Top Picks from February’s #Heartread
What is a #heartread? “For some it will be books which may make us cry, and for others it will be happy endings”, says @nelsonreaders. For @k_santhi, “the #heartread hashtag is sprouting with new book choices for me to explore and tug my heart strings”. @VaVeros sums up our month of #heartread perfectly: “ I don’t know...
Reading for the Rushed
At the beginning of this year, I set myself the goal of reading a book per month via the Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge. I’m happy to report that I am pretty much on target (just managed to finish Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon; review coming up!). Anyway, the only reason why I set myself that...
Singapore’s Founding Father Toh Chin Chye Passes
(Photo image taken from www.channelnewsasia.com) One of Singapore’s Founding Fathers, and PAP Old Guard, Dr Toh Chin Chye, has passed on. His will be a private funeral, although in recognition of his contributions to the State, the Government has accorded Dr Toh the “honour of being borne on the ceremonial gun carriage for his final...
Anne McCaffrey Passes (1926-2011)
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons. According to Random House Publishing, the esteemed Science Fiction and Fantasy author Anne McCaffrey passed away on 21st November 2011 at the age of 85. She suffered a stroke at home and subsequently passed on. Anne McCaffrey is a forerunner in women Sci-Fi and Fantasy writing. She started publishing short...
Steve Jobs passes
(photo image taken from smashiphone.net) I first fell in love with a Mac during my university days. This alas, was many, many moons ago. In those days, not everybody had a PC, much less a laptop, and the common PCs in the computer labs were always heavily in use. But, in a quiet corner of...
Premium Membership for free?
It is often said that the best things in life are free. This statement definitely applies to our Public Libraries, where readers can not only choose from the thousands of books available at our 24 library branches, but also access our online resources and take part in a variety of learning activities all without cost! Come 1 August...
Cover Story: We judge a book by the cover. Really.
Okay, not really. Our new feature, Cover Story, is a weekly column in which we pick a book cover that catches our attention. No ramblings on the influence of modern/postmodern art on the design, no ravings about how Chip Kidd is the most overrated book cover designer ever; just brief notes on why the book...
Fiction Alert: Do you know your villains?
Foreword Heroic characters are only as good as how the authors pen them. Likewise, the villains’ villainy will only run as deep and wide as how their authors carve them. Makes us wonder at the twistedness and duality of mind successful authors possess, doesn’t it? Particularly if a single story contains both an ‘uber-good’ AND...
Elizabeth has read “Someone Like You”
Someone like you Roald Dahl Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970 Call No.: English DAH Available at NLB libraries Have you met the illustrious Mr Dahl? Oh yes, he may be the world’s most famous children’s author, with the most eccentric taste in humour. In the book-publishing world, the mere mention of his name can bring forth many...
Fiction Alert: The Bad Sex Award
Literary Highlights The Literary Review’s Bad Sex Award was presented on 30 November 2010, so I’m a little late in reporting this. Nominated for his bad writing about sex (not the entire novel..) in The Shape of Her, Rowan Somerville beat out competitors such as Jonathan Franzen, Christos Tsiolkas and Alastair Campbell to clinch this...
Lee Ping has read “The Madonna of the Almonds”
Title: The Madonna of the Almonds Author: Marina Fiorato Publisher: London: Beautiful Books, 2009 Call No.: FIO Image: All rights Reserved. London: Beautiful Books. 2009. Set in 16th century Italy, The Madonna of the Almonds tells the story of Simonetta di Saronno, a beautiful young noblewoman, who is unfortunately widowed when her equally good-looking husband...
Fiction Alert: Whodunnit?
Foreword Enthused from watching Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, I thought I’d revisit other ‘tales of detection’ and the characters central to the popularity of those stories. So, in this edition, we look at different sleuths and their practice of this fine and unique art: a private investigator in the Roman...
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