BooksActually

Ceriph Issue № 1 has been SOLD OUT at BooksActually !
Thank you all for your fervent support. ♥
If you haven't bought your copy, you may still purchase them
at the following stores --

~ Blackmarket № 2 (Orchard Central)
~ Cat Socrates (Bras Basah Complex)
~ Crazyworld Cafe (Temple Street)
~ Know It Nothing (Haji Lane)
~ The little dröm store (Ann Siang Hill)
~ Woods in the Books (Club Street/Millenia Walk)

/

The long-awaited arrival of Open Door Policy
is finally here ! Situated in the heart of quaint,
little Tiong Bahru, this cozy restaurant rides on
the concept of Food Without Boundaries.

Must-trys --
* crispy chicken wings with curry, yoghurt and cucumber salad
* watercress soup with soft poached hen's egg
* 48 hour cooked braised beef cheek with mochi potatoes,
carrot puree and snow pea tendrils
* chocolate and pistachio souffle, creme anglaise

Open Door Policy is located at 19 Yong Siak Street,
right next to BooksActually !

/

BooksActually is 6 years old !

25th November 2011, Friday
7.30 pm at BooksActually

And we're celebrating with a 20% off storewide
to thank you for your endless love & support.

We hope to continually make humble impacts
on our local literary scene in the many more years to come.

♥

Love always,
BooksActually

BooksActually is 6 years old !

2011-11-18T19:28:00.000+08:00

BooksActually is 6 years old !

Come celebrate with us --

20% off storewide (excluding magazines) + tarts & drinks will be served !

Heinrich von Kleist turns 200 !

2011-11-18T19:25:00.000+08:00

Heinrich von Kleist's 200th Anniversary

{ r e a d i n g }

// 25 November 2011, Friday

7.30 pm at BooksActually

2011-10-23T11:46:00.001+08:00

Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson
THE EXCLUSIVE BIOGRAPHY,
WRITTEN WITH HIS FULL COOPERATION.

To be released on 24th October 2011, 11am at BooksActually.
( & don't forget -- 3 books at 20% off ~)

Cars by Stephen Bayley

2011-10-14T19:03:00.000+08:00

‎"A car is the most symbolically rich thing we ever buy. No other artefact requires such investment of energy, money and passion to manufacture. No other artefact sucks such cupidity and yearning from its consumers. Cars are overwhelmingly potent, and there are reasonable and rational forces trying to curtail our use of them, but once - as Henry Ford realised long ago - you've let the genie of consumer freedom out of the box, there's no putting it back."

~ Stephen Bayley, on the sexual allure of cars

for your KITCHEN --

2011-10-09T00:27:00.003+08:00

BooksActually

brings you

* Books for your kitchen *

"If it's good for your kitchen, it's probably good for your soul."

* *

2011-10-07T16:26:00.000+08:00

VENN'S RULE --

Buy 3 books at 20% off.

Only at BooksActually.

Z I N E : P A R T Y

2011-09-20T17:04:00.000+08:00

BooksActually
presents

• Z I N E : P A R T Y •

29th October 2011, Saturday
10am ~ 4pm
@ BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Singapore 168645)

BooksActually will host a Z I N E : P A R T Y where we will invite zine-makers who are based in Singapore to come together to display and sell / showcase their works !
We will also be inviting all participants of the bookmaking workshops to come showcase their works and/or sell their completed books / zines.

♦

: : GUIDELINES : :

+ Should you want to sell your zines at the Z I N E : P A R T Y , kindly bring a copy of your zine to let us have a look (before 22nd October, Saturday)
+ BooksActually will take a 35% cut off the retail price for any of your zines sold at the store
+ Zines will all be displayed on the islands (middle shelves) of the bookstore -- do note that individual booths won't be given due to space constraints

♦

This will be a perfect opportunity for zine-makers to share with each other and their customers the inspiration and work process behind their carefully crafted zines.
Do spread the word and invite the people you know !

Perfection/Imperfection

2011-09-17T17:27:00.000+08:00

「 Perfection in Imperfection / Imperfection in Perfection 」

a culinary repertoire through the senses of
Chef Janice Wong

"In 2010, I subjected myself to 72 hours of blindness. Social activities; absolute solitude; music, painting — I put myself through these experiences in an effort to train my senses. But it did more:
without my sight, my imagination was set free. I couldn't see a thing, but I could see everything."

~ Janice Wong, chef and owner of 2am:dessertbar

Babette's Feast chapbooks / My Suit + You Cannot Count Smoke

2011-08-19T00:29:00.003+08:00

Babette's Feast

c h a p b o o k s

My Suit

a story-essay by Jason Wee

You Cannot Count Smoke

a string of poem by Cyril Wong

. . .

"There is just some very special connection with these 2 books...
It's like the books themselves are friends."

In Memory of Madam Kwa Geok Choo

2011-08-08T17:45:00.001+08:00

In Memory of the late and great
Madam Kwa Geok Choo
(1920 - 2010)

Now available at BooksActually

BooksActually / Made in Singapore

2011-08-04T18:30:00.003+08:00

left to right :

Singapore Shophouses, Vintage Singapore, Teenage Textbook + Teenage Workbook, I Don't Friend You, Singapore: A Biography

Ceriph #02, The Blue Mansion + Forever Fever DVD Boxset, Singlish Notebook (Red), Framroz Vintage Glass, Old Places DVD, The Catherine Lim Collection

The Design Society #00, #01, and #02, F&N Vintage Glass, Humpback Oak Boxset, The Claire Tham Collection, The Colin Cheong Collection

. . .

Housing Singaporean talent, thoughts and dreams.

This National Day, we stand together to salute the talent
who have crafted these with their hearts, minds, souls and hands,
who speak bravely about our identity, tell of our story, and
construct our future. These are proudly made by Singaporeans.

*

Red Singlish Notebook

2011-07-30T16:27:00.001+08:00

Red for Fraternity.

MajuLAH !

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2011-07-26T20:33:00.000+08:00

silkscreened on white canvas

with a long handle -- to sling on your shoulder,

and a short handle -- to hold in your hands

it also has hidden pockets on the interior of the bag;

great for storing one's iphone, or that funny-shaped

leaf one tends to find on quiet afternoons while

sitting/reading under a tree.

The Idea Book

2011-07-25T15:52:00.001+08:00

Available at BooksActually

The Essential Writer's Pack

2011-07-24T13:15:00.000+08:00

includes :

Marginalia Cahier (with a literary quote)

Author Pencil

Sharpener

Country Eraser

A sprinkle-ful of inspiration

Everything you need to rule the world

now available at BooksActually

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polaroids at BooksActually

2011-07-23T17:37:00.003+08:00

"Don't undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible."

- Edwin H. Land (Founder of Polaroid)

vintage polaroid cameras

now available at BooksActually

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BooksActually.com

2011-07-22T18:55:00.000+08:00

Our website has a new look !

You may now click through the images/links of the books

to get more information on the book.

http://www.booksactually.com

The Pez March

2011-07-22T17:04:00.002+08:00

Join the Pez march at BooksActually.

Also in the march :

Wall-E and Eve, Spongebob Squarepants, Patrick Starfish, Squidward and Gary Snail, Captain Jack Sparrow, "Mike" Wazowski and James P. Sullivan, The Incredible Hulk, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible and Dash Incredible, The Pokémon Team, Alfredo Linguini, Remy and Emile, Slinky Dog, Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Rex, Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Hello Kitty and clones, Mr Bean and Irma Gobb, Bob the Builder and wife

... and too many more.

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What Was The Hipster?

2011-07-19T15:30:00.007+08:00

What Was The Hipster? : A Sociological Investigation

edited by n+1

What Was the Hipster? defines and unpacks the most iconic cultural figure of the 21st century: the bespectacled, ironic, kitsch-loving hipster. Composed of three parts—a transcript of an n+1–hosted panel discussion; a “dossier” of media responses to the panel; and a longer section devoted to essays—What Was the Hipster? traces the lineage of the contemporary hipster and features trenchant cultural criticism from over ten contributors.
Touching on everything from douchebags, hip-hop, party photography, and gentrification to “vintage” fashion, the internet, and ever-ubiquitous skinny jeans, What Was the Hipster? is the most exhaustive document on the contemporary hipster to date.

Now available at BooksActually

An Ode to Penguin / extended !

2011-07-15T16:57:00.000+08:00

An Ode to Penguin

e x h i b i t i o n

The BooksActually team is pleased to inform you

that due to overwhelming response,

we've decided to extend the exhibition until

17th July 2011, Sunday, 6pm.

This is your last chance to catch BooksActually's decade-long private collection of Penguin books.

Embark on a visual and historical journey of the vision that made the world of literature accessible to the man on the street with BooksActually in An Ode To Penguin.

The Arts House

Level 2, Main Gallery

No. 1 Old Parliament Lane

Tickets available at the entrance !

An Ode to Penguin

2011-06-25T20:37:00.001+08:00

“How I fell in love with a Penguin…”

Write a short paragraph of no more than 150 words,
and share your first encounter with a Penguin book and how you fell in love with it !
You may even include a picture of your favourite Penguin book,
or your shelves full of them !

Send your entries in to our Facebook page !

♢

PENGUIN MARGINALIA

Ever picked up a book at a garage sale and found doodles and musings of the previous owner?
Or if any of your family members (younger/older siblings, parents or even grandparents) scribbled thoughts or anything interesting in their Penguin books,
we’d love for you to share it with us !

Snap a picture of these scribblings and share it on our Facebook page wall !

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Spread the Noise !

2011-06-22T17:37:00.001+08:00

Ceriph: Issue Three

2011-06-16T18:41:00.002+08:00

Ceriph Issue No. 3

Come Perch on the Ceriph Birdhouse
- JUNE SEVENTEEN -

"There is no winter here to cool
my warm heart beating a retreat
up to the hill we call a mountain
just 164 metres tall, yet I feel so small
under her primordial gaze...."

– “equatorial love” by Ng Sze Kiat, in Ceriph ISSUE THREE

It begins raining fish on Chinese New Year. Two nymphomaniacs on death-row enter a time-warp right after supper. Scientists have found the reason why birds crash into power lines. Ceriph #03 is a map of imagination that stretches from food to flight, whilst paying tribute to the local landscape.

Discover new writers with Ceriph #03.

Featuring works from John Savage, Marc Nair, Amanda Lee, Katherine Lofts, Ng Sze Kiat, Matthew Craws...haw, Ambrose Rockefeller, Stephanie Burt, Anurak Saelaow Hao, Michael Clark, David Bobis, Nicholas Quah, Leonard Ng, Yeng Pway Ngon, Laremy Lee, Izyanti Asa’ari, Constance Ho, Wayne Cheong, Julian Cashin, JY Yang, Corey Kupfer, Shelly Bryant, Loh Guan Liang, Angelica Chong, Malcolm Tay, Nah Dominic, Brandon Chew, Lee Jing-Jing & Philip Toledano, Joey Kang, & Adrianna Tan.

Ceriph #03 includes a fold out poster featuring work by local photographers Jing Quek & Alvelyn Alko, & an accordion fold out illustration by Chua Xin Jie.

In the Company of Heroes

2011-06-03T15:25:00.001+08:00

Math Paper Press

proudly presents

In the Company of Heroes

by Verena Tay

In the Company of Heroes, an anthology of seven plays by seasoned theatre practitioner Verena Tay, taps into the realm of myth and archetype, while still being firmly rooted in the reality of living day-to-day in modern Singapore. In the Company of Heroes promises to warm your heart and ignite your imagination.

Here lies an essential volume to any library collection of Singaporean plays.

paperback, with cover flaps
Math Paper Press, 2011

ISBN 978-981-08-7782-8

/

Heroes is proudly clothed in mustard -- it only takes a mustard seed of faith to make a dream grow !

Hot off the press.

BooksActually presents An Ode to Penguin

2011-05-30T17:12:00.003+08:00

Born from their decade-long personal collection of Penguin books, BooksActually is proud to present the first-ever showcase in Singapore of over a thousand books from their private library featuring Penguin’s unique cover art that spans from its humble beginnings in 1935 to the present day. Embark on a visual and historical journey of the vision that made the world of literature accessible to the man on the street with BooksActually in An Ode To Penguin.

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Presented by BooksActually
The Arts House, Gallery | 8 July - 16 July 2011

v e n u e . s p o n s o r
The Arts House

p r i v i l e g e d . p a r t n e r s
1827, Arts House: The Shop, Beauty Emporium, Birds & Co.,
Earshot Café, Penguin Books Singapore,
Woods in the Books

t i c k e t s
$6 Concession – Students, NSFs & Senior Citizens (above 60 years old)
$9 Premium – ticket includes privileges from event partners
Tickets now available at BooksActually , Birds & Co. & selected venues islandwide (tba)

for updates:
tumblr / facebook

☁

Birds & Co. / Facebook page !

2011-05-29T14:23:00.000+08:00

Birds & Co. is now a page on Facebook !

'Like' us !

BooksActually tote bags !

2011-05-29T11:58:00.001+08:00

We got our hands dirty !

Hand silk-screened tote bags made with love
by the happy folks of BooksActually !

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BooksActually presents GE 2011 : We Were There / launch

2011-05-28T11:58:00.002+08:00

BooksActually

presents

GE 2011: We Were There

launch

D : Friday, 27th May 2011

T : 7 pm

V : BooksActually

(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. Singapore 168645)

GE 2011 : We Were There

2011-05-27T12:21:00.001+08:00

BooksActually

presents

GE 2011 : We Were There

launch

D : Friday, 27th May 2011

T : 7.30 pm

V : BooksActually

(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. Singapore 168645)

Relive the moments that shaped the course of Singapore's history forever.

You don't wanna miss this.

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Yuni Hadi)

2011-05-26T18:05:00.001+08:00

BooksActually

presents

Well-Informed Wednesday with Yuni Hadi

The Who, What, Why & How of Singapore Films

D : Wednesday, 25th May 2011

T : 7.30 pm

V : BooksActually

Forever Fever + The Blue Mansion DVD Boxset !

2011-05-25T15:55:00.001+08:00

Forever Fever + The Blue Mansion DVD Boxset

by Glen Goei

Now available at BooksActually !

Forever Fever

(1998)

Disco may be dead, but its spirit lives on in Forever Fever, a crowd-pleasing dance flick from then-first-time director Glen Goei. The film contains a deft mix of comedy, romance, and drama, which results in a thoroughly charming homage to Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta, and even the late, great Bruce Lee. Although steeped in references to the 1977 disco classic, the movie avoids rip-off status thanks to ample doses of heart, humor, and originality—not to mention an unmistakably Singaporean touch.

The Blue Mansion

(2009)

The Blue Mansion is a quirky murder mystery about a wealthy Asian tycoon who dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances and returns as a ghost to try to uncover the secret of his death. Two eager detectives investigate the death, chasing all leads and suspects, including the dead man's three children. The ghost witnesses his own funeral wake, attended by jealous relatives and business competitors as well as the police investigation that unveils hidden family secrets.

Guess the Orange Prize winner !

2011-05-24T18:00:00.000+08:00

Guess the Orange Prize winner !

Orange Prize (UK) celebrates the women who have been writing with excellence and originality throughout the world annually.

Guess the winner for this year.
3 winners, drawn at random, will each receive a pair of Premium tickets to BooksActually's An Ode To Penguin exhibition in July !
Submit your guesses to booksellers@booksactually.com with your Full Name, Mailing Address, Phone by June 6.
Winners will be announced on our Facebook Page, and prizes with be sent by postage.
Good luck !

( for more details )

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Everybody loves a sale !

2011-05-24T17:59:00.001+08:00

Pre-GSS surprise !

20% off storewide
(except magazines)

Thursday - Friday
(26 & 27 May)

BooksActually presents In the Company of Heroes / Launch

2011-05-21T12:40:00.000+08:00

Math Paper Press
presents

「In the Company of Heroes: Selected Plays」

by Verena Tay
(published by Math Paper Press, 2011)

L A U N C H
+
P A N E L . D I S C U S S I O N
with Audrey Wong, Noor Effendy Ibrahim and Richard Chua

D : Saturday, 11th June 2011
T : 7.30 pm
V : BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. Singapore 168645)

( for more info )

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BooksActually presents A World in Transit / launch

2011-05-21T12:36:00.002+08:00

BooksActually

presents

「A World in Transit」

by Eric Valles

l a u n c h

d : Friday, 10th June 2011
t : 7.30 pm
v : BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. Singapore 168645)

( for more info )

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Dispatches from Singapore by Dr Rigor Mortis

2011-05-20T15:02:00.002+08:00

The Singapore Letters

This book is a collection of letters by Dr George Caldwell, most of which were published in the main newspapers in Singapore from the late 1960s till the late 1990s. The letters were an attempt by Dr Caldwell to try and prevent the destruction of whole streets as well as individual buildings in Singapore. Quite a number of points made in his letters were taken up by the authorities in Singapore, and much remains relevant today.

♦

Electric Flying Tram-Car

This book is a day-by-day catalogue of events and impressions covering the period from March to June 1958 by Dr George Caldwell, a Ship's Surgeon who travelled east from out of England, and who then spent the next 50 years of his life traveling and in the East.

The detailed documentation of these four months in 1958 gives a charming and important glimpse of life in the fifties.

♦

More or Less Rapid Transit

This book is a selected collection of letters by Dr Rigor Mortis to the newspapers and government bodies in Singapore from the late 1960s up to as late as April 2008. The letters reflect a deep concern with roads, the Mass Rapid Transit, road safety and mass transportation in Singapore that would be efficient, user friendly, and most important - convenient for commuters.

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Now available at BooksActually

Join the BooksActually page !

2011-05-17T12:34:00.000+08:00

BooksActually is now a page on Facebook !

'Like' us !

☁

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Yuni Hadi)

2011-05-16T16:48:00.000+08:00

BooksActually
p r e s e n t s

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Yuni Hadi)
* The Who, What, Why, How of Singapore films *

/

D : Wednesday, 25th May 2011
T : 7:30 pm
V : BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. +65 6222 9195)

( for more info )

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BooksActually Curated Session : The Third ☛ RGS

2011-05-16T15:12:00.000+08:00

BooksActually
presents

BooksActually Curated Session: the Third
~ only the best make it through ~

D : 18th ~ 19th May 2011, Wed ~ Thur

T : 8.30 am - 3.30 pm

V : Raffles Girls' School (Secondary)

20 Anderson Road, Singapore 259978

BooksActually will once again be having another of their curated sessions at Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) with a selection of their finest local literature. Only the best make it through.

* N O T E *
Please be informed that this is a CASH ONLY event.

♢

Films @ BooksActually

2011-05-14T17:08:00.002+08:00

The Tan Pin Pin Collection :

Invisible City + Singapore Gaga + Moving House

(Limited Edition)

➤

HERE

by Ho Tzu Nyen

➤

Old Places

by Royston Tan, Eva Tang & Victric Thng

➤

Available at BooksActually

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BooksActually presents Red Dragonflies by Liao Jiekai / discussion

2011-05-14T16:41:00.001+08:00

BooksActually

presents

Red Dragonflies

a film discussion with Liao Jiekai

d i s c u s s i o n

D : Thursday, 12 May 2011
T : 7.30 pm
V : BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. Singapore 168645)

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What's new at BooksActually

2011-05-11T18:50:00.001+08:00

The Beat Generation

+ Jack Kerouac

+Allen Ginsberg

+ William S. Burroughs

+ Neal Cassady

The Penguin Great Food Series

Throughout the history of civilization, food has been more than simple necessity. In countless cultures, it has been livelihood, status symbol, entertainment - and passion.
In the Great Food series, Penguin brings you the finest food writing from the last 400 years, and opens the door to the wonders of every kitchen.

The Penguin Essentials
The Penguin Essentials are some of the twentieth-century’s most important books. When they were first published they changed the way we thought about literature and about life.

beat generation + penguin food series + penguin essentials = the best things you can feed your bookshelves with !

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BooksActually presents Old Places / l a u n c h

2011-05-11T12:25:00.000+08:00

BooksActually

presents

Old Places

A Documentary by

Royston Tan, Eva Tang & Victric Thng

"Why are we so afraid of the word 'old' ?

Age has its own beauty as well."

- Eva Tang

➤

BooksActually presents Red Dragonflies by Liao Jiekai / discussion

2011-05-09T16:46:00.001+08:00

BooksActually
presents

Red Dragonflies
A film discussion with Liao Jiekai

d i s c u s s i o n

D : Thursday, 12 May 2011
T : 7.30 pm
V : BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. Singapore 168645)

/

( for more details )

Happy Birthday, Thomas Pynchon !

2011-05-08T11:22:00.003+08:00

Happy 74th Birthday, Thomas Pynchon !

" An article published in the Soho Weekly News claimed that Pynchon was in fact J. D. Salinger. Pynchon's written response to this theory was simple: 'Not bad. Keep trying.' "

~ source : wikipedia

BooksActually presents Old Places / DVD Launch

2011-05-03T18:00:00.004+08:00

BooksActually

presents

Old Places

A Documentary by

Royston Tan, Eva Tang, Victric Thng

D : Tuesday, 10th May 2011

T : 7.30 pm

V : BooksActually

(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. Singapore 168645)

( rsvp here )

✩

Old Places, a documentary directed by Singaporean filmmakers Royston Tan, Victric Thng and Eva Tang, first screened on Okto on the eve of National Day 2010. Featuring the voices of Singaporeans recalling their memories of disappearing places in Singapore, it recorded the highest ratings for any documentary screened this year and received an overwhelming number of requests from the public. As a result, Okto arranged a repeat screening on Tuesday 24th August.

Nostalgic, sentimental and at times, gently admonishing, this is a film that every Singaporean should see. Amidst Singapore’s rapid urban development, these spaces are our memories, our history, and our loss.

“I want to archive these places before they are lost forever.”

− Royston Tan

A B O U T T H E F I L M M A K E R S

Royston Tan

A graduate from Temasek Polytechnic, Royston Tan’s films have screened worldwide at film festivals and received over 75 awards. He has made 4 feature-length films and continues to work within the short film genre when the right idea comes along. Tan is one of the most influential filmmakers locally. In 2002, the National Arts Council honoured him with the Young Artist Award. In 2004, Time Magazine cited Tan as one of the ‘Top 20 Asian Heroes’. Tan received the Singapore Youth Award, the highest youth accolade from the National Youth Council, in 2010.

His works were outstanding since his days as a student when he won awards such as the NTU's All-School Students' Photo-Videographic Competition: First prize for Music Video "Remains" (1995) and the UTV International Book Prize for “Adam.Eve.Steve” (1997).

After graduation, Tan received the Best Short Film and Special Achievement Award for the short film “Sons” in 2000. In 2001, his short film “Mother” received the Voice Award at The Substation’s Singapore Short Film Festival. He has won two awards at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, one of the most important short film festivals worldwide – the Canal+ Award 2005 for "Cut" and the Grand Prix for "Monkeylove" in 2007.

Tan remains one of the filmmakers in Singapore who can straddle both the commercial film world and the international film festival critics. His film, “881” grossed over S$3 million; making it the top grossing Asian film in Singapore in 2007. In 2009, he was invited to be part of the Jury at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Eva Tang

Born in Singapore, Eva Tang has lived and studied in Hong Kong, London and China. When she was offered a scholarship from the Singapore Film Commission, she resigned from her journalist job of 5 years and went on to study film. She was the first Singaporean filmmaker who had her student short selected by the Venice Film Festival in 2002.

Eva is a MA (Directing) graduate of the National Film and Television School. Her student film “Londres – London” won the Governor Award of the Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition. It also won Best Artistic Film in Shanghai, Jury Recommendation at the Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards, and was nominated for Best Short Film at Hawaii and Bangkok International Film Festivals. The National Gallery of Art (USA) also picked it up for screening. Her film, “Solitary Moon” was awarded the First Prize at The Great Gatsby Video Challenge, part of the Singapore Arts Festival 2010.

Eva was selected for the 2009 Berlinale Talent Campus, 2010 Torino FilmLab training and 2010 Taipei Golden Horse Film Academy led by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

Victric Thng

Cited as “one of the new wave directors to look out for” by The Straits Times, Victric Thng’s filmmaking career started when he made a 3-minute short film “Locust” (2003). The film won the Renault Samsung Prize in the Busan Asian Short Film Festival, Best Asean Short Film Silver Award at the Malaysian Video Awards and also screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. “Locust” remains one of the most highly requested films from festivals today. He has since made 11 other short films including more recently, “The Mole” (2007), which won first prize at the Panasonic-MDA Digital Film Fiesta 2007, and “Twogether” (2007) which screened at the 27^th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival in 2009. In 2009, he executive produced the short film series “Infinity” which premiered at the 22^nd Singapore International Film Festival. He was commissioned by the National Arts Council in 2009 and 2010 to direct a film under the dance/film programme, as part of the Singapore Arts Festival. “A Day Without Wind”, which was the dance film commissioned in 2009, travelled to the Asian Hot Shots Festival 2010 in Berlin, Germany.

He has been invited to jury regionally at festivals including in Macau and in Singapore, the 7^th Fly By Night Video Challenge 2009. In 2009, John Badalu in Jakarta curated a retrospective of his works.

2011-05-03T16:21:00.000+08:00

New signage + new plants !

We'd love for you to come say hello !

☁

Cake + Pico

2011-05-03T14:00:00.001+08:00

BooksActually has two precious meowmies, Cake and Pico.

And they're on Facebook.

Like them.

BooksActually presents The Resident Tourist 4

2011-04-30T13:07:00.000+08:00

Troy Chin's The Resident Tourist 4 / reading

"Mediocrity is the distillation of not caring."

-Troy Chin

BooksActually presents Kebaya Tales / r e a d i n g

2011-04-28T17:00:00.000+08:00

BooksActually
presents

Kebaya Tales
by Dr. Lee Su Kim

. . .

R E A D I N G

D: 6th May 2011, Friday
T: 7.30 pm
V: BooksActually

(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru, Singapore 168645)

/

(for more info)

Troy Chin's Resident Tourist 4 / r e a d i n g

2011-04-27T16:00:00.002+08:00

Troy Chin's Resident Tourist 4 (excerpt) !

r e a d i n g

D: Friday, 29th April 2011

T: 7.30 pm

V: BooksActually

(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru, Singapore 168645

t / +65 6222 9195)

the only fights allowed

2011-04-21T17:40:00.002+08:00

book fight !

~ from A Woman is A Woman (Une Femme est Une Femme)

by Jean-Luc Godard

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë !

2011-04-21T15:15:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë !

( 21 April 1816 - 31 March 1855, aged 38)

2011-04-20T20:51:00.000+08:00

“We’re all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears.”

— Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai)

Now at BooksActually

petite Birds & Co. : Tangs PlayLab

2011-04-19T15:31:00.002+08:00

photo credits: plussixfive

*petite*
Birds & Co. : Tangs PlayLab, Level 3
310 Orchard Road
Singapore 238864
t / +65 6737 5500

◊

BooksActually presents The Book of Guilty Pleasures / Launch

2011-04-19T15:10:00.001+08:00

Congrats to Music Quiz Winners : Daniel, Rebecca & Daryl !

♫

BooksActually SALE !

2011-04-15T13:00:00.001+08:00

BooksActually is having a sale !

. . .

20% off storewide
16 ~ 17 April 2011 (Sat & Sun)

Because there is no such thing as Too Many Books.

. . .

BooksActually is now housed at No. 9 Yong Siak Street, in the heart of Tiong Bahru.

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Pat Law)

2011-04-15T11:40:00.000+08:00

Well-Informed Wednesday with Pat Law

The Shameless Art of Self-Promotion Done Tastefully

You can be tired physically, and mentally. But if you're doing what you love, you'll never be tired emotionally.

-Pat Law

||\

Birds & Co. @ Orchard Cineleisure !

2011-04-12T20:27:00.001+08:00

Birds & Co. @ Orchard Cineleisure just underwent a 9-hour face lift !

New look, new products, new hatchlings.

Come say hello !

☀

Birds & Co.

Orchard Cineleisure

№ 8 Grange Road

#03-05A

Singapore 239695

+65 6733 1170

BooksActually this April

2011-04-10T15:40:00.006+08:00

George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia + Down and Out in Paris and London

Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated + Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Dumitru Tsepeneag's Hotel Europa

Michal Ajvaz's The Golden Age

Pierre Siniac's The Collaborators

Milan Kundera's

Laughable Loves

The Joke

Identity

Raymond Carver's

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?

Fires

Cathedral

Elephant

Everybody's Activity Book

The Silver Spoon for Children: Favourite Italian Recipes

Recipes from an Italian Summer

Ginette Mathiot's I Know How to Cook

Rose Bakery's Breakfast Lunch Tea

Rene Redzepi's NOMA

*

With a spoonful of creativity, a dash of dedication and a pinch of wit, BooksActually will whet your curiosity this April and keep you hungry for more.

♡

BooksActually presents The Resident Tourist 4 / Launch & Discussion

2011-04-07T19:22:00.000+08:00

BooksActually

p r e s e n t s

The Resident Tourist 4
by Troy Chin

moderated by Dave Chua

/

L A U N C H & D I S C U S S I O N

D : Friday, 29th April 2011
T : 7:30 pm
V : BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. +65 6222 9195)

( for more info )

♢

BooksActually presents In the Company of Heroes / Launch (postponed)

2011-04-07T19:11:00.001+08:00

BooksActually

p r e s e n t s

In the Company of Heroes

by Verena Tay

B O O K L A U N C H

D : -POSTPONED-
V : BooksActually

(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. +65 6222 9195)

Stay tuned.

( for more info )

♢

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Jacob Sam-La Rose)

2011-04-07T18:00:00.001+08:00

BooksActually

p r e s e n t s

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Jacob Sam-La Rose)

D : Wednesday, 20th April 2011
T : 7:30 pm
V : BooksActually

(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. +65 6222 9195)

Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Places: 12-15 writers
Cost: S$45

RSVP to arts@britishcouncil.org.sg with the subject: 'Writing and the Web'.

Wait for your confirmation email and either pay by bank transfer (details on request) or print your confirmation email and take it to Books Actually who will process your payment.

NOTE: Participants will be required to bring their own laptop to the workshop.

( for more info )

♢

BooksActually presents The Book of Guilty Pleasures / Launch

2011-04-05T16:00:00.010+08:00

BooksActually

p r e s e n t s

The Book of Guilty Pleasures
by Song-Ming Ang

/

L A U N C H & R E A D I N G

D : Friday, 15th April 2011
T : 7:30 pm
V : BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. +65 6222 9195)

( for more info )

♢

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Pat Law)

2011-04-05T15:56:00.008+08:00

BooksActually
p r e s e n t s

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Pat Law)
*The Shameless Art of Self-Promotion Done Tastefully*

/

D : Wednesday, 13th April 2011
T : 7:30 pm
V : BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. +65 6222 9195)

( for more info )

♢

BooksActually presents On Being Paul Tan

2011-04-02T20:20:00.005+08:00

BooksActually
p r e s e n t s

On Being Paul Tan
a dialogue series by BooksActually

moderated by Gwee Li Sui

/

D: 8 April 2011, Friday

T: 7.30pm ~ 9.30pm

V: BooksActually
(No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. +65 6222 9195)

( for more info )

♢

BooksActually presents Satori Blues by Cyril Wong

2011-03-27T17:13:00.002+08:00

BooksActually

presents

Satori Blues

by Cyril Wong

L A U N C H & R E A D I N G

D : Friday, 25th March 2011

T : 7:30 pm

V : BooksActually (No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. +65 6222 9195)

. . .

"Cracks in walls

rocket to a big finish in the ceiling,

one arm going suddenly numb, the final

poem of a life left unfinished on the page.

Particles, elemental dust, magnetized to form

new planets and suns with or without

a creator." [an excerpt]

published by Softblow Press (2011)

distributed by Math Paper Press

. . .

BooksActually at № 9 Yong Siak Street : The Launch

2011-03-12T15:35:00.003+08:00

BooksActually (est. 2005) is an independent bookstore specialising in Literature. We publish and distribute books under Math Paper Press. We also hand-stitch notebooks and produce stationery under Birds & Co. BooksActually is now housed at a charming new location, in the heart of the country's most beloved neighbourhood.

T h e L A U N C H.
at № 9 Yong Siak Street,
in the heart of Tiong Bahru.

T h e P a r t y.
// 10:00 am ~ 9:00 pm : 10% storewide discount (except magazines.)
// 6:00 pm ~ 9:00 pm : Cocktail Party

See you there!

||\

BooksActually Officially @ Tiong Bahru !

2011-03-04T14:47:00.000+08:00

Look who just moved in to the neighbourhood!

No. 9 Yong Siak Street

Tiong Bahru

Singapore 168645

Operating Hours :

Weekdays 11am - 9pm

Saturday 10am - 9pm

Sunday 10am - 6pm

See y'all!

♢

BooksActually is moving to Tiong Bahru

2011-02-24T21:09:00.001+08:00

We will be ready at No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru, by the end of February.

Our last day at No. 86 Club Street will be 9 Feb 2011.

BooksActually's "Last Week @ Club Street" Sale !

2011-02-07T13:10:00.005+08:00

BooksActually's "Last Week at Club Street" Sale!

☁

Tues (8 Feb) 11am-9pm
Wed (9 Feb) 11am-9pm *extended*
LAST DAY : Thur (10 Feb) 11am-9pm *extended*
...

☁
Goodbye Club Street !
20% discount on books for our final days in this neighbourhood.

*

(BUY MORE SO WE MOVE LESS.)

BooksActually's Last Week @ Club Street

2011-02-05T13:34:00.003+08:00

This will be BooksActually's last week at No. 86 Club Street. Come say your goodbyes as we bid this lovely street farewell.

We welcome photography/videography, and if you're lucky enough, you might just catch a glimpse of the cats reading.

We hope to see you soon! Otherwise, at our new home. :)
Have an awesome weekend!

P.S.
BooksActually will be moving to:
No. 9 Yong Siak Street
Tiong Bahru
Singapore 168645

♡

Your Book Friday (Err, Monday!): Raymond Carver's Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?

2011-01-31T21:35:00.001+08:00

Raymond Carver was born in a wet, icy mill-town in Oregon, married at 19, divorced soon after, thought he'd die at 40, drank excessively, loved searchingly, despaired thoroughly, taught drunkenly, sobered up, fell in love, traveled America, published nine books, and lived to be 50.

What does he write about in his first book of stories?

Cheating husbands. Too much whiskey. The biggest trout, sliced in half. Little boys who spy on the hidden inner lives of their fathers and mothers, looking for light beneath locked doors, inside of drawers, after bedtime. Are we crazy?

The haunted still of the Redwood forest, the horror of a white sky at dawn, sleet. Dogs that bite. Women in curlers and bathrobes. It’s snowing outside, and you’re stumbling home, drunk again. Bankrupt. Diet salesmen, vacuum salesmen. Out of work. Ashtrays emptied onto the carpet. Let me just put on my lipstick. Please, God, let me get to sleep.

Between stories. Neighborhoods swarming with kids. The lumber mill. Fog that covers it all. Unplanned fistfights. A matriarch who elects to be mute. Motor grime set beneath fingernails and telephones ringing out of turn. Kitchen-table violence. Confident, sonorous voices, reading Rilke before bed. Cheating wives. Guns and bicycles, creeks and persistently cheerful mailmen. Where were you last night?

The meaning of work, the trappings of love. Raymond Carver’s America.

You can find Carver’s very first collection of short stories, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? as well as What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Cathedral, Elephant, and Fires, a collection of essays, poems and stories, at Books Actually.

xoxo,

Bookshop Deer

(Both photographs taken by the Bookshop Deer, and the one of poppies was taken in one of her and Raymond Carver’s favorite small Northern Californian towns, Arcata.)

2011-01-29T11:50:00.001+08:00

Hello all!
Do note our opening hours for BooksActually and Birds & Co. during this Chinese New Year:

CNY EVE (Wed, 2 Feb) :
BooksActually : 11am ~ 6pm
Birds & Co. : 11am ~ 6pm

CNY Day 1 (Thu, 3 Feb) :
BooksActually + Birds & Co. : Closed

CNY Day 2 (Fri, 4 Feb) :
BooksActually : Closed
Birds & Co. : 12pm ~ 11pm

Business as usual from Sat, 5 Feb onwards.
See you then, and have a great Chinese New Year! :)

2011-01-28T17:30:00.003+08:00

BooksActually

presents

“Poet x Poet” series

Session No. 4: Alfian Sa'at x Alvin Pang

Moderated by Dr. Gwee Li Sui

P O E T R Y D I A L O G U E

Date // 28 January, Friday

Time // 7.30 pm

Venue // BooksActually (No. 86 Club Street. T / 6222 9195)

Poet x Poet is a dialogue session where two well-known poets are invited to read and critique each other's works. This is a first in Singapore where poets from different generations and practice engage in intellectual critical dialogue regarding their craft. The audience is welcome to pose any questions and/or participate in the dialogue. Moderated by Dr. Gwee Li Sui. Organized by BooksActually.

Seriously, you don't wanna miss it.

Synesthetic wheel of palate pleasure

2011-01-27T12:36:00.000+08:00

Drooling.

The Flavour Thesuarus, for the polymath of exquisite tenderness and passion.

At Books Actually.

xoxo,

Bookshop Deer

Singaporeans must know Singlish

2011-01-26T20:37:00.000+08:00

Hello ladies and gentlemen

You craved for it.

You laughed at it.

Now, you shall get it.

The Singlish Notebook is back in stock,

and with a new colour for you to choose.

Come on and chop chop grab a copy.

Use it for your meetings so no one can say you obiang

Hao lian to your friends that you got this book.

Don't say I never jio you to Birds & Co.

If you are slow and we are left with jilo copies

Please don't ham tam me!

*all words and meanings can be found within the pages of the book*

The Bookshop Cow is proud of her Singlish roots.

Light of my Life

2011-01-25T15:24:00.000+08:00

The Limited Edition Nabokov Cahier.

Handmade with ardor.

Bound with satiny thread the hue of a lepidopterist's pale-winged dreams.

Find yours at Books Actually.

xoxo,

Bookshop Deer

2011-01-21T16:46:00.000+08:00

BOOK SYNOPSIS:

LEE Kuan Yew is Singapore's most influential son but he is not without his critics. He has not flinched from taking them on, even now after almost 60 years in the political fray. Why is he so hard on his political opponents? Will Singapore become a democracy? Could the People's Action Party ever lose its grip on power? Are younger leaders up to the mark? Will growing religiosity change Singapore for the better or worse? How will rising giants China and India affect its fortunes? Lee fields these questions and more as he covers the terrain of the past and contemplates the expanse of the future for this island nation that he and his founding generation built on the hopes of a people. Based on 32 hours of interviews at the Istana, along with 64 pages of photographs and a DVD insert, the book features Lee in full flow, combative, thought-provoking, controversial.

Available at BooksActually (No. 86 Club Street)
Today from 5.30PM onwards
$39.90 each

♢

2011-01-21T15:17:00.000+08:00

Owners of BooksActually, Kenny and Karen were invited by the National Library Board to give an entrepreneurial talk at The Pod.

Date: 20th January 2011, Thursday
Time: 7PM ~ 9PM
Venue: NLB, The Pod

♢

Your Book Friday: Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

2011-01-21T14:39:00.000+08:00

Jeanette Winterson describes the shape of her first novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit in the following passage from her Introduction:

I really don’t see the point of reading in straight lines. We don’t think like that and we don’t live like that. Our mental processes are closer to a maze than a motorway, every turning yields another turning, not symmetrical, not obvious. Not chaos, either. A sophisticated mathematical equation made harder to unravel because X and Y have different values on different days (xii).

Winterson wrote the novel at only 24 years old, and her spiraling narrative is at once an elegant fairy tale, a love story, a spiritual quest, and a memoir, with a preternatural capacity for relatively recent self-reflection that is by turns touching and hilarious. The author made no secret of the autobiographical contents of her novel: “Is Oranges autobiographical? No, not at all, and yes, of course!” (Introduction)

Winterson colors the book with wry details and absurd characters drawn from a childhood of fervent religious agonies and ecstasies, sounding at times like a more puckish David Sedaris. The pastor of the congregation is bug-eyed and paranoid, blessing sandwiches and cursing children in a single breath. A parishioner who teaches the oboe has a grotesquely protuberant mouth and is fond of shouting. Another parishioner, Elsie Norris is a numerologist, and therefore “never reads the Word without first casting the dice to guide her” (11). Elsie appears chomping oranges toothlessly with Jeanette, the young narrator, after church services throughout the novel as a sort of comical leitmotif. The protagonist’s mother is a woman who sleeps two hours a night whose religious devotion is portrayed as all-consuming mania. With psychotic zeal, she plays the piano, prays, and curses the world of sin, referring to public schools as “Breeding Grounds for Satan” and screaming the word “fornicators” into her neighbors’ yard. Jeanette, her daughter, and the author’s double, is an earnest member of the flock and intends to devote her life missionary work. When Jeanette falls in love with a young female convert and the affair is betrayed to the community, the church stages an elaborate near-exorcism of an intervention, eventually expelling her from the community and damning Jeanette’s love as a sin of “Unnatural Passions.”

Jeanette’s banishment leads her to a spiraling inward reflection in an attempt to reconcile the problematic church that has raised her with her innocent young love:

She found a map rolled up around a broom handle; the map showed the forest, and the edges of the forest where the towns began. She found the river, placid and shrunk, but growing to a huge mouth where she had once lived; the river belted the sacred city, and splitting itself like a cut worm, flowed variously into the sea. (154)

The novel as a whole is complex but compulsively readable, tender and timeless; as Jeanette Winterson puts it, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit is “a comforting novel.”

Winterson sings of herself, obliquely, and directly to all those hurtling through a time of growth and paradox, when she writes:

Its heroine is somewhat outside of life...she has to deal with big questions that cut across class, culture and colour. Everyone, as some time in their life, must choose whether to stay with a ready-made world that may be safe but is also limiting, or to push forward, often past the frontiers of commonsense, into a personal place, unknown and untried. (xiv, Introduction)

FInd Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit at Books Actually, as well as other books by Jeanette Winterson such as Sexing the Cherry, Written on the Body and Lighthousekeeping.

xoxo,

Bookshop Deer

2011-01-21T14:08:00.001+08:00

Math Paper Press

proudly presents

Ceriph
Issue No. 2

...
"Bigger, better and thicker!"
~ Winnie Goh (art director, Ceriph)

"More, more, more!"
~ Alvin Pang (2005 Young Artist of the Year [Literature] and author of Testing the Silence, City of Rain)

L A U N C H & R E A D I N G

The distance between a woman and her womb.
The Necropolis.
Kababayans.

From charting distances to a dying star in space and between lovers, to the landscape of death in a gun -- these familiar and unfamiliar landscapes record works ranging from self-expression to social commentary. Issue Two features the work of Desmond Kon, Stephanie Ye, Vanessa Ban, Thng Ivana, Esther Ng, Jaryl George Solomon, Tse Hao Guang, Migs Bravo-Dutt, Nandita Jaishankar, Adam Liew, Christina Chua, Manoj Harjani, Makarand R. Paranjape, Faiezah Osman, Ivan Ang, Derrick Cham, Abel Koh, Benjamin Teong, Nicholas Liu, David De Winne, Prabhu Silvam, Shang Hsuen Koh, R Somaiah, Darius Sit, Jayanti Shankar, Bryan Cheong Sui Kang, Adeline Mary Teoh, Ari, Kong Yen Lin & Nuria Ling, Jason Erik Lundberg, and Eric Tinsay Valles.

Ceriph
housing Singaporean thoughts
( http://ceriph.net/ )

*

Grab your copy now !
Available now at BooksActually / Birds & Co. / The Little Dröm Store / Woods in the Books

Your Book Friday: Herta Muller's The Passport

2011-01-07T17:12:00.003+08:00

2009 Nobel Prize winner Herta Muller’s The Passport describes a Romanian village habituated by a German-speaking minority during Ceausescu’s stifling dictatorship. The story is familiar enough: A man longs for a passport to escape his bleak surroundings. He is tormented by the past; the weather mimics his various pains and frustrations. The man determines that he must sacrifice his own daughter to escape to the West. Mythic in its melancholy.

However, Muller avoids a simplistic, fable-esque rendering of this story in her masterful telling. The novel is dense and poetic, rich with specific histories. Horrific elements are surreal and often painterly in her wording, though no less horrific. Death is foretold with fatalistic accuracy--by a melon, a dahlia, a tree. Time passes like a cut forms, dries, and heals into a scar, as the grass turns brown in a season:

“When it’s light outside, Windisch goes to the mill pond. He kneels down in the grass. He looks at his face in the water... “Windisch has a crooked, white scar under his eye.

“A reed is bent. It opens and closes beside his hand. The reed has a brown blade” (22).

A woman remembers the hunger that drove her to prostitution in Russia:

“Her stomach was a hedgehog...When the snow melted the second time, grass soup grew beneath their shoes. Katharina sold her woollen blanked for ten slices of bread. The hedgehog pulled in its spines for a few hours” (74-75)

An apple tree eats its own apples and has a devil living inside. A glass tear arrives from a mountaintop in a box tied with silver thread. A young man who has a hole in his head inherited from his family’s long line of taxidermists loves a young woman.

Decidedly, Muller’s sensory flourishes do more than merely prettify a somber tale. Rather, they offer the reader a synesthetic specificity culled from Muller’s thorough, autobiographical understanding of The Passport’s environs. Muller addresses her audience with the respect of an educator: for many, in the West as well as the East, the history she describes is relatively unfamiliar. American author Flannery O’Connor wrote,

“When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal means of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock-to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind you draw large and startling figures” (Mystery and Manners, p. 34).

Muller’s synesthetic details, exquisitely drawn throughout The Passport, shade and scream the sorrows and guarded histories of her novel’s world to the effect of “large and startling figures,” as in the following lyrical, mournful passage:

“There was wind in the rain water too. It drove glassy bells through the trees. The bells were dull; leaves whirled inside them. The rain sang. There was sand in the rain’s voice too. And tree-bark” (23).

Find The Passport at Books Actually.

xoxo,

Bookshop Deer

P.S. Leaf through Muller's The Land of Green Plums, winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, while you're in the shop!

tasty treats for rainy days.

2011-01-03T17:30:00.000+08:00

Ox-tails*, now available fresh and daily at our Birds & Co. store.

(* = They are not edible ox-tails, but the Ox-Tales series of books.
Bookshop Unicorn was very hungry.
Bookshop Bear enjoys ox-tail soup.)

BooksActually wishes you..

2010-12-26T15:07:00.000+08:00

Hoped you had a great Christmas!

As we take down the Christmas decorations and prepare to usher in the new year, the people at BooksActually + Birds & Co. would like to thank you for your great support at the stores that had both us and the cash register busy.
All of us had great fun trying to recommend Christmas gifts (books are <3) , wrapping presents that are odd-shaped (vintage baby grand piano!) and also seeing the smiles on of your faces.

May 2011 bring you much more happiness and love.
May you read great books, listen to great songs, watch wonderful movies and meet lovely people in this coming year. :)

With love,
The Bookshop Penguin, Fox, Unicorn, Dancing Bear, Cat, Alligator, Bat, Deer, Whale, Elephant and Moomoo Cow who wrote this on Boxing Day.

Rorschach's ink blots

2010-12-21T20:17:00.003+08:00

Q: What do you see?

A: a polar bear !

A: a crab !

A: sparrow family !

Ink Blot Cards

individually handmade by Birds & Co.

on Fabriano paper with deckle edges

as a tribute to Rorschach

Monocle Alpino

2010-12-21T16:47:00.006+08:00

Perfect with a glass of egg-nog.

Monocle Alpino (Winter Edition), now available at BooksActually and Birds & Co.

BooksActually's Christmas Special ☆

2010-12-21T15:20:00.003+08:00

☆ BooksActually's Christmas Special ☆

23rd December 2010
~ on the eve of the Eve ~

presenting

Shinzi Katoh Tea
L A U N C H
tea reception by The Little Happy Shop
at 7:00 pm

x

The Perfect Journey
A C O U S T I C S E T
performed by Polkadot + Moonbeam
(Juliet Pang 冯欣慧＋ Didi Mudigdo)
at 7:30 pm

BooksActually (86 Club Street, Singapore)

☆

This Christmas, come by your favourite bookstore (www.booksactually.com) for a Shinzi Katoh cuppa to warm your precious hearts alongside with music from Juliet Pang's newly released full-length original debut, 完美之旅｜ the perfect journey. Tea Reception is proudly and generously hosted by The Little HappyShop (www.thelittlehappyshop.com).

Juliet had always been fascinated...and bewildered(!) by Kenny and Karen's special eye for art, music, beauty in things that are often forgotten. Come by to listen to her heart songs presented by Polkadot + Moonbeam (Juliet Pang + Didi Mudigdo) in this quaint little bookstore that is her favourite haunt.

Join us this Christmas Eve's eve! Pop over for some after-dinner Tea Party fun and have a magical evening filled with tea, sweet nothings and heartfelt music.

♥

完美之旅｜ the perfect journey is a collection of original compositions (music/lyrics) by singer-songwriter Juliet Pang 冯欣慧. Music for her is a wonderful medium for a storyteller, and each song that writes her stories and those about whom she holds closely to her heart, adds a new color to her creative palette.

(www.julietpang.net) (www.youtube.com/julietpang)

Support original songs + strong vocals + indie project !
Album sales will take place at BooksActually on the same day.
She will be happy to doodle on it if you drop a hint. :)

♥

The Little Happy Shop: Chic paper goods and other happy practicalities, is proudly owned by Ruth Tan.

Merry Christmas, ho ho ho !

2010-12-17T19:26:00.002+08:00

Ho ho ho !

We have a gift for every darling this Christmas.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's classics // E. E. Cumming's Cigarette Verses by Birds & Co. // The Selby is in Your Place // Vintage German Police Whistle // The Catcher in the Rye handmade clutch bag by Olympia Le-Tan // Wax-sealed Author Pencil Set by Birds & Co. // Vintage Argus C3 Rangefinder camera // Nabokov Cahier by Birds & Co. // Shinzi Katoh Tea // Vintage Baby Piano // Ceriph Issue 1 // Vintage Torchlight Cigarettes Wall Plate

These are just a handful of magic you will find at BooksActually. We have 3-storeys full of wonder in our BooksActually cavern (86 Club Street) for you to get lost in, not to mention our Birds & Co. store (Orchard Cineleisure #03-05A) in the heart of town. The fairy-lights are up, the turkey is stuffed, carols are in the air, and everyone's hearts are merry. It's Christmas time !

2010-12-15T16:14:00.000+08:00

BooksActually x Forty Hands Curated Sessions: the First

~ only the best make it through ~

A book for every darling, this Christmas.

2010-12-10T20:23:00.001+08:00

F. Scott Fitzgerald's
This Side of Paradise, Flappers and Philosophers, Tender is the Night,
The Pleasures and the Damned & The Last Tycoon

White's Classics
Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations,
Pride and Prejudice, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Wuthering Heights & Sherlock Holmes

E. H. Gombrich's A Little History of the World

Cyril Wong's Satori Blues

Troy Chin's The Resident Tourist (Part 4)

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince
(pop-up edition)

Paula Rego's Nursery Rhymes

Hywel Davis' Fashion Designers' Sketchbooks

Orla Kiely's Pattern

Graphic.

Nguan's Shibuya

Singapore Shophouses

Milk (Issue No. 4)

*

We have something for every darling, this Christmas.
So, Santa baby, won't you hurry down the chimney tonight?

Arm yourselves, this Christmas.

2010-12-09T19:43:00.007+08:00

only with classic debonair cameras

Vintage Argus Rangefinder (35mm)

Vintage Ilford, Agfa, Minolta (35mm)

Vintage Kodak Instamatic (126 film)

Red Army Camera, Blackbird Fly (35mm)

Load up at BooksActually.

BooksActually Curated Sessions: the First

2010-12-09T18:29:00.010+08:00

BooksActually x Forty Hands

presents

BooksActually Curated Sessions: the First

~ only the best make it through ~

BooksActually will be having the first of their curated sessions at Forty Hands on the 11th of December with a selection of their finest books and handmade stationery. Only the best make it through. A perfect Saturday out in the relaxed Tiong Bahru neighbourhood with the finest cup of coffee at Forty Hands.

Time : Saturday, December 11 · 10:00am - 4:00pm

Location : Forty Hands (78 Yong Siak Street, #01-12, Tiong Bahru, Singapore)

*n o t e*
Please be informed that this is a cash only event.
Bring your trunk full of crisp notes. Prepare for swashbuckling action.

See you there!

◊

Bobbin' head Pico

2010-12-08T18:45:00.003+08:00

photographed by Flee Circus

The Little Happy Shop x BooksActually ~ SHINZI KATOH

2010-12-05T14:24:00.003+08:00

SHINZI KATOH in Singapore + Art Showcase

4th December 2010, Saturday

The Little Happyshop x BooksActually
presents

The Shinzi Katoh Art Showcase !
First ever in Singapore, this week-long highlight features Shinzi Katoh Sensei's art and design.

Includes well-loved illustrations of Little Red Riding Hood, Princess Mermaid and Mon Peluche on Large Posters, Postcards, and Letter Sets. Also new: Shinzi Katoh designed Footwear ~ very latest from Japan !

Available for sale are Shinzi Katoh merchandise including stationery and bags.

Nab them all at BooksActually (No. 86 Club Street).

Exhibition ends 11 Dec 2010

♢

「Under the Sun」 by O Thiam Chin

2010-12-04T20:41:00.006+08:00

O Thiam Chin's Under the Sun book launch at BooksActually.

From the author of Never Been Better and Free-Falling Man comes a new collection of flash fiction that brings to life a world of secrets, joy, grief and longing that lie beneath the ordinary and mundane. Under the Sun offers unflinching snapshots of everyday life, encapsulating the gritty and real, the subtle and extreme in fifty stories that surprise, reveal and evoke the strange and familiar, whether on the fringes or in the mainstream.

From murders to mysterious disappearances, from distorted childhood memories to unfulfilled desires, from flights of fantasy to brutal ruptures of reality, Under the Sun delivers more of O Thiam Chin's keen and honest observations of human flaws and foibles, and imbues the fleeting and revelatory moments of life with mystery an unembellished truths.

O THIAM CHIN's short stories have been featured in Asia Literary Review, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Kyoto Journal, The Jakarta Post, Asia Writes, Karavan, and several literary anthologies. He is the author of two short-story collections, "Free-Falling Man" and "Never Been Better", which was longlisted for the 2010 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.

♢

O Thiam Chin's works are available at BooksActually

Have yourself a merry little Christmas!

2010-12-02T22:11:00.005+08:00

Seasons Greetings, snowmen and reindeers and gingerbread men alike!

'Tis the season to be jolly! The Christmas lights are up, and the bookshop is jammed with the perfect gifts for your loved ones. So what are you waiting for? Come on down in your one-horse open sleighs and enjoy free wrapping services by our friendly elves. We always have something for everyone!

Fa la la!

♢

Find us at:

BooksActually
No. 86 Club Street
Singapore 069454

BooksActually is five !

2010-11-26T20:47:00.006+08:00

BooksActually is five years old.

With the sun warming our cheeks, we have dipped our toes into everything, braved many trials with scraped knees and still, we insist on climbing higher and further. Along this journey, we have hugged kittens, helped the young realise they don't have to be hundred-year-old professors to love literature, propelled writers, artists, designers, musicians to new heights and audiences, rescued forgotten works, and set the benchmark for independent shops around the country.

It has been a whirlwind of literature / poetry / theatre / music / film / art / vintage / local / handmade / indie culture / publishing / distributing / curations / exhibitions / launches / interviews / readings / performances / charities / makeshift bookstores / festivals / collaborations, and are happy to say that we are here to stay.

So many of you have seen us grow, we'd like to high-five you for walking with us arm-in-arm along this journey. Come for our BooksActually's 5th Birthday Party (27th November, 2 ~ 9pm at BooksActually, 86 Club Street). Get a 15% off anything except magazines and promotional items when you shop with us on this very special day.

We love you very much.
If you love us back, drop us a ♥ letter on how our existence has changed your world.
Mail it to :

BooksActually
No. 86 Club Street
Singapore 069454

Or perhaps you would like to share the ♥ here, with books / bookstore-related videos, photographs, passages, songs that remind you of BooksActually.

High-five,
Karen & Kenny

BooksActually

December, December !

Updates for the week --

BooksActually is 6 years old !

Heinrich von Kleist turns 200 !

Steve Jobsby Walter IsaacsonTHE EXCLUSIVE BIOGRAPHY,WRITTEN WITH HIS FULL COOPERATION. ** To be released on 24th October 2011, 11am at BooksActually. **( & don't forget -- 3 books at 20% off ~)

Cars by Stephen Bayley

for your KITCHEN --

Z I N E : P A R T Y

Perfection/Imperfection

Babette's Feast chapbooks / My Suit + You Cannot Count Smoke

In Memory of Madam Kwa Geok Choo

BooksActually / Made in Singapore

Red Singlish Notebook

||\

The Idea Book

The Essential Writer's Pack

polaroids at BooksActually

BooksActually.com

The Pez March

What Was The Hipster?

An Ode to Penguin / extended !

An Ode to Penguin

Spread the Noise !

Ceriph: Issue Three

In the Company of Heroes

BooksActually presents An Ode to Penguin

Birds & Co. / Facebook page !

BooksActually tote bags !

BooksActually presents GE 2011 : We Were There / launch

GE 2011 : We Were There

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Yuni Hadi)

Forever Fever + The Blue Mansion DVD Boxset !

Guess the Orange Prize winner !

Everybody loves a sale !

BooksActually presents In the Company of Heroes / Launch

BooksActually presents A World in Transit / launch

Dispatches from Singapore by Dr Rigor Mortis

Join the BooksActually page !

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Yuni Hadi)

BooksActually Curated Session : The Third ☛ RGS

Films @ BooksActually

BooksActually presents Red Dragonflies by Liao Jiekai / discussion

What's new at BooksActually

BooksActually presents Old Places / l a u n c h

BooksActually presents Red Dragonflies by Liao Jiekai / discussion

Happy Birthday, Thomas Pynchon !

BooksActually presents Old Places / DVD Launch

Cake + Pico

BooksActually presents The Resident Tourist 4

BooksActually presents Kebaya Tales / r e a d i n g

Troy Chin's Resident Tourist 4 / r e a d i n g

the only fights allowed

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë !

*petite* Birds & Co. : Tangs PlayLab

BooksActually presents The Book of Guilty Pleasures / Launch

BooksActually SALE !

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Pat Law)

Birds & Co. @ Orchard Cineleisure !

BooksActually this April

BooksActually presents The Resident Tourist 4 / Launch & Discussion

BooksActually presents In the Company of Heroes / Launch (postponed)

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Jacob Sam-La Rose)

BooksActually presents The Book of Guilty Pleasures / Launch

Well-Informed Wednesday (with Pat Law)

BooksActually presents On Being Paul Tan

BooksActually presents Satori Blues by Cyril Wong

BooksActually at № 9 Yong Siak Street : The Launch

BooksActually Officially @ Tiong Bahru !

BooksActually is moving to Tiong Bahru

BooksActually's "Last Week @ Club Street" Sale !

BooksActually's Last Week @ Club Street

Your Book Friday (Err, Monday!): Raymond Carver's Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?

Synesthetic wheel of palate pleasure

Singaporeans must know Singlish

Light of my Life

Your Book Friday: Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Your Book Friday: Herta Muller's The Passport

tasty treats for rainy days.

BooksActually wishes you..

Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson
THE EXCLUSIVE BIOGRAPHY,
WRITTEN WITH HIS FULL COOPERATION.

To be released on 24th October 2011, 11am at BooksActually.
( & don't forget -- 3 books at 20% off ~)

petite Birds & Co. : Tangs PlayLab