MPH Writer's Circle focused on illustration this month and the guests were Shahril Nizam, Amir Muhammad and S. Yu who drew the delightful cartoon pictures for Eh! Wat U Talking: Chronicles of Malay Humour. Yu also has three "graffic biographies" of Malaysian politicians in the pipeline.The shy Shahril needed a little drawing out but was fascinating as he talked about his illustrations for If Only, and he and Amir talked about how illustrations were an integral part of Politicians Say the Damndest Things. (Lovely review of the book here by Ted, by the way.)
The conversation I thought got particularly interesting when we talked about book covers which didn't scare of marginal readers. Jennifer Eileen Peters, author of Making Chatter Matter turned up for the meet, and talked about how happy she was with Shahril's art work for her cover.
It was a very comfortable and friendly discussion which I think we all enjoyed, but still ... wish the audience for these things was a bit bigger.
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In the evening I went along to Silverfish for the official opening of Raman's new shop, which is already looking like home.Raman was launching News From Home, a compilation of the work of three of the participants of his writing programme. The brave souls (left to right Kow Shih-Li, Rumaizah Abu Bakar and Chua Kok Yee) gave a short reading (a first for all of them!) from their work and then (perhaps even more bravely!) answered a few questions from the audience. What was evident in all of them was the desire to work at their craft and their enthusiasm for writing. I really wish them all the best with the book, and thanks Raman for the review copy. Promise some feedback.
All the usual suspects were there and here's Diana Cooper, me, Daphne Lee, Peter Brown and his wife Markiza.
Got up early today to go to the Penguin/Pearson warehouse sale. Here are my spoils! Am around RM300 lighter in the pocket which I don't think at all bad for this big pile of things I really want to read.The sale is very well worth going to with excellent bargains and a huge variety of books of all kinds. You do need to be organised though. One tip which I pass on is to take those tough supermarket shopping bags (the ones you buy so you don't need plastic bags). They are easier to carry around than clumsy boxes.
You also do need to be fit to push through the crowds and not mind the heat and chaos and thick thick dust! But where would the adventure be if it wasn't like that?
12 comments:
madam, i also went today but guess we wouldn't have seen each other amongst the huge crowd! definitely need to pop again during the week.
i too bought lewycka's two caravans and pamuk's istanbul - was hoping that pamuk's other colors would be lying around but i guess that's too new. carey's my life as a fake is great - loved all the m'sian references.
sad not to have seen you as we usually contrive to bump into each other at these things. had "my life as a fake" already but wanted to replace crappy mass market paperback with nice trade paperback. don't like the novel anywhere near as much as carey's others. wool suits in the tropics?
That's a great haul for the price, Bib. Here, I'd only get 7 or 8 books for the same.
oh bugger, you got istanbul... how can i miss that? that means i must go there again tomorrow.
ps. this is the worst book sale i went to this year by far... these people are so damned stupid chucking books everywhere it got me flipping mad. why can't they be a little bit considerate and put the books back nicely in rows where they pick them in the first place?
I've read Jane Harris' The Observations and am happy to say I like it. I wrote a simple review some months back. :)
I didn't like The Inheritance of Loss though. I'm determined to try again in the near future. Maybe re-read it.
Looks like a great pile you have there!
greenbottle - i also got really mad by the treatment of the books. there were titles i wanted to buy but the copies were bent and tatty.
alice - not everyone by any means likes "the inheritance of loss" - i actually feel myself to be in a minority and defending it all the time. wonder if i will ever get round to reading these great books i bought?
Yes, the books were in a horrible state. That's why it is necessary to check their condition before making it to the counter.
By the by, can you recommend any sites that will help me in reading Charles Dicken's Great Expectations?
I think I'm going to die reading that. ==
Aaaaaaargh!!! You bought Inheritance Of Loss. How many copies of that bloody book do you need???
i don't have one. the review copy was given back to the star sadly.
michelle - great expectations isn't a hard or a horrid read. honestly.
why not read "mr. pip" by lloyd jones first?
Sharon, I think there would have been several who would have offered to give you their copies of The Inheritance of Loss for free.
Marisa, Snow, My Name is Red, The Black Book were all there.
I thought the books were in good condition - not the kids ones though. But I went Saturday morning, first thing, while the books were still neatly sorted.
And a close friend was there at the exact same time - but we never saw each other!
Well, at least Jane Austen is a much easier read.
I can't start another book until I finish that one. =(
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