for the first time, we get to learn more about Harry's family and the existence of his godfather, Sirius Black. We learn exactly how Harry's parents were killed; a close friend, Peter Pettigrew, betrayed them. Harry, upon learning this revelation vowed revenge, but at the end, refused to kill the betrayer because he believed that his late father, James Potter would not have wanted that. Certainly, this deed would become a major factor in the final book, as Dumbledore states that, "When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them..." Recall that Harry saved Ginny Weasley’s life in Book 2 as well, and that bond of theirs did materialize (abelt romantically) in book 6. So we can expect another confrontation of Harry Potter and Peter Pettigrew in the 7th book, where this magical bond will play a part for sure. Peter Pettigrew was an animagus, a wizard who could change into an animal at will and oddly enough, Ron Weasley’s pet rat. In book 3, he flees to join his master proving the prophecy made in book 3 to be true. A climatic point of entire series occurs at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - the return of the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort. In Goblet of Fire however, we learn as well that there are other Wizarding Schools (Beuxbatons and Durmstrang) besides Hogwarts and wizards from all parts of the world. We learn about Lord Voldemort’s army of evil witches and wizards, known as the Death Eaters of whom Lucius Malfoy, Harry’s nemesis, is a member of. Now, for that Yellow-Pages sized tome ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’. Guess what? Dumbledore has his own army too! They are known as the Order of the Phoenix. The most important part of the book concerns Harry Potter’s destiny as the Chosen One, as chillingly stated by the prophecy: "The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies.... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." Harry is beset by teenage angst and nobody believes his claim that Lord Voldemort has returned once more. Shunned by the wizarding community, another turning point occurs when Harry loses his only remaining ‘family’ member, his godfather Sirius Black – this is where he realizes that Voldemort will stop at nothing to destroy all that is good in the wizarding world, and his loved ones. Harry realizes that he must put a stop to the Dark Lord, and that he is the only one who can do it. Rowling herself stated that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the first part of ‘the same novel’ of which book 7 is the second part. And in book 6 we learn much, much more about Lord Voldemort. Since leaving Hogwarts, the evil wizard has split his soul into 7 pieces and had hidden them in the following objects, known as Horcruxes: 1) Tom Riddle’s Diary (Destroyed in Book 2: Chamber of Secrets) 2) Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring (Destroyed in Book 6: Half Blood Prince) 3) Salazar Slytherin’s Locket 4) Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup 5) The snake Nagini 6) An unknown relic from Gryffindor or Ravenclaw Horcruxes 3 to 6 have to be destroyed in Book 7, the only way to deliver the expected outcome of the death of Lord Voldemort. There are more major turning points here: The mighty Dumbledore, the only one Lord Voldemort feared was killed by Professor Snape with the Avada Kedavra killing curse, aided by Draco Malfoy. This was a shocking betrayal to Harry, as Dumbledore had always trusted Snape – however, it is believed that Snape may still be on the good side, fighting against Voldemort in secret. We’ll have to wait for the 7th book to finally learn this, of course. And now, with his mentor Dumbledore gone, Harry Potter has a daunting task to fulfil in the final book. The big question is: WILL HARRY DIE? This writer thinks, no that cannot be possible. Surely, JK Rowling would not have set Harry to die after all the hardship he went through. I say this with reference to my other favourite epic, Star Wars, and the story of Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One. He did die in the end, and he… okay, I’ll shut up about Star Wars. I’m sure that Lord Voldemort (or Voldy, as I prefer to call him) and his Death Eaters will fall. It is speculated that 2 major characters will die in the final book. We Harry Potter fans can only hope that the end will be as spectacular as the build-up. By Yasmin Muhammad Asslan, Librarian, Children’s Services. Withdrawal symptoms already? Try some of these other reads! Have you read any of the Harry Potter novels? What do you think? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Little Blue Herring has read 'Shadow of the Wind' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations New York : Penguin Press, 2004, c2001. Call No.: RUI Click here for item availability. The Shadow of the Wind is a book that reads like Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose without the clinical detachment of an astute monk unraveling a series of murders in a Gothic monastery. Haunting in its splendid prose, this novel draws you in with its sensuous imagery and vivid painting of Barcelona in the early 20th century. Unraveling its plot is akin to navigating the twists and turns of this Spanish city—you never know what you are going to get. This is a book about a book titled The Shadow of the Wind written by a mysterious author Julian Carax. Young Daniel, our protagonist, reads this book and finds himself deeply drawn by it, so much so that he starts to seek out the life of Julian Carax and mystery of his sudden death. Unfortunately, Daniel’s curiosity or rather, devoted passion to the author lands him into trouble. One thing leads to another and soon he finds himself pursued by a stranger who is systematically trying to destroy all of Carax’s books in existence. Of course, this stranger would have a half burnt face and lurks around in the night like the ghost of Christmas past (except this time, it is more like the phantom of lost books). More strange characters follow and soon, Daniel too becomes part of this mystery which I will not reveal to you for it will destroy your reading pleasure. “There are no coincidences.” The position of one as the reader is mapped onto Daniel for as he discovers the author of the book The Shadow of the Wind, we too are reading a book of the same title and learning about the author through his words. Authors are by their very nature mysterious. We see their name on the book but we never know who they are. We can only know them through the words they leave behind and it is through written and spoken narratives that Daniel unravels the mystery of Julian Carax. This book is a tribute to books and words. Here are some memorable quotes on books from the Shadow of the Wind.: “A story is a letter the author writes to himself, to tell himself things that he would be unable to discover otherwise.” “The art of reading is slowly dying, that it’s an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scare by the day.” Good books are like magic boxes that you can open time and again and each time you do, you find something new. This is a book that begs more than one read. Because I borrowed a library book which had a loan period, I can only read it once. Suffice to say, I bought the book to read it again. Contributed by Little Blue Herring Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Charles is reading 'Dreamcatcher' by Stephen King WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations London : Hodder & Stoughton, 2001. Call No.: KIN-[HOR] Click here for item availability. This is the first Stephen King book that I have read and I must say I was surprised because I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I know King by reputation -- the writer of "horror" novels such as Carrie, The Shining and the like. This is not one of Stephen King's scary novels; there is almost nothing here to the curdle the blood or make your hair stand on end. It is about the supernatural but not of the disembodied ghostly type. The focus is on extra-sensory perception, telepathy and dreams. There are passages that describe violent and bloody deaths. These are vivid and stomach churning at times but they will not make you fear the things that go bump in the night. The title comes from a device, somewhat like a net, that Native Americans sometimes hang in their lodgings to capture their dreams or to weave it into some kind of reality. Set in the New England states of USA, the plot involves characters, friends since childhood, who are caught in a covert military operation to annihilate a group of recently arrived extra- terrestrials considered to be extremely dangerous. The four become the victims of both the military -- who want to shut them up because they stumbled upon the operation -- and the aliens, who are looking for human hosts to inhabit. This is one good read. King shows just how good a novelist he is. There are passages of really superb prose and clever use of time shifts which reveal the plot yet keeps us in the dark. The past and the present intertwine and, of course, the present is affected to a large extent by events of the past. Central to the plot is the outcast Dudley, a mentally handicapped boy, whom the characters befriended as teenagers. It is through Dudley's special mental ability that the characters manage to shift from past to present, from dream to "reality", in their attempt to escape their pursuers. Descriptions of the the location are vivid, and this is not surprising since King when researching for the novel explored all the routes the exciting car chase takes. To write how it feels to be traveling in a army "humvee", King borrowed one and drove, one suspects -- very fast and recklessly -- the same roads and tracks leading to the reservoir where the final scene takes place. So if you find yourself a bit breathless reading the description of the chase, you know why. This is an author who does not want to short change his readers -- at least not too much. Description of the aliens and the spawn are a little disappointing. None of are clearly delineated and it seems that King is depending our exposure to TV and the movies the create the images ourselves. By the way, there are several references in the novel to movies and an insider joke King creates by imagining the events in this novel being being recreated in a blockbuster movie -- King even names actors who would play his characters....Like many of King's other novels, this did become a movie, but I am not sure if the actors he suggested for his characters did in fact play these roles. Passages that dwell on dreams and the psychological trauma the characters experience can be confusing for the reader sometimes as we get disassociative glimpses of events that take place in childhood days or ruminations of the characters who seem to suffer more than just mid-life crises. Some of these may not hold the interest of the reader as much as the main story line but theses are essential to the plot. Some might find King's emphasis on the salvation through good deeds done in the past -- in this case the befriending of Dudley -- a bit overdone and simplistic but it seems to me that the message is more of the mysterious qualities of the human mind -- its ability to dream, to communicate telepathically, and to generate superhuman effort and strength. Contributed by Charles Remedios This review was first published here. Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Deadpoet's Cave has read 'Singapore Samurai' by Penrod Dean WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations East Roseville, N.S.W.: Kangaroo Press, 2000 Call No.: RSING English 940.547252092 DEA-[WAR] Click here for item availability. acroamatic from Deadpoet's Cave wrote:In a nutshell, the book is about an exceptional Australian soldier during World War II. His first hand account read like a fast-moving tv series. Penrod Dean, who passed away last year, wastes no time in plunging straight into the action. In part, it is his breezy writing style. Being thrust to the battlefront of retreating forces created a sense of urgency barely a chapter into the book. The pace relented only after the Japanese surrendered. Even then, his amazing story continued. Link Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend?Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Heartlands Book Discussion July 2007 HAPPENIN' . programmes + events Heartlands Book Club is pleased to invite poet Mr Takalah Tan Kok Liang for their book discussion in July. A victim of a horrific accident at his prime of his career and personal life – Mr Takalah had to relearn everything again due to the severe brain injury. His poems are raw truths and deep reflection of life values and how to cherish them. One of his poems “Against the Wind” was included in a USA compilation of best poems of 2003. A short snippet of this poem: Against the wind, older, but no wiser. I still find myself inextricably running against the wind. Whilst it could have been easier rowing with the tide. Something within me beckons! “Do it otherwise! ” Defying instincts, & rejecting the norms. Living my Life on its edge, I refuse to conform. Perhaps one day when my time is done. Laid down to oblivion, my life has just begun! Mr Takalah's courage to overcome his ordeal resulted in him changing his name to Takalah or in Malay "Cannot lose". A Mediacorp documentary featured his life under the "Amazing Courage" series. You may like to read about his life here. Join Heartlands for an inspiring afternoon of poetry with Mr Takalah. The details: Date/Time: 4.00pm, Friday 27 July 2007 Venue: The Activity Room, Bukit Batok Community Library Author: Mr Takalah Tan Kok Liang Facilitator: Mr Kweh Soon Huat Both hard and soft copies of Takalah's poems are available via email upon request and at the Bukit Batok Community Library's Customer Service Counter. If you are interested to join this session, please email Soon_Huat_KWEH@nlb.gov.sg. Contributed by Kweh Soon Huat, Librarian, Adult and Young People's Services Have you participated in this event? Post your comments, or email to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg BookCross@SG: Books need to be freed! HAPPENIN' . programmes + events Remember this post: BookCross@SG Collection Drive: 24th May - 3rd June? Well, just a note to let you folks know that BookCross@SG was officially launched yesterday. You can read more about the launch at the ramblinglibrarian's blog or more about BookCross@SG at the website itself. BTW, you can still continue to donate/contribute books if you want to - just drop them off at any NLB public libraries - but let the staff know that it's for BookCross@SG. The other thing is, remember, BookCross@SG is only asking for fiction titles, k? And yes, check out the title above - please 'free' the BookCross books after you have read them - not hog them... Have you participated in this event? Post your comments, or email to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Special Fiction Issue from NY Review of Books HB Squad ALERT! . gossip + snippets NY Review of Books has just published a special fiction issue and is chockfull of interesting stuff. Main highlights: · Anita Desai on Primo Levi · Al Alvarez on Ian McEwan · Tim Parks on Elfriede Jelinek · Hilary Mantel on Mischa Berlinski · Claire Messud on Andrew O'Hagan · Francisco Goldman on Roberto Bolaño · Joyce Carol Oates on Amnesiac Novels · and an excerpt from J. M. Coetzee's new novel, Diary of a Bad Year LINK What do you think? Know of any interesting book-related news? Want to join the Hb Squad? Email us at HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Guess who's back? HAPPENIN' . programmes + events Nope, it ain't Slim Shady, but Neil Humphreys! (otherwise known as Singapore's Fav Ang Moh). A popular columnist and bestselling author of 3 books about our little island, Neil had immigrated to Australia in 2006 and is now back to launch his omnibus. So, instead of lugging 3 books around, you can lug just 1! Neil will be visiting the library@orchard this Sunday (1st July, 3pm) for a special meet-the-fans cum signing session. We'll also be starting a lucky draw at the library, with 3 signed copies of the omnibus to be won. Yup, the magic number is 3, since it's been a year of trilogies! Anyway, this new omnibus contains his previous books (Notes From an Even Smaller Island, Scribbles from the Same Island and Final Notes from a Great Island), a foreword by fellow funnyman and columnist, Colin Goh, as well as a new introduction, epilogue and illustrations. Also, check out HBOnline reader - Little Blue Herring's review of Final Notes >>here Neil's previous books as well as his omnibus are available in the libraries, just do a keyword search: "Neil Humphreys" via our online catalogue to find out where to pick 'em up. They're also available at all good bookstores should you wish to buy them! Have you participated in this event? Post your comments, or email to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Dreamy Reader is reading 'The Pact' by Jodi Picoult WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations London : Hodder, 2005. Call No.: PIC and PIC [RO] Click here and here for item availability. Chris Harte and Emily Gold have been together since they were born. The parents are best friends and neighbors. They're inseparable, like two sides of a coin, like brother and sister, then, as lovers. The girl is dead on the first page. It's suicide pact gone wrong. Or is it? ;) The guy is alive and therefore charged with murder because he's the only one at the scene of the "crime". This is the second book from Jodi Picoult that I read. It's extremely difficult to find her books in the library. They're always out! I enjoyed this book, if I can say enjoy. A lot of times I felt bad. I hated Emily. I totally didn't understand her personality. She's suicidal, I think that's just probably the fact. You either are suicidal or aren't. Obviously I'm not, that's why I couldn't get it. When you're not suicidal, no matter how bad things are you would just find a way to survive, it's instinctive. Anyhow it's quite an insight to teenage suicide issue. There were points in the book where I found myself really getting it, the words, the love, the pain. Especially Chris, he's almost alive and his words made me all teary. But at some other points I found some things not quite believable. I hated Emily. What a selfish b*tch. I can't get my compassion for her. I think suicide is totally a selfish act. I can't help feeling the lost though, as if I'm one of the characters in the book, like Chris or the parents, losing someone very important. Even at the very end, I still can't believe Em has really gone and is not coming back. Well, a good story is one that still lingers, even after you finish the book, movie, or game. As if the characters are really alive, and you think sometimes about how they're doing. That's what happened to me. I was still thinking about them a few days after I finished the book. The author is successful in bringing the characters to life in this case. Contributed by Dioni Zhong This review was first published here. Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Yen Yen has read 'The Yellow-lighted Bookshop' by Lewis Buzbee WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations Saint Paul, Minn. : Graywolf Press, 2006. Call no.: 381.45002 BUZ- (BIZ) Click here for item availability. In The Yellow-lighted Bookshop, Lewis Buzbee tells a heart-warming story about his love for books. Any avid reader would find pieces of themselves in Buzbee's memoir. Do you share the same passion for John Steinbeck's tales? Or perhaps, have a habit of book-snooping? As Buzbee explains, " there's no judgement in the titles I uncover, it's mere curiosity, for the most part, with a bit of selfishness to it. I might find what I'm looking for in the arm of a passing pedestrian." At 216 pages, this book is a quick and easy read that offers plenty of anecdotes and morsels of interesting facts about books. I, for one, did not know that the left page of the book was the verso, and the right was the recto. Or what a codex is. Buzbee also introduces the reader to different aspects of the bookselling trade. From humble beginnings shelving box upon box of paperbacks, Buzbee describes how he moved on to be a publisher’s sales rep, before finally becoming a writer. Self-proclaimed as being “promiscuous when it comes to bookstores”, Buzbee devoted an entire chapter to his favourite bookstores around the world. It was also most captivating to uncover the riveting background of the famed Paris bookstore, Shakespeare & Co. Samuel Beckett, Gertrude Stein, Fitzgerald and many other writers were regulars at Shakespeare & Co. Just imagine on any day, one could be browsing, and be able to meet these famed writers! And James Joyce! It is simply not possible to discuss Shakespeare & Co. without bringing in James Joyce. Read the book to find out why! For those who are interested in reading about such biblio-centric themes, try: - Jeremy Mercer’s Books, Bedbugs, and Baguettes: the Left Bank World of Shakespeare & Co., Call no. 381.450020944361 MER -[BIZ] - Asne Seierstad’s 12424748">The Bookseller of Kabul, Call no. 958.10460922 SEI - Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road, Call no. 818.5409 HAN Contributed by Toh Yen Yen, Librarian, Adult and Young People's Services Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Singapore Book Club July 2007 HAPPENIN' . programmes + events Singapore Book Club 20 July 2007 (Fri) 7 p.m. Earshot at the Arts House (1 Old Parliament Lane) Guests : Singapore Literature Prize 2006 winners - Yong Shu Hoong & Cyril Wong Click on the pic below for more details. Have you participated in this event? Post your comments, or email to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Ian McEwan takes on User Generated Content HB Squad ALERT! . gossip + snippets Saw this in this week's 8days magazine: Novelist Ian McEwan pooh-poohs blogs disguised as expert opinon: "I don't have much time for the kind of [web]site where readers do all the reviewing. Reviewing takes expertise, wisdom and judgement. I am not much fond of the notion that anyone's view is as good as anyone else's." By the power of Google and some nifty search skills (ok, fine... so it was a piece of cake), I discovered that this quote was from Time Magazine's 10 Questions series. McEwan's quote was in response to a reader's question: "What's your take on there being fewer literary reviews in newspapers and magazines?" Though his view is probably an unpopular one in our wonderful world of web 2.0, ala Wikipedia, user-generated content and other social media hijinks, I do agree that we cannot dismiss the role of specialists or those with expert knowledge. Have found this related Boing Boing entry to be quite thought provoking: Link In particular (esp wrt to librarianship), this section from an essay entitled "Who Says We Know: On the New Politics of Knowledge" by Larry Sanger: As it turns out, our many Web 2.0 revolutionaries have been so thoroughly seized with the successes of strong collaboration that they are resistant to recognizing some hard truths. As wonderful as it might be that the hegemony of professionals over knowledge is lessening, there is a downside: our grasp of and respect for reliable information suffers. With the rejection of professionalism has come a widespread rejection of expertise—of the proper role in society of people who make it their life's work to know stuff. This, I maintain, is not a positive development; but it is also not a necessary one. We can imagine a Web 2.0 with experts. We can imagine an Internet that is still egalitarian, but which is more open and welcoming to specialists. The new politics of knowledge that I advocate would place experts at the head of the table, but—unlike the old order—gives the general public a place at the table as well. So dear readers, what do U think? What do you think? Know of any interesting book-related news? Want to join the Hb Squad? Email us at HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Definitely a book for fans of Tim Burton or Edward Gorey somewhat FRESH INK . selected new arrivals Ten sorry tales by Mick Jackson ; illustrated by David Roberts London : Faber and Faber, c2005 Call No.: JAC -[SH] Click here for item availability. OK, so this book isn't exactly new, but it did arrive in the library fairly recently. Of course the term "recently" is highly subjective! Anyway, Ten Sorry Tales is a quirky collection of short stories which would appeal to fans of Tim Burton and Edward Gorey (duh... it's in the title of the post! ;p). The stories, told in a matter-of-fact and deadpan manner, exude the dark/twisted humour of the aforementioned cult favs. The illustrations are also reminiscent of those in The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and The Gashlycrumb Tinies, or a darker version of Quentin Blake's works (illustrator of Roald Dahl's books). To give our dear readers a taste of what these stories are like, here are 2 brief synopses : Alien Abduction, a tale about the power of mass delusion and mob instinct - a group of children are convinced that their teacher is abducted by aliens and the adults are forced to stage a ridiculous UFO landing scene to quell the mob. The Lepidoctor, a boy discovers the ancient art of lepidoctoring - carrying out repairs to butterflies - and decides to revive an entire exhibition of mounted butterflies. For more sorry tales, also try The bloody chamber and other stories by Angela Carter, Call No.: CAR (retellings of famous fairytales/folklore like Beauty and The Beast, Bluebeard etc) or The ends of our tethers : 13 sorry stories by Alasdair Gray, Call No.: GRA -[SH] (has a more contemporary setting/feel, modern day Scotland). Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Boon Khim has read 'Simple Stargazing' by Anton Vamplew WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations London : Collins, 2005. Call No.: 520 VAM Click here for item availability. This is essentially a beginner’s guide to stargazing. Vamplew uses very simple terms to explain astronomy-related terms such as comets, meteor showers, nebulae and so on. The book is written in conversational English - as though he is talking to you directly - and filled with illustrations to aid understanding and appreciation of the subject matter. I borrowed this book chiefly for the main content – introduction of the 88 constellations. Vamplew gives a brief introduction for the origin of each constellation, and interestingly most of them are named after characters from ancient Greek mythology. He also provides useful instructions on how to find the constellations, eg using Plough to find Bootes and Virgo. He took pains to divide the 88 constellation into the northern and southern sky chart, meant for readers living in the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere respectively. The charts are then further divided by the seasons. Such division is needed because what we would see on the sky depends on our location on this planet and the time of the year. Living at the equator means we can use both charts but we are still constrained by the time of the year regarding what we can see. One drawback of the charts is the constellations depicted differ from what we see in Singapore’s sky, in orientation, probably due to the difference in longitude and latitude, eg Scorpio is depicted as horizontal but, here in Singapore, we will see it as vertical in the sky. I find this an interesting book, very suitable for beginners like me. Unfortunately this city is too bright for certain constellations, eg Cancer, to be visible to the naked eye, and I doubt a telescope would help much. But some constellations such as Scorpio, Plough, Bootes, Crux, and Leo, just to name a few, are still visible to our naked eye on a clear night. Contributed by Low Boon Khim Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Debbie's Idea HB Squad ALERT! . gossip + snippets We got this in the email. Debbie's idea was to fill a simple need: to help a reader decide which book to read first of an unfamiliar author. The site serves as a forum for users to discuss which book to read first of an unfamiliar author. The idea is to head off reading mishaps that may turn a reader off to a great writer. For example, a reader who starts reading Trollope with The Eustace Diamonds or The Way We Live Now may well go on to read dozens more of his books, but one with the bad luck to happen to read his forgettable Lady Anna first would probably never read him again. Ditto the poor soul who embarks on Iris Murdoch with Jackson's Dilemma -- written not in her prime but when she was on her way into dementia -- rather than getting to know her through The Good Apprentice, The Sea, The Sea or one of her many other superb novels. The idea for the site came from the late Debbie Sankey, a lifelong reader who realized that starting with the wrong book might turn a reader off to a writer forever. Since it's almost always a matter of opinion, a collaborative website makes a great forum for discussion and debate. DebbiesIdea.com was created by a friend as a memorial to Debbie. Registration on the site is free for all users. Check it out here. Contributed by Sam Maher What do you think? Know of any interesting book-related news? Want to join the Hb Squad? Email us at HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Chinua Achebe wins Man Booker International Prize HB Squad ALERT! . gossip + snippets Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has won the Man Booker International Prize in honour of his literary career. Achebe is best known for his 1958 debut novel Things Fall Apart, which sold more than 10 million copies. The 76-year-old, who was paralysed from the waist down after a car accident in 1990, beat writers including Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie to the honour. The £60,000 prize, awarded every two years, will be presented to Achebe at a ceremony in Oxford on 28 June. LINK Related news Guardian Books Independent Books Titles by Chinua Achebe London : Penguin, 2006. Call No.: ACH Click here for item availability. Home and exile / Chinua Achebe. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2000. Call No.: 823.914 ACH Click here for item availability. No longer at ease / Chinua Achebe. New York : Anchor Books, 1994. Call No.: ACH Click here for item availability. What do you think? Know of any interesting book-related news? Want to join the Hb Squad? Email us at HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg Ryan has read 'You Can Fly' by Ismail Gafoor WHO'S READING WHAT . reader's recommendations Singapore : Mohamed Ismail A.G., 2005. Call No.: SING 158.1 MOH Click here for item availability. How many locally-written books can claim to have a foreword written by the Singapore President S R Nathan? I suspect not too many. You Can Fly is one of them. It is a motivational book written by the founder of Propnex (the largest real estate agency in Singapore), Mohd Ismail (Gafoor). To be honest, I have never heard of this book and only came across it by the purest of chances at the National Library. The fact that President S R Nathan wrote the foreword caught my attention and I started browsing through it. Read the full review here. Have you read this book? Do you have something else to recommend? Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg