Ugly

Reading about book vandalism at Tsutaya Books at Pavilion Bukit Jalil is saddening – and enraging. Since opening, the outlet has had to set aside "mountains of books have been damaged, intentionally - with pages ripped out, covers torn, children’s pop-up books that no longer 'pop-up'." This is beyond the occasional paper cup, plastic bottle or, worse, left on bookshelves.

As a result, the outlet has begun shrink-wrapping its books, and rightly so. Books displayed on the shelves belong to the store and they have the right to protect them for the sake of its customers who'd prefer getting their hands on pristine goods.

When in bookstores and libraries, we should strive to ensure unwrapped copies we browse or flip through are returned to their original places on a shelf in good condition. We don't do as we please in other people's homes, even if invited to do so, so why this callous treatment of a shop's merchandise?

What compels a right-minded person to damage covers and rip out pages from books, especially new ones? In Kuala Lumpur, a World Book Capital some more. Where does this impunity come from? And why do such behaviours persist?

One is tempted to link this behaviour to the example shown by certain figures in recent years, that it's fine to flout a few rules if you have connections, or if you don't get caught. If the higher-ups can get away with it, some might argue, why can't they? "Ah-lah, it's JUST a BOOK. They have insurance wat."

Were errant children involved? Because I can't wrap my head around the thought of an adult knowingly vandalising new books in this manner, then putting the item back on the shelf and pretend nothing ever happened. If parents are covering for their kids, congrats, they've just taught their children to hush up misdemeanours instead of owning up to them.

And insurance claims, if any, for damaged merchandise is a net loss to the outlet and customers who want it. I doubt any insurance company would accommodate a business plagued by vandals for too long.

A reading culture goes beyond buying and reading lots of books. It's also about being aware of what goes into the production of one, knowledge of the publishing ecosystem, attitudes towards book publishing and bookselling institutions, and how each printed tome is treated.

Such acts have further tarnished our reputation. When did we start becoming such asses? It's not the first time a bookstore was subjected to average Malaysian whims. And we're also known for other examples of awful behaviour.

Tsutaya is Japan's largest bookstore chain, and its opening at Pavilion Bukit Jalil was so hyped. People were lining up to get in on opening day. And yet, this happened. Will other overseas firms have to consider "the ugly Malaysian" a risk of doing business in Malaysia?

If a business's trust in its customers is betrayed, then the business has the right to limit what patrons can do within its premises until that trust is earned again. Tsutaya Bukit Jalil expressed hope that the cling film will come off their books someday. That day might be a long way off.

Book Marks: AI Lore Series, Hay Festival Bits

So there's this guy who used AI tools to publish nearly 100 books, each between 2,000 to 5,000 words long, all part of a series of "unique, captivating ebooks merging dystopian pulp sci-fi with compelling AI world-building".

He has sold 574 books between (last?) August and (this?) May, grossing nearly US$2,000, and he seems pretty chuffed about that: "To those critics who think a 2,000 to 5,000-word written work is 'just' a short story and not a real book, I'd say that these 'not real books' have shown impressive returns for a small, extremely niche indie publisher with very little promotion and basically no overhead."

Naturally, some have heaped scorn on this approach to writing. When this guy wrote the article, he was about to publish his 97th book. Who the heck can produce this level of output, even if each book is between 2,000 and 5,000 words long?

Though books under 10,000 words are no longer unusual these days, I wonder if the series' success has more to do with how the books "all cross-reference each other, creating a web of interconnected narratives that constantly draw readers in and encourage them to explore further." If so, readers would be compelled to buy more titles just to see where the story goes. Doesn't that work like a paywalled website?

What drew the most ire was probably the use of AI tools such as ChatGPT4 and Midjourney in the production. Detractors of AI-derived works argue that AI "borrows" from the data used to train it, and AI art tools outright steal from other artists. And how can one call it "writing" when one mostly prompts AI to generate text and images?

How involved was the guy in the process? Are they stories even good, given the speed each volume is produced? Are they re-readable or only good enough for one-time consumption? Many readers move on after reading one story or a series, but if I'm paying money I'd prefer to keep my copies for a while.

Perhaps the intriguing thing about this "AI lore" series would be how "the web of interconnected narratives" are constructed. It could be a new or reimagined way of storytelling that might be worth studying. These books aren't the first to be created using AI and we'll be seeing more of these as more people dip their toes into AI-assisted writing and publishing.

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At the Hay Festival, author Rebecca F. Kuang had thoughts about sensitivity readers, the number of BIPOC voices in publishing, and whether authors should not write about races other than their own.

Also at the festival was Joanne Harris, who said that boys should be encouraged to read books about girls because "a boy who is afraid to read a book with a girl protagonist will grow up into a man who feels that it’s inappropriate for him to listen to a woman’s voice”.

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Excerpts from a report on children's literature in India look interesting and sobering. The challenges faced by authors, illustrators, publishers and booksellers are daunting, and one quote from a children's book illustrator stands out: “No Indian illustrator survives only by doing children’s books. They’re also doing other stuff, like illustrations for corporate websites and projects.”

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"Growing up, I didn’t have much access to children’s fiction that featured Filipino-Americans, let alone Filipino main characters, so that’s who I wanted to put front and center in my own work. There’s something so wonderful about seeing someone like you in popular media, and readers have reached out to me to let me know how much they connect with my characters."

The story of Filipino-American writer Tracy Badua, and how a lack of Pinoy representation inspired her to publish abroad.

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It's been a long while since I heard about author Luis Alberto Urrea, so it's nice to read about him again. He has a new novel out, inspired by his mother who served in the Red Cross Clubmobile Service during World War II. I had read Queen of America, arguably part of a duology that retells the story of his great-aunt, Teresita Urrea, the folk hero known as the Saint of Cabora. Good Night, Irene is going into the TBR pile.

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How scary is this: a hacker stole a million e-books from Korean online bookstore Aladin and threatened to leak them unless paid a hefty sum. But around 5,000 of those e-books were apparently leaked already. The Korean Publishers Association is understandably upset. "Those ebooks will wander around like ghosts for several decades and practically lose all of their value as goods," it told Korea JoongAng Daily.