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Month: August 2024

New Books Releasing In September 2024

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September has rolled in like a fresh breeze, bringing with it a feast of new releases that will have your TBR pile doing a happy dance. Think of it as a literary buffet where there’s something scrumptious for everyone—from heart-fluttering romances to mind-bending YA fantasy, non-fiction reads and beyond. This month’s book drop is sure to spice up your reading.

Here’s what’s hitting the shelves this September:

 

Little Lovely Lily

Little Lovely Lily||

Written by Ahmad Rizaq, Little Lovely Lily is NOT your average love story. Lily, who has moved to the Netherlands is going through all the teenage angst. Amid the classroom cruelty and shattered teenage dreams, affairs with a supernatural twist add to Lily’s troubles as a local legend featuring an attractive ghost, known as the Heartbreaker, plagues the town. Lily ends up being haunted by the ghost, who alternates between terrorizing her and defending her against her enemies, forging a romantic, paranormal bond. 

 

Cheese Donuts Are Most Definitely Not Subpar 

Cheese Donuts Are Most Definitely Not Subpar||

Melly Sutjitro’s romance book is with a classic enemies-to-lovers trope that you will adore. 23-year-old Ellie volunteers to sit in as an acting chairperson of the PTA in place of her sister where she meets Dion, a condescending yet attractive PTA co-captain who criticizes everything she does, including her choice of donut. Between meetings and rehearsals, stolen kisses and an orchestrated PTA coup, they begin to realize that maybe they don’t despise each other’s guts.

 

The Global Citizen  

The Global Citizen||

The Global Citizen by international investor and philanthropist Patrick Tsang is a timely and relevant exploration of the cultural nuances that define the increasingly interconnected business world of the 21st century. By combining his unique perspective as a global citizen with personal experiences and lessons learned, Tsang offers readers valuable insights into the cross-cultural environment that governs feelings, beliefs, and actions in a globalised era. 

 

The Siege Within 

The Siege Within||

Written by Malaysian journalist Leslie Lopez, The Siege Within is his first book that delves into the writer’s own archives of previously unpublished material to go back in time and show exactly how it was possible for a Malaysian prime minister to envisage his treacherous crime, and then to execute the dastardly deed. It is the untold story behind the political crime that continues to make world headlines, and why a nation so full of promise has been brought to its knees. 

 

Elven and The Puzzle Box  

Elven and The Puzzle Box||

Written by Gwen Lee, Elven and The Puzzle Box is a story of an orphan girl who rises above discrimination to find love. Elven has eleven fingers, no parents, and a skin tone that hints at murky origins. One day, she receives a wooden Puzzle Box belonging to her late mother, and an intriguing letter promising her love, only if she solves the puzzle. This starts her long journey of ups and downs and big reveals.

 

Steady Sarah 

Steady Sarah||

Written by Justine Camacho-Tajonera, Steady Sarah is a moving story of self-discovery and self-realization. Sarah is responsible, mature, organized, and has her life all planned out until one day when everything turns upside down: her longtime boyfriend breaks up with her and she loses her job. This leads to her packing up her bags and going on an adventure to see the seven waterfalls all by herself.

Found something you love already? Keep an eye on our Instagram page to know when they come out.  

 

 

 

9 Authors We’re Reading This Malaysia’s National Day

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It’s been over 6 decades since Malaysia gained independence and that calls for a celebration. Here’s a spotlight on 9 authors who have written books that have been celebrated by readers all over. 

 

Deborah Wong 

Deborah Wong is a Rhysling Award and Pushcart Prize nominated Malaysian poet. She holds a LLB (Hons) from University of London and the Associateship of the Malaysian Insurance Institute (AMII). A devoted fan-fiction writer, she finally answered the call to be a storyteller, by attending the summer intensive creative writing programme at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Her new book Me In Your Melody released recently and is a must-read for music lovers.  

 

Lee Su Ann 

Lee Su Ann started weaving stories since she was in high school, usually found scribbling in the shade of a tree under the watchful eyes of her school’s majestic clock tower. The clock tower of St George’s Girls’ School in Penang would later be the inspiration and setting for her second novel, A Stitch in Time. She published her first short story when she was 16. After graduating with a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences and a Diploma in Comprehensive Writing, she has since then been a test-tube baby scientist, a medical writer and an amateur actress /scriptwriter in her church’s own stage production. 

 

Leslie Lopez 

Leslie Lopez, a Malaysian citizen, has reported extensively on political and economic affairs in the region since the mid-1980s. He has worked for local Malaysian newspapers along with working in Indonesia and Singapore. He has won multiple awards and has covered notable news items. His new book The Siege Within is set to come out soon and will surely be of interest to many Malaysians.  

 

Romen Bose 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An international correspondent with over 22 years of reporting experience in the region, Romen Bose worked as a Political Communications Consultant for former Malaysian Premier Najib Razak for six years and was a close confidante to decision makers in the upper echelon of the country’s political elite. Before setting up his own consultancy, Romen was head of Asian social media at IHS Markit and worked as a senior foreign correspondent with French news agency AFP based in Kuala Lumpur. Having extensive knowledge on the subject he has written two books with us – Shattered Hopes and Final Reckoning.  

 

Heidi Shamsuddin 

Heidi Shamsuddin was born in Malaysia, and after being all around the world during her childhood and college days she returned home and began to write fiction. Heidi has recently embarked on a project to collect and adapt the folklore, fairy tales, fables, myths, epics, legends, wonder and magic tales from all around the Nusantara region, with the aim of spreading and disseminating these traditional tales. Her two books Nusantara – A Sea of Tales and Zara and the Twelve Realms of Kayangan are must-reads for fantasy folktale readers.  

 

Ong Chin Huat 

Ong Chin Huat is a freelance writer, fashion stylist and TV Host and has contributed to The Star, Life Inspired, Luxurious Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Design Anthology, Elle and Conde Nast Traveller among others. This is year, he published his book Harmony Heights, which became a favourite of readers throughout. It is set in a condominium located in a forgotten part of town resides a microcosm of bourgeois Malaysian society. 

 

Malachi Edwin Vethamani

An internationally recognised author, Malachi Edwin Vethamani is a fictionist, poet, editor, critic, bibliographer and academic. He has received awards, got one of his stories adapted for theatre and has edited five anthologies of Malaysian Literature in English. His book of short stories Have I Got Something To Tell You will leave you wanting more.  

 

Jin Young Lim

 

Jin Young Lim is a PhD student at the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at UC Santa Barbara. He is the co-founder of Spawo Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to nurturing holistic education, sustainability, health and wellness, and culture in the Himalayas. He has led multiple mindfulness-based expeditions to the Himalayas and has been engaging in various contemplative practices throughout his life. His new book The Dao of Flow is a spiritual guide that can change your life.  

 

 

Tutu Datta  

Tutu Dutta lives in Kuala Lumpur; she was born in India but grew up in Malaysia. She started writing children’s books when she lived in far flung cities as the spouse of a diplomat, including: Singapore, Lagos, New York, Havana and Zagreb. She has published two books with us – The Blood Prince of Langkasuka and her newest release The Fraught Lives of Nathan Kwan and Lapsang Souchong. 

 

Have you read all these local authors yet?  

 

 

Read an exclusive excerpt from Tethered

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We are sharing an excerpt from Chapter 64 and 65 of Tethered, written by Tracy Ann Ong. The book is an account of her journey to recovery and has amusing and heart-wrenching anecdotes. 

 

*** 

64 

I once asked my mother if the standards now that I was handicapped were different. I felt I could do no wrong whereas before my clumsiness easily disappointed and irked my loved ones. She assured me that they weren’t different. They’re not, but they were. Well-meaning, my caregiver would swoop in with a towel to wipe off my sweat and place it underneath my shirt, like I was a ten-year-old in a playground, as I would chat with my therapists in a gym full of grown people. I would transfer to my commode half-naked, somehow it not occurring to her to close the blinds because who could care less? The standards are not different, but they were. We lost a lot more than our bodies. 

65 

It was like a Christmas gift waiting to be opened. The day had finally come when we were to return to Singapore for a follow-up check-up. I dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants for my trip. The shirt was lavender and the pants a pale pink, colours I would not have chosen for myself before the stroke. Heck, I would have relegated a lavender and pink colour combination to the bygone years of childhood, but being sick wiped out all notions of what was for a child and what was for an adult.  

Being in a wheelchair at the airport was a little like being a nun in a habit. Everyone felt comfortable saying hi to me even if I didn’t know them. I received the stares, the looks, and the smiles as I was strolled in. People were extra nice and helpful to me. I half-wished everyone saw what I saw—how the world felt a few feet shorter. It was a new playing field I was not familiar with. What were the rules on this side of the world? I was sure it was not only honey and roses as in the airport. The world can be sweet and savage at the same time.  

The wheelchair brought me to the mouth of the plane, whereupon I hobbled to my seat. It was not a special seat at the front of the plane. It was a seat like anybody else’s. I was the last one to board the plane. I felt all eyes on me. I felt every second fly by until I got to my seat. I plopped on my seat with satisfaction. I had always fancied that feeling of bringing a book with me up in the plane and reading it in the still of mid-air. As a lawyer, many times had I hopped on a plane, donning a power outfit and carrying a book in my purse, with hardly the time to actually read a page or two. I was living the life mid-air.  

*** 

As Tracy’s brain is reset, she finds, so is her life. Like a growing child, she learns the most basic things anew, and more insightfully, the second time around. She sees the world in a different dimension this time, as she is wheelchair-bound.

Get a copy to read her story of faith. 

Read an exclusive excerpt from Shattered Hopes

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Shattered Hopes focuses on PH1.0’s rocky 22-months in power to tell the story of how a fledgling Government filled with so much promise and hope, was racked by internal power struggles and politicking even in its very first weeks in power, amid policy paralysis, racial politicking and the ultimate unwillingness of veteran Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to hand over power to his twice-anointed successor, Anwar Ibrahim.

Read an excerpt an below.

*****

The young cabinet minister knew the much-touted multiracial and reform-minded government of second-time Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was on the verge of imploding, and he was hoping to convince the powers that be to stop it, to cease fire. At least for the moment. But he knew it would not last.  

On that Sunday, 23 February 2020, the then recently discovered Covid-19 viral threat—it had yet to become the global pandemic that we now know—was seeing Chinese cities in lockdown and thousands of deaths globally. But Malaysians were more focused on the political drama and intrigue playing out in the corridors of power in Putrajaya and Petaling Jaya. This had people enthralled by various rumours of power grabs and new political alliances.  

These strong rumours were boosted by reports claiming the formation of a new Mahathir-led political coalition—wait, wasn’t he leading the current coalition government?—that would exclude the Chinese-led Democratic Action Party (DAP) and former Deputy Premier and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). And parliamentarians, including the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) lawmakers, had supposedly signed statutory declarations (SDs) in support of Mahathir serving as prime minister until the next general election, instead of passing the baton to Anwar mid-term as had been agreed.  

This would mean the end of the PH1.0 Government and, with it, the dreams and hopes for reform, equality, and justice in the country. 

*****

This book is an explosive expose written by Romen Bose. It’s a first-hand account of Malaysia unraveling into a scandalous tale of power grabs, broken promises, and political chaos. Get your copy to read this gripping book now.  

8 Singaporean Authors We’re Reading This Singapore National Day

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It’s Singapore’s 59th birthday and this calls for a big celebration. Here’s a spotlight on 8 Singaporean authors who have written books that have been celebrated by readers all over. 

 

Emily Lim-Leh

Emily Lim-Leh lost her voice to a rare voice affliction Spasmodic Dysphonia in 1998. In her journey to recover her lost voice, she found a God-given voice in writing when she was a winner in the Singapore Book Council’s Publishing Initiative in 2007 for her debut picture book. Emily has authored over forty children’s picture books. She is the first person outside North America to win three IPPY Awards in children’s books, and the first in Southeast Asia to win the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award. Emily was named Mediacorp’s Singapore Woman Award Honoree for inspiring readers through her books. Little Hero is Emily’s first adventure in writing a children’s chapter book and is inspired by her family’s stories.

 

Jack Sim

 Widely known as Mr Toilet, Jack Sim broke the global taboo around toilets and sanitation. He founded the World Toilet Organization (WTO), a global non-profit working towards a world with clean, safe toilets and sanitation for everyone, everywhere, at all times. Born in a slum in Singapore in 1957, he learned entrepreneurship and gumption from his uneducated mother who started a series of small businesses. He was also inspired by the gumption of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and grew up watching the amazing transformation of his country from third-world to first. His book The Gumption of Mr. Toilet is set to release end of August 2024 and will take you on his inspiring journey.

 

Uma Rudd Chia

Uma Rudd Chia is Executive Creative Director and Cofounder of KVUR, a boutique advertising agency specialising in beauty, fashion and innovation brands. She is a highly awarded creative and a sought-after global keynote speaker specialising on the topics of technology, innovation, women empowerment and creativity. Her book, The Spotted Zebra contains her life learnings from being different through a turn of events and life-changing encounters, and how she learned to embrace and accept her differences and become all that she is-wife, mother, keynote speaker, author, cofounder of Singapore’s coolest women run advertising agency and a notorious rule breaker.

 

H.Y. Poon

H Y Poon is a civil servant living in Singapore. In a few decades of service, he has held various appointments with government agencies working in an eclectic mix of areas such as manpower policy formulation, finance, investment promotion, enterprise development, and biodiversity conservation. Her book, A Mother’s Burden is a truly captivating story of a mentally disabled boy who is found dead in a small town and all signs point to his mother, a poor and ailing widow, as the one who caused his death. The story goes on with an investigator who digs deep to find the truth against the odds and, in the process, discovers his own worth in a hierarchical society.

 

Grace Chia 

Grace Chia is the author of over ten books of prose and poetry. She has been nominated for the Mslexia Novel Competition and Epigram Books Fiction Prize longlists and shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize (Poetry) and Singapore Book Awards, the latter for her Penguin Random House SEA novel, The Arches of Gerrard Street. Her other book with us How To Hunger is a fascinating collection of short stories that talk about how humans are hungry for love, lust and loyalty.

 

Danielle Lim

Danielle Lim is an award-winning author whose latest novel, All Our Brave, Earthly Scars, was published in 2022. Her short story collection, And Softly Go the Crossings, won the Book of the Year as well as Best Literary Work in the Singapore Book Awards 2021. Another novel was shortlisted for Best Literary Work in the Singapore Book Awards 2019. Her memoir won the Singapore Literature Prize 2016 (non-fiction) and has been translated into Chinese and Tamil, and published in Taiwan and India. The Publishers Weekly (US) listed Danielle as one of Singapore’s top writers in 2016.

 

O Thiam Chin 

O Thiam Chin is the author of three novels and six collections of short fiction. His debut novel won the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2015. His work has appeared in Granta, The Cincinnati Review, Manoa, The Brooklyn Rail, QLRS, World Literature Today and elsewhere. He has published two books with Penguin Random House SEA, We Are Not Alone Here and The Dogs are extremely captivating stories that relay the workings and complexities of humans in heart-tugging ways.

 

Nadia Ayesha

Nadia Ayesha is an MA Creative Writing student at LASALLE College of the Arts. From her years of working in the non-profit sector, she learnt the value and meaning in every individual’s life story and was inspired to return to writing, her first love as a child. Her book Showers of Luck is inspired by a true story set in pre-war Singapore and talks about a couple who navigates societal judgment and challenges familial expectations in a brave attempt to start a new life together.

 

How many of these local authors have you read before? 

Ever wondered why the cat is not in the Chinese Zodiac? Read this excerpt from The Fraught Lives of Nathan Kwan and Lapsang Souchong to find out.

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This International Cat Day, we are delving deep into the story behind why a cat is not part of the Chinese Zodiac. Luckily, author Tutu Dutta tells us why in her new book The Fraught Lives of Nathan Kwan and Lapsang Souchong.

 

Read the excerpt below to find out.

*****

Mr Kwan looked up from his handphone and interrupted their discussion again. He said, ‘Did you know that of all the domesticated animals, the cat is not included in the Chinese Zodiac? All the other common animals, even the rat, the tiger, and the snake are in!’

‘Not forgetting the mythical dragon,’ added Jin.

‘Yes, I always wondered about that,’ said Nathan thoughtfully. ‘Maybe, they didn’t like cats in China,’ he added.

Mr Kwan explained to him, ‘One of the stories of the Chinese Zodiac is that Rat tricked Cat—’

Junie interrupted her father, ‘Yes, we know, Dad!’ She recited from memory, ‘Once upon a time, the Jade Emperor invited all the animals in the world to a race. He wanted to name the years after the first twelve animals to win the race.’

‘All the animals listened very carefully to what the Jade Emperor was saying, except for Cat, who decided to take a nap while the Emperor was talking.

‘Rat told Cat that the race would only start in the afternoon. So, Cat slept while Rat slipped out at dawn. All the animals were racing furiously. Clever Rat knew that he could not win the race, so he jumped on the back of Ox. Close to the end of the race, Rat jumped off Ox and crossed the finishing line first!’

‘So, the first year of the Chinese Zodiac is the Year of the Rat!’ Jin capped the story.

His father added, ‘It seems you all can remember everything I ever said! Anyway, in the other version of the story, Rat also tricked Cat and told him that the banquet by the Buddha was the day after tomorrow so Cat missed the banquet.’

Jin stroked his chin and said, ‘Rat used strategy to win the Zodiac Race. But you can’t always use strategy to win a race in real life. You really got to practise your ass off.’

Buy here||

Did you know this fascinating story? If you liked what you read, get a copy of The Fraught Lives of Nathan Kwan and Lapsang Souchong online or at bookstores near you.

 

 

Read an exclusive excerpt from For The People’s Glory

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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

 

‘Old Bao, I’m glad I got you.’ 

‘Hongbing? To what do I owe this pleasure, a call from a mighty Party Hero?’ Bao, a friend and local tycoon based in Wose, teased.  

Sigh. The Party Hero in question exhaled softly. ‘I need to call in a favour.’  

‘No problem, any time! You know I owe my life to you. What do you need?’ 

‘I need half a million PD . . . in cash. And within an hour.’  

There was silence at the other end.  

‘Hello? Bao?’  

‘Yes, I’m here. That’s a lot of money, in such a short space of time . . . May I ask what the money is for? Are you in some kind of trouble? I heard some rumours from my channels—’ 

‘Hey Bao, how long have we known each other? Have you forgotten how I’ve stuck my neck out for you?’ Hongbing countered. Then, catching his breath, he quietened down, ‘I can’t divulge the reason as it’s a state secret. It’s urgent and I wouldn’t have troubled you if it wasn’t.’  

‘Don’t misunderstand, I will definitely help. Just thinking about how to gather enough cash at such short notice. Let me figure out how. I’ll ring you back on this number in ten minutes.  

‘Okay, I will wait for your call. Thank you.’  

Hongbing returned the handset to the fisherman. ‘You heard me, I’d know how to get the money in ten minutes. You better be prepared to take me to Seoul,’ he told the smuggler snidely. 

The fisherman took a drag of his cigarette and slowly blew out a cloud of smoke. ‘Chill man,’ he glanced sideways at his tense-looking potential passenger with a smirk, ‘my vessel is ever ready. Let’s see if you get your money.’ 

  *****

For the People’s Glory is based in a totalitarian state of Utopia. Shan Hongbing is focused on getting to the bottom of understanding some of the government’s workings and as he digs in, he realizes that all eyes are on him for asking questions. The state’s surveillance technology he reveres—which ‘keeps the citizens safe’—has now turned against him, tracking his every move at every turn to hold him in line with the Utopia’s principles. 

Get your copy to read this fascinating story now.  

New Books Releasing This August

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The month of August brings to you a variety of stories ranging from grief, loss, self-discovery and fantasy to romance, horror mystery, memoirs and more. It’s an absolute treat for readers looking to add new books to their TBR and especially for those who love reading different genres of books.  

Here are the books releasing this month: 

 

Worship The Body

Worship The Body||

Written by the two-time Philippine National Book Award winner Alvin Yapan, this book explores human relationships and sexualities. Told from different but interlocking points of view, the story becomes a song complete with recurring refrains and a coda, intimating that there are silences to the body that are essential to our understanding of happiness. 

 

The Summer of Letting Go  

The Summer of Letting Go||

Written by Catherine Dellosa, this story is about loss, grief and self-discovery in a heartwarming way. When eighteen-year-old Kali’s uncle dies in a car accident, her world stops. She begins to see the ghost of her uncle at a tea shop where she gets a job to stay close to him and is faced with the cute but aloof owner. Things start to go array when the landlord of the tea shop condemns its demolition.  

 

Veins of Power  

Veins of Power||

Award-winning writer Mica De Leon is back with Book 2 in her Seed Mage Cycle series. Just as in Book 1, Winds of War, you can expect treacherous twists and turns in this Filipino fantasy. The returned gods of Kayumalon are the new currencies of power. In Kayumalon, seed mages are a coin a dozen, but the god vessels are infinite. It would take more than a legend, more than a good king, more than a mage, to navigate the Kayumalon court. 

 

Me In Your Melody  

Me In Your Melody||

Deborah Wong tells us a story about a heartbroken and unemployed FMC who struggles to contend with her past and rebuild her present, she learns that to get a grip is to find courage and strength in spite of the adversities; by replacing attitude with self-respect—from coping with the bad faith of a long-time friend to a near-death experience, she realises the importance of family and unconditional love. 

 

Ascension  

Ascension||

Written by Philippine National Book Award winner Eliza Victoria here is a horror mystery about a group of friends who reunite after years at a wake. Told in two timelines with the present and flashbacks from the friends’ youth, this story delves into themes of spirit possession, betrayal, secrets, bizarre rituals and mass hysteria that takes place in a small town.  

 

The Gumption of Mr. Toilet  

The Gumption of Mr Toilet||

Written by Jack Sim, who is widely known as Mr. Toilet and who broke the global taboo around toilets and sanitation, this life-changing inspirational book that you will benefit from abundantly while reading it. The story talks about how Jack Sim who was born poor and failed academically, became a successful serial entrepreneur and an ultra-successful serial social entrepreneur, changing the world by mobilising global movements. He also eventually became a professor with an Honorary Doctorate Degree. 

 

And For the Record  

And For The Record||

Here is a page-turning memoir of the Filipino writer-musician Yugel Losorata. He has extracted salient points from his many years making music, being in a band, writing news and features, and keeping up with the euphoria and struggles of being a writer-musician in the Philippines. He unabashedly shares his story and pop culture through his eyes, especially how his life mirrors that of a dreamer facing difficulties and surviving the whole shebang with dignity intact and without regrets. 

 

Found something you love already? Get your copies now.