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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:  The Activity Room, Bukit Batok Public Library
Facilitator:  Mr Paul Fitzpatrick
Title/Author: “The Match Fixer” by Neil Humphreys
Call No.: SING HUM
 
About the book:  “Match fixing is destroying The Beautiful Game in Asia, and corruption has spread its tentacles into ‘squeaky-clean’ Singapore. Feeding off the insatiable gambling habits of the local population, illegal football betting has made a select few bookies – particularly one named Tiger – very rich and far too powerful. Against such a backdrop, Chris Osborne, a young, handsome striker from the West Ham United academy, arrives on the Singapore football scene. A series of unexpected events at West Ham and Melbourne Victory has seen Chris – once tipped to play for England – end up at an S-League club in a desperate bid to get his faltering career back on track. However, not even a boyhood spent growing up in London’s East End prepares him for the bent bookies, dubious team-mates, the underground party drugs scene and a seductively beautiful journalist that welcome him to life in paradise.”–  Book Cover

About the facilitator:  Mr Fitzpatrick is a lecturer at one of our local tertiary institutions. 

Please email your confirmation to participate to: soon_huat_KWEH@nlb.gov.sg

See you there!
With best regards,

Kweh Soon Huat (Mr)
Librarian
Heartlands Book Club

I Will Teach You to be Rich
by Ramit Sethi
New York : Workman Pub., 2009.
Call No.: English 332.02401 SET-[BIZ]
(All rights reserved.)

This New York Times bestseller by Ramit Sethi is packed with honest and down-to-earth advice about personal finances and it is written in a breezy and irreverent style of writing. He takes a rather dull subject of personal finance and adds his own spin to it, by adding real life case studies to illustrate his points. For instance, he presents various case studies of the things people allocate their money to, in his chapter “Conscious Spending Plan”. He also has a chapter on optimizing the use of credit cards and ways to get additional fees waived. The sample scripts he provides on negotiating with credit card companies for fee waiver and negotiating a lower interest rate saves you both time and money.

Without being an obsessive rate chaser, he advises readers to score big wins such as savings on ‘big ticket‘ items, instead of chasing the next half a percentage increase in your money market or savings account. Here are some tips he shared in his book:

1. He starts the tone of scoring ‘big wins’ by advising readers to slash interest charges on their credit cards and extra charges, as well as, devising a plan to pay off credit card bills with the highest interest rates.

2. Once that is done, he then advises readers to set up high interest no fee bank accounts. He further shares his money management strategies. For instance, his bank account acts as an e-mail inbox in which categories of expenditure are already allocated for and transferred to different accounts.

3. His investment style is simple and fuss-free and he introduces readers to ‘lifestyle funds’, which are invested in a diversified portfolio and automatically changes your asset allocation according to your life stages. He also shares Swensen’s method of asset allocation for “Do-It-Yourselfs”, who prefer to create and balance their own portfolios every year.

4. He suggests that readers should track their expenditure using credit cards so they will be able to track where their money has gone. He also suggests doing up a Conscious Spending Plan, a plan that ensures their money goes to places which they desire.

5. Once all these accounts are set up, he shows you how to automate all your accounts and transfers through your bank account. This is one trick, which I have implemented with much success and time-savings. I used to log into my main account and manually transfer all the funds into the various accounts but setting them on autopilot really frees up my mind for more important things.

6. In his last chapter, he shares various ways to save up for the “big ticket” item such as weddings or purchasing a home, and recommends that most people buy a house that is 2.5 times their annual salary so as not to overstretch their budget.

Ramit’s book is a ‘how-to’ book that guides people on how to organize their finances without it eating up their lives. This is certainly a ‘Four-Hour-Work Week’ applied to personal finances. Sometimes, he cajoles you to start savings for retirement early and at other times, he is tough on you when he feels that certain financial mistakes have caused you missed opportunities. Ramit’s ideas are certainly a fuss-free way to manage your money. A perfect companion for college students or people who wish to get their financial lives in order.

~ Contributed by Penny Chow

Would you like to send us your contribution?
Post your comments, or email to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg

32 teams. 64 matches. One month of the “Beautiful Game”.

For football fans, it’s time for a dazzling display of international talent. Before, in between, or after matches, these books should be able to take the edge off the anticipation and/or withdrawal symptoms.

These informative and entertaining reads will certainly come in handy for fans and non-fans alike, either as an introduction to the game or for further insight into one of the most popular games in the world.

The Story of the World Cup
by Brian Glanville
London : Faber, 2005.
Call No.: English 796.334668 GLA -[REC]

Soccernomics: why England Loses, why Germany and Brazil Win, and why the US, Japan, Australia, Turkey – and even Iraq – are destined to become the kings of the world’s most popular sport
by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski
New York, NY : Nation Books, c2009
Call No.: English 796.334 KUP – [REC]

Pelé: Soccer Superstar
by Laurie Collier Hillstrom
Detroit : Lucent Books, c2008
Call No.: Y English 796.334092 HIL

The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup
edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey
London: Abacus, 2006
Call No.: English 796.334668 THI -[REC]

The History of the FIFA World Cup: World Cup Stories
by Chris Hunt
Publisher: Ware: Interact, 2006
Call No.: English q796.334668 HUN -[REC]

(photo credit: FIFA website)

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”

Here’s a sample of her poem, “This Hummingbird Heart”:

This Hummingbird Heart

There are gods in drums, just
as there are gods in ankle
bells and gods in the fine
reeds the women of the village
gather to weave mats out of.

But what god convulses
in this body of mine, driving?
She will love or she will die.
What god implodes in her
personal chaos and
seizes me in its storm?
A god like an artery,
who leads me, possessed,
further and further away from
the dark flame
of my interior.

And what god, out of what
time, is it who lives within
this drum – this hummingbird
heart – this undimmed undammed
untamed beast that beats down with
the hooves of a thousand horses,
floods my veins with
the blood of a thousand mercenaries.

I will love or I will die.

About the author:  Sharanya Manivannan’s first book of poems, Witchcraft, was published in 2008. She is currently working on a novel, Constellation of Scars, and a second collection of poetry, Bulletproof Offering. Noted in particular for her unusual charisma on stage, Sharanya has done readings extensively since 2001, at venues as diverse as small indie cafes, an abandoned pier, a cemetery and the Borobudur Temple.  Sharanya has done a reading of her poems at Singapore Writers’ Festival 2007.

Born in Madras in 1985, Sharanya grew up in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, and has lived in India since 2007. She was the recipient of the Lavanya Sankaran Fellowship for 2008-2009 from Sangam House International Writers’ Residency, Pondicherry, and was a finalist for both the 2008 Srinivas Rayaprol Prize in Poetry and 2010 Toto Funds the Arts Award in Creative Writing (for which she received a special jury commendation). She writes a personal column, The Venus Flytrap, for The New Indian Express.

Come and enjoy an evening of reading of Sharanya’s poems which can be found at her website:
http://www.sharanyamanivannan.com/poetry.html
If you wish to participate in our bookclub discussion, please email to:  soon_huat_KWEH@nlb.gov.sg

See you there!

With best wishes

Soon Huat
Librarian
Heartlands Book Club
Adults and Young People Services

Dr Goh, who had been in fading health for some time, was 91. Dr Goh was born a Peranakan in Malacca, Malaysia. He was one of the founding fathers of modern Singapore and is deemed the “economic architect” of Singapore, contributing greatly in shaping the development of Singapore into a prosperous nation as the first Finance Minister in 1959 and later as the Defence Minister. He also held appointments such as First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Education and Chairman of Monetary Authority of Singapore and Chairman of several government-led companies.

His early education was in Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) in Singapore, and thereafter Raffles College. After the Second World War, he obtained a scholarship to study at the London School of Economics where he obtained a first class Honours in Economics and won the William Farr Prize in 1951. In 1956, he graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of London. It was also during this period that he met Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Toh Chin Chye.

Upon his return, he joined the colonial civil service, but 1959, he resigned from the civil service and joined the People’s Action Party as its Vice-Chairman and represented the Kreta Ayer constituency as its Member of Parliament until his retirement from politics in 1984.

His contributions to Singapore were wide, deep and incisive. Among the most notable were the creation of Jurong as an industrial hub, the formation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), the Economic Development Board (EDB), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the Government Investment Corporation (GIC). All these key pillars of Singapore’s success bear the imprint of Dr Goh.

Along the way, he earned a reputation as a tough, stern but fair taskmaster who nurtured a future generation of civil servants and political leaders. As a recent autobiography by President S R Nathan, ‘Why Am I Here?’, showed:

As a young seamen welfare officer more than 50 years ago, President S R Nathan was nearly sacked by then Finance Minister Goh Keng Swee over a complaint from a sailor.

(Why Am I Here?, Straits Times, 30 April 2010, by Nur Dianah Suhaimi)

Or when he once remarked to Mr Ngiam Tong Dow, who was then a Permanent Secretary,

‘When you yourself plateau, you should leave.’

(‘Fostering the freedom to think’, Straits Times, 10 February 2009)

Dr Goh also wrote, mainly works on economics, and he came to be regarded as a fine writer, if not always a gifted orator. In fact, Straits Times columnist Janadas Devan calls Dr Goh, ‘the finest writer of English prose this country has had.’ (Straits Times, 27 September 2009).

(Cited sources: Infopedia, The Straits Times, Channel News Asia. Photo credits: Alumni Association of Singapore, London School of Economics and Political Science; Ministry of Defence)

Selected works by Dr Goh Keng Swee:

The practice of economic growth / Goh Keng Swee
Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004.
SING 330.95957 GOH

The economics of modernization / Goh Keng Swee
Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004.
SING 330.95957 GOH

Wealth of East Asian nations / by Goh Keng Swee
Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004
SING 330.95957 GOH

Some unsolved problems of economic growth / by Goh Keng Swee.
Singapore : Kesatuan Akademis Universiti Singapura, 1976.
R SING 339.5 GOH STK

The economics of modernization and other essays/ by Goh Keng Swee
[Singapore] : Asia Pacific Press, [1972]
R SING 330.95957 GOH

Selected works on Dr Goh Keng Swee:

Goh Keng Swee : a portrait
by Tan Siok Sun
Singapore, Editions Didier Millet, 2007.
SING 959.5704092 TAN

The master sculptor : Goh Keng Swee 
by E. Shailaja Nair
Singapore : SNP Editions, c2008.

UnChartered territory : Dr Goh Keng Swee and the ST Engineering story 
by Adrian Kuah Wee Jin
Singapore : Published for ST Engineering by SNP International, 2007
R SING 338.7623095957 KUA

Men in white : the untold story of Singapore’s ruling political party
Sonny Yap, Richard Lim and Leong Weng Kam
Singapore : Singapore Press Holdings, c2009.
SING  324.25957 YAP

Goh Keng Swee and Southeast Asian governance
by Ian Patrick Austin
Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004.
SING 338.95957 AUS

~ Contributed by Nur Hakim Low, Librarian, National Library Board.

The Penelopiad
Margaret Atwood
Edinburgh: New York: Canongate, c2005.
Call No.: English ATW

There are two sides to every story, they say, with different perspectives and memories of the same event. The variance between these sides and the multiple interpretations they carry are what make storytelling interesting and enduring. And, so with an insightful and entertaining tone, Atwood has chosen to give a voice to Penelope in “The Penelopaid”, allowing readers to delve into the mind of the ever patient wife of Odysseus. From the land of the dead, Penelope speaks about her version of the famous Greek myth about Odysseus, accompanied by her chorus line of twelve loyal maidens.

Penelope is portrayed as a rather sensible young woman, who has the misfortune of being born to a father who wants to murder her and a chilly and indifferent Naiad for a mother. Throughout her childhood, she relates how there are always comparisons between her and her cousin, the beautiful Helen. At times, it feels like young Penelope’s angst and misery are somewhat similar to those of teenagers nowadays. I particularly enjoyed how Atwood made both Penelope and Helen sound like normal teenage girls, with their own brand of vanity, pettiness and jealousies. Even in death, the two ladies’ rivalry does not cease.

“’You wouldn’t have any idea of how exhausting it is, having such vast numbers of men quarrelling over you, year after year. Divine beauty is such a burden. At least you’ve been spared that!’

I ignore the sneer. ‘Are you going to take off your spirit robes?’ I asked.

‘We’re all aware of your legendary modesty, Penelope,’ she replied. ‘…Unfortunately, modesty was not among the gifts given to me by laughter-loving Aphrodite.’”

As with any story, great embellishments of details add to a fanciful mood. But, Penelope strips away any romantic notions about Odysseus’s courtship, making clear that his aim, and her other suitors’ aim as well, is her fortune. With candid honesty, Penelope admits that only her intelligence and wealth are all she can offer. Her married life – living with the in-laws in an unfamiliar environment, giving birth to her son, dealing with Odysseus’s nurse mother – is described with much deadpan and witty humour. Not surprisingly, the descriptions of Odysseus throughout the retelling are rather sketchy, as the main perspective is from Penelope, who can only speculate on his actions, thoughts and feelings.

Providing an alternative and refreshing point of view, the twelve loyal maidens make their voices heard in imaginative scenarios. With songs, drama performances and even a legal hearing in a court-room and an anthropology lecture, the maidens air their grievances against Odysseus for ending their lives unfairly. I felt this was quite an innovative usage of blending different dramaturgy methods with literary literature, which gives a very modern spin on the tradition of oral storytelling.

Homer’s epic poem about Odysseus has been much lauded as an adventurous narrative of a courageous hero overcoming all odds to return to his faithful wife. Presenting the flip side of this narrative, Atwood combines inventive styles and unorthodox settings to amplify Penelope’s raw and pragmatic revelations, as well as the somewhat unconventional but tragic narrative angles of the twelve loyal maidens. For those looking for a relatively light read about classical Greek myths with a twist, this would be a perfect match.

Contributed by Elizabeth Lee San Bao, National Library Board

Have you read these books? Do you have something else to recommend?
Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg

Dear friends,

We are discussing Dr Catherine Lim’s first book on humorous verses.  There is a verse for every day of the year! 

Here are two samples of them: 

1.  ‘Opening the car door for your wife?
Such men, it is said, are few;
You’re doing it for one reason,
Either the car or the wife is new.’

2.  The abused woman killed her husband;
Said she, ‘Your Honour, it all works out fine;
He abused me because of his childhood,
And I killed him because of mine.’

Like them?  Join us to discuss them which range from the light-hearted and serious to the satirical.  The details:

Date/Time:  5.00pm, Friday 30 April
Venue:  The Activity Room, Bukit Batok Public Library
Title of book/Call No.:  “Humouresque” by Catherine Lim.  SING S821 LIM
Facilitator:  Mr Lawrence Chew, ex- teacher who taught literature at a junior college

To confirm participation, please send email to:  soon_huat_KWEH@nlb.gov.sg

See you there!

With best regards

Kweh Soon Huat
Librarian
Heartlands Book Club
Public Library Services

The Good Girl’s Guide to Bad Men
by Jessica Brody
London : Ebury, 2009.
Eng BRO

It’s been some time since I read a chick-lit, and this one caught my eye with its smooth pink cover and gorgeous caricature. In my earlier days, I would unabashedly judge a book by it’s cover, and that’s what would usually do – pick out the book with the most attractive book cover and proceed to read its content. Sometimes I’m lucky, the content is worth the selection method. And in this case, this book with bright fuschia colour didn’t fail to deliver.

With a provocative title, “The Good Girl’s Guide to Bad Men”, you would think it’s a guide for good girls like myself, to get (or stay away) from bad men. But this is a fiction novel, and it’s about Jennifer Hunter, aka Ashlyn, who runs an agency, which specializes in conducting infidelity inspections. Boyfriend behaving badly? Suspect your husband of straying? Then Ashlyn can help, by conducting “tests” to find out if the clients’ husbands have intentions to cheat. Sounds like an outrageous concept, but the way Brody writes it, you may think that these kinds of agencies really exist.

Of course the whole novel is not only about men behaving badly, but centers on Jennifer, who is an expert when it comes to analyzing and “reading” men. She can tell if they are single, married or lying, just based on their behaviours. However, when it comes to her boyfriend Jamie, she is unable to “read” him, and is not sure if he is The One, or things are just too good to be true. It’s Jennifer who is finally put to the test when Jamie tells her that she needs to choose between being an infidelity inspector or him.

I love a good chick-lit read and this one is edgier and unpredictable. Definitely not your usual romantic tale with the hapless heroine, but more of a “girl power” kind of thing.

~ Contributed by Yasmin Ally, Librarian

Have you read these books? Do you have something else to recommend?
Post your comments, or send a longer book review to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg

Dear all,

Give a book, get a book. Drop off your used* books at any Public Library from 10 to 23 April, 11.00am to 9.00pm and get a coupon for every book** accepted. Bring your coupon down to The Plaza, National Library Building, on 24 April to redeem for new reads.

Event details:
Date: Sat, 24 April 2010
Time: 8.30am to 6.00pm
Venue: The Plaza, National Library Building, 100 Victoria Street

*We accept children’s and adults’ fiction and non-fiction books (eg. Cookbooks, travel guides and romance novels) in any four official languages. Books in other languages will not be accepted. We also accept used library books bought from previous Library Book Sales. Textbooks, magazines and audio-visual materials are not accepted. Used books for exchange should be in relatively good physical condition. ** Each person can exchange up to a maximum of 30 used books. For enquiries, please call NLB Helpdesk at 6332 3255 or email: helpdesk@nlb.gov.sg

Dear friends
Fans of Japanese horror movies as well as fiction lovers come and discuss the book “Dark Water” by Koji Suzuki.

The details:

Date/Time: Friday, 5.00pm 26 March
Venue: The Activity Room, Bukit Batok Public Library
Title/Call No.: Dark Water by Koji Suzuki. Call No.: SUZ
Facilitator: Ms Clara Chua, a retired teacher

We will be focussing on the stories “Floating Water” and “Forest under the Sea” from the book.

About the book: Water is the common element to all the stories in Dark Water. The collection isn’t one of real horror stories, but they are meant to be unsettling, spooky and haunting rather than outright scary. And a few do offer at least some chilling elements or turns.
(Source: http://www.complete-review.com)

Please send an email to soon_huat_KWEH@nlb.gov.sg if you wish to participate.

See you there!

WIth best regards

Kweh Soon Huat
Librarian
Heartlands Book Club
Public Library Services