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The Girl Who Played with Fire Call No.: LAR-[TH] Publisher: London : MacLehose, 2009. I’ve never been a big fan of Scandinavian writing, but this author changed my perspective. That’s right. I’m referring to the best-selling writer, Stieg Larsson, who has surpassed other Scandinavian crime writers such as Karin Fossum and Henning Mankell. I only [...]

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  *Image courtesy of nypost.com Known best for her debut chart-topper, The Devil Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger has had her fair share of an un-glam lifestyle before she landed a fashionista’s jackpot job at Vogue – her time there being the fodder for her worldwide bestseller. Lauren let out her first cry in Scranton (the [...]

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The Idea of LoveLouise DeanLondon : Penguin Books, c2008.Call No.: English DEAAvailable at NLB libraries “What is love?”That is the eternal question that has haunted humanity for all time. This fleeting emotion defies definition and concept, and has been known to drive men (and women) to drink. So how can this tale by Louise Dean shed [...]

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Literary Highlights The Man Booker Prize longlist of titles has been released. Amongst the nominees, Australian author Peter Carey is the only one who has previously won the prize, twice. You know that this award is a big deal when punters in England bet on the eventual winner of the prize! Either that, or the [...]

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Immediate action By Andy McNab London : Corgi, [2005] Call No.: 356.16092 MAC There was a lovely phrase I came across recently when reading about career US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan: the “strange allure of a hard life”. Such a phrase, I think, perfectly describes the military career of Andy McNab and his former [...]

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Dear friends, Have you ever did something out of ordinary in your life (which can be life-changing or even for little things)?  Share your experiences and thoughts in comparison to Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Less Travelled” which is reproduced below for your reference: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could [...]

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  Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk Dame Beryl Bainbridge died last week at the age of 77. During her time, she has written 18 novels, of which 5 were shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Unfortunately, she never landed the prestigious prize. She has also published several plays, essays, reviews and 2 collections of short stories. [...]

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This summer, the world will celebrate the 50th publishing anniversary of this beloved classic. Estimated to have sold over 30 million copies since its first publication in 1960, it won the Pulitzer Prize that year. Apparently, in 1999, a Library Journal survey of my peers (fellow librarians in Amerian) found that they consider this to be [...]

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Dear friends, With the World Cup currently in progress, this book “The Match Fixer” by Neil Humphreys is a timely book for discussion.  Though fictional, it looks at the gambling world of soccer betting and its repercussions on people’s life.  Join us to discuss this book: Date/Time:  25 June 2010, Friday / 5.00 pm Venue:  [...]

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Dear friends, We are honoured to have Ms Sharanya Manivannan, an Indian author based in Chennai, who will be doing a reading of her poems at our bookclub. The details: Date/Time:  5.00pm, Friday 21 May 2010 Venue:  The Activity Room, Bukit Batok Public Library Author:  Ms Sharanya Manivannam, reading her poems from her book “Witchcraft” [...]

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