Poised on the E-Brink

Can e-readers ever replace paper books, journals, magazines and other things we love to read?

asks Abby Lu in The Star's Metro section. She interviews a few guys including my own favourite tech geek, Leon Wing, Timothy Tiah of blogland's ad agency Nuffnang and Donald Kee of MPH who shows off the bookshop's e-readers.

The dingdongdingdong debate goes one with most of us not yet too sure how we'll feel about our reading delivered in this way, whether we will be full embracers or techno-luddites, or simply something sensible in-between.  If we're confused then the bookshops and publishers, take my word for it, are even more so.  We're all poised on the brink.

Leon Roadtests Malaysia's First E-Reader

My favourite tech geek, Leon Wing, was the perfect person to review the first e-reader to be brought into the country. So how does the Hanlin V5, brought in by bookstore MPH, measure up?

MPH hasn’t gone wrong by bringing this one in

he says ... fairly diplomatically, I think.  A little underwhelmed, Leon?

The Time I Couldn't Make Readings

As most of you know, I couldn't make it to Readings@Seksan on Saturday. I had it all set up and was looking forward to it, but then the dreaded lurgy hit on Friday with symptoms too horrific to speak of. I thought I'd have to cancel the event at the last minute, but then I sent out an SOS via Facebook and friends rallied round to save the day.

Reza came by my house to pick up the sound equipment; Pater Hassan Brown MC-ed; saras and Damyanti organised the drinks; Chet and Leon were there to set up and make sure everything went smoothly. And I'm sure other people lent a hand too. To all of you, a big thank you!

And thanks of course to Seksan for the wonderful space.

I found Leon's photos on Facebook and have put up a few below. Peter sent me this very nice note:

I hope you are better now. I'm afraid I was rather scatter-brained on Saturday and kept forgetting things I should be saying. (Dear Peter, I am always scatty and forget things I should say!) But people were there to prompt me. But it was a fun afternoon, I enjoyed it and I think everyone else did. It was a very 'equal' readings and I thought it was one of the best, although it wasn't the same without you. The Kata Mata group brought along quite a few supporters and they were quite charming, all three that read. The 'Queer' lot were very good too. Jim read a play with an Indian girl he brought along who was a good actress. Pang was very amusing, Cheryl was charismatic and serious and I got along well with Justin who read from a promising sounding novel. So good Saturday afternoon readings once again

But I would like to know more so please if you were there, add anything else you think is interesting in the comments.


Thanks to all who asked, I'm feeling a lot better now.

Malaysian Poetic Chronicles

Leon Wing sent this little ad for his new website The Malaysian Poetic Chronicles which gives the poets and short short story writers among you a place to post your work:

Do you possess verses which are,
worse, not chronicled and not even
perused through a monocle?
Do you ache with want for any place
To berth your poetic eggs?

Look no more.

The Msian Poetic Chronicles will give your poems – and even short shorts (stories) – a home.

We can even talk about your poems and short shorts (not the ones you’re wearing, mind. Just the stories behind them).

We’ll feature your work online, if we feel they need eyes to see them and lips to read them.

If you are in FaceBook you can message Leon Wing, and copy and paste your poem or short story into the message. If not, do the same or attach a Word document to chiefchronicler@gmail.com

And, write a little about how you created that piece.

Include a short bio, with links to any of your sites.

Chief Chronicler
Leon Wing

Some pieces are already up including poems from Leon and Ted and a short short from Yusuf Martin.

KLAB Revisited

More commentary on the KL Alternative Bookfair, as Leon Wing shares his impressions in Starmag today. This I found perplexing:

Tokobuku’s Faisal was exhibiting his work as a step towards expanding his fotopages.com into a retail business. Underlining the fest’s alternative (almost anti-establishment) feel, some of the books he displayed had no ISBN number.

He explained: “For some writers, it’s a hassle to obtain the ISBN from the National Library, as they would have to reveal their identity – and that can be a risk for some of them.”

Really???

KLAB also gets Raman's seal of approval. I love what he says about the forum on book banning :

The debate went along pretty much predictable lines (we have all heard it before -- they went to the ministry, spoke to some furniture and came back disappointed, how dare that chair tell me what I should read!)

Talking of bookfairs, Popular Bookstore's BookFest@Malaysia 2008 begins on May 24th. A full programme of events is lined up featuring a whole lot of overseas authors (though sadly no-one who writes fiction) and local authors including Amir Muhammad, Zhang Su Li, Lim May Zhee and even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

You can also readcycle (Love it!) your old books.

Everything you might want to know about the fair and a whole lot more can be found here.

The slogan for this event is Reading Empowers, so at least here they got their grammar right (though sadly they have plenty of howlers in the descriptions of events).

Painted Piggies, Wingging Words

Do go read Leon's poem about his reading at 67, Jalan Tempinis 1. He captures the whole experience so well.

And so does Nizam on his fotoblog! There's one of Leon strutting his stuff. Go see.

Twelve steps to Salvation

There is as yet no twelve-step plan for bookaholics. Maybe it's high-time to devise one?




Poor old Leon certainly could do with some help before he starves to death.

A Quacking Duck Takes Flight

How nice to see Leon Wing's short-short appear on the Malaysiakini website. Leon has just joined us as a Quacking Duck (many thanks to the blogger who suggested the name some time back) and last Sunday we did a power of good critiquing.