Third Book! Third Book!

When some people clamoured for a third book at a book-signing session last year, I had little idea it would happen, and quite fast, too.

So yeah, it happened.

And I had to be there at the meet-and-greet session with Cheeming Boey, author of the graphic autobiographical When I Was A Kid series, at the MPH Bookstore in Mid Valley Megamall last Saturday, in conjunction with the release of the third book.

What was surreal was that before Boey walked into the store, Dato' Seri S Samy Vellu entered (I don't think Dato' Seri would've wanted his picture taken).

Besides the poorly designed parking bays and school holiday-season traffic during the weekends, Boey had loads of stuff to say. Unfortunately, I forgot most of it.

Even though he was about half an hour late, people stayed in the store and waited for him. Some were new fans, others were old fans and those who followed his career as an author.

After some anecdotes and a couple of reads from Third Book, well, what's a meet-and-greet without a book-signing session? Especially when the author also draws.

Here, Boey takes a breather to pose for a photo. He is, arguably, photogenic from certain angles.

What inspires his fans' loyalty is that Boey takes the time to chat with them, asks them how they're doing, what they're doing, how's work and all that. Old fans had a chance to catch up with him since the last meet-and-greet, Facebook post or tweet - and he remembers their names. Definitely worth staying on for.

Some of his fans also brought him gifts: a poster, chocolates, biscuits, and so on. I think he also received custom Boey-tattooed cupcakes.

Another loyalty-inspiring bit: custom caricatures! This fan got a birthday present in the form of a Boey-esque cartoon of herself as a fairy princess. Those who bought calendars got their dates of birth personalised, too.

Very few of his autographs these days do not feature a Boey, whether he's in a tux, dressed as a bee, or something. A couple of smartphones also got autographed too - wonder how much they'll fetch at Lelong.my?

Still, nothing so far beats the biggest autograph ever: on an Air Asia Airbus A320.

Then, an interview with journalists from The Star. Strangely enough, Boey was featured in an article by The Star's Elaine Dong in 2010. Back then, he was more known for his intricately drawn Styrofoam coffee cups, some of which go for four figures.

Before things were wrapped up, some of the staff at Mid Valley's MPH Bookstore pose with the author. Guy in the red T-shirt at far right is Joel, also a huge fan.

This is just a small sample of the over-300 photos I took at the event, many of which may not see the light of day. MPH Distributors, who are spreading Boey across Malaysia, Singapore and maybe the world, is getting the whole lot.

These photos of the event and a few more can be found at this Facebook album.

Masterclass In Session: Audrey's Malaysian Tapas

Tapas, which involves pairing bite-sized morsels of food with (usually alcoholic) drinks, is not merely a Spanish pastime, as seen in the food and travel channels on ASTRO.

From the Greek mezes and Italian antipasti to the English afternoon tea and Hong Kong dim sum, this culinary concept has been bringing people together over food, drink and conversation for ages.

Though Malaysian cuisine features many recipes meant for festive occasions and large banquets, it also has some for small appetites or cosy and more relaxed informal gatherings.

"Malaysian food, with its immense variety and adaptability, lends itself perfectly to tapas-style eating, to be savoured in the most relaxed of settings with minimal cutlery or fuss," says freelance food stylist and food photographer Audrey Lim.

Lim even sees parallels between tapas culture and the Malaysian idea of lepak, and hopes to change how it's perceived. "Some people view this word negatively but to me it's a wonderful concept," she says. "It's about being together, doing absolutely nothing other than enjoying each other's company, fuelled by delicious food and drink."

Inspired, I think, by the local kopitiam culture and third-wave coffee scene, as well as the midnight-oil burning sessions at the mamak stalls, which many might recall.

With Malaysian Tapas, the new volume in the MPH Masterclass Kitchens series, Lim shows how some local favourites lend themselves well to the tapas concept, especially when paired with complementary beverages.

Some thought has been given to how the food and drinks are paired, especially in this part of the world where one strives for balance and harmony in many aspects of life.

Cool off with zesty and refreshing limau ais after some rendang tok canapés. Warm up and relax with some dong quai and rice wine-infused chicken wings and hot ginger tea. Fancy some stingray gulai, with fragrant pandan cooler afterwards?

But it's not all Malaysian-only. Lim also includes her Wild Pepper Leaf Wraps, which hark back to the Thai and Laotian miang kam.

She also clears up a misconception: "The wild pepper leaf (daun kaduk) used to wrap the ingredients is sometimes mistaken as the betel leaf. When chewed on, betel leaves give a mild high similar to that produced by nicotine – not exactly the effect you want the miang kam to have on your guests!"

No, but it would help the guests to chill.

Apparent nods to the Mediterranean origins of tapas include Stir-fried Baby Octopus with Pink Peppercorns (paired with a lemon-honeycomb tea), and Grilled Aubergine with Tomato and Pineapple Salsa (with her kedondong-sour plum drink).

"To me, lepak culture and tapas culture is a match made in culinary heaven, and this book is my little contribution towards making it even more heavenly," says Lim.

So, jom lepak with Audrey Lim's Malaysian tapas!

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Malaysian Tapas

Audrey Lim
MPH Group Publishing
185 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-261-1

Buy from MPHOnline.com

Book Marks: African Stories, Blockbustering

"My close friend Mercy, when she heard about my novel, congratulated me: I had found out 'what the white people wanted to read and given it to them.'," wrote author Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani in The New York Times. Or, why white people might not be the best judges of what good African stories are.

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Are publishers blockbustering themselves into oblivion? Seems that way:

What they are looking for are bestsellers, which tend to be particularly narrow kinds of books. Most of the gargantuan advances that have made headlines in the U.S. recently are for science-fiction and fantasy books. Every publisher is looking for exactly the same book – basically, they are looking for The Hunger Games again and again. When they say "quality," they mean "mass appeal."

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How the Strand bookstore keeps going in the age of Amazon.

...the Strand is, when you get down to it, a real-estate business, fronted by a bookstore subsidized by its own below-market lease and the office tenants upstairs. The ground floor of 828 Broadway is worth more as a Trader Joe’s than it is selling Tom Wolfe. When a business continues to exist mostly because its owners like it, the next generation has to like it just as much. Otherwise they’ll cash out.

Yup, simple as that.


Also:

• Stephen Hawking's new speech system is free and open-source. Would be great if this means more people in Hawking's shoes will be able to communicate.
• Amazon UK stalls distribution of controversial book Money Logging. Another case for the continued existence of brick-and-mortar stores, at least one of which is retailing the book - for now.
• President Obama shopped at Politics & Prose, Washington - and everybody wants to know what he bought. And authors as "celebrity clerks" in bookstores? Great idea.
• RIP British crime writer PD James and American writer Kent Haruf. The Guardian compile a list of quotes from the former, who would have been Publisher's Weekly's Publishing Person of the Year 2012 - were it not for EL James, brr.
• Who by now hasn't heard of the Eslite store in central Taipei, that 24-hour bookshop drawing in night owls? And why isn't this a thing in Kay Elle?
• Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. JK Rowling) makes the Impac Dublin longlist, as do Malaysians Samuill Tiew and Khaliza Khalid.
• Same-sex attraction in literature? Goodreads data suggests readers prefer authors of their own gender.
• Hitler and Goebbels were fans of Turkish secularist leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, an author suggests in his new book.
• Wanna escape your deadbeat publisher? Writer Beware says don't do these things.
• Amazon's Jeff Bezos says lower book prices mean more money for authors. Here's why he's only half right about that.

Masterclass In Session: Rhythmic Gymnastics With Khaw Choon Ean

Rhythmic gymnastics or gimrama, as it is popularly known as in Malaysia, is an activity many parents send their daughters to. Hardly surprising, as it promotes strength, balance, endurance, flexibility, agility, poise and, perhaps most importantly, confidence.

But behind the fancy costumes and mesmerising dance routines is sweat, tears and sometimes blood as rhythmic gymnasts put themselves through countless hours of gruelling training regimes.

Ambitious parents might also be caught off guard by the amount of time, effort and money they have to spend on their daughters' pursuit of that elusive perfect ten.

"Children need their parents' help in finding a good centre and coach," writes Khaw Choon Ean, author of the new guide to rhythmic gymnastics published by MPH Group Publishing.

"Parents have to find the time to accompany the children to their training sessions," she adds. "[They also] have to find the resources to finance the training such as the fees, apparatus and leotards to start them on the sport."

Khaw’s journey in gymnastics parallels the story of rhythmic gymnastics in this country. In her more than four decades in the sport, she has been an official, judge, gymnastics club owner and, in her youth, a gymnast herself.

She is among a select number of pioneers who took something only showcased during National Day parades and grew it into a medal-winning powerhouse in the international sports arena.

Now, comes Kah Choon Ean's Guide to Rhythmic Gymnastics, another contribution of hers to the sport she pretty much grew up with. Arguably, few in Malaysia are qualified to write a book like it.

From a brief history of the sport in Malaysia, Khaw goes on to describe the attributes of the winning gymnast, before guiding readers through the types of apparatus and their use, the training programme, the judging process, dietary requirements, treatment of injuries, cultivating a winning mindset, and more. A list of training venues and gymnastics clubs is also provided, along with contact information.

"After reading this book, the sport of rhythmic gymnastics will likely captivate you but you will go into it with an informed perspective, whether as a parent, gymnast, official or spectator," assures Khaw.

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Khaw Choon Ean's Guide to Rhythmic Gymnastics

Khaw Choon Ean
MPH Group Publishing
180 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-262-8

Buy from MPHOnline.com

Taxing Knowledge

Nurul Izzah Anwar said that knowledge taxation is highly immoral, according to Free Malaysia Today.

The Malaysian MP for Lembah Pantai was referring to the goods and services tax (GST) exemption for certain print books such as school exercise books, dictionaries, textbooks, illustrated children's books and religious texts when the new tax comes into effect next year in April. She felt the tax on books would "discourage a healthy reading culture, and result in knowledge being 'reserved for the wealthy'."

"Knowledge is not a privilege: It is a right," she stated. "The government must classify all books, regardless of category, as a zero-rated item under the GST."

Upon my tweeting this quote, someone asked whether GST will be applied to e-books. Apparently not, if this report is valid.

...the Customs Department made it very clear that e-books will not have GST. This is due to the nature of the product that does not have tangible components and chains of production.

Amir Muhammad also said that e-books were GST-exempt during a panel discussion at the George Town Literary Festival, and exhorted the audience to buy more e-books (including those from his Fixi imprint, one supposes).

While it's good that GST is not imposed on e-books, I have a wee problem with this bit: "does not have tangible components and chains of production".

This might apply for e-books are solely published in digital format, such as direct uploads to Smashwords, but what about digital versions of print books? Don't those originally have tangible components and chains of production?

That being said, I am, for several reasons, concerned about the imposition of GST on printed material. Physical books are already expensive and anything that adds to this cannot possibly be welcomed by consumers.

The shift to GST-exempt e-books might save some pennies, but studies are beginning to suggest that print-free reading might not help the brain absorb and retain information.

When the e-book came about, people were all about the imminent death of print. These days, however, they're saying that the death of books - and print in general - "has been greatly exaggerated".

I'm hoping it stays that way for a long time, come hell, high water, and GST.

MPH Quill Issue 43, October to December 2014

In this, the last issue of MPH Quill, the cover and main story feature three authors from the MPH Masterclass Kitchens series: dietitian Goo Chui Hoong, baker Ezekiel Ananthan and cooking instructor Sapna Anand. Get to know them.

Also:

• Three more personalities: Daphne Iking, Zlwin Chew and Owen Yap shares stuff they can't do without - books, gadgets and ... stuff.
• Who are the minds behind Malaysian YouTube video channel The Ming Thing and videos such as "Let Me Sleep", "Your Accent Come from Where", "How to Eat Mashed Potatoes" and "How to know You're a Malaysian"?
• Regular contributors Ellen Whyte and Shantini Suntharajah share time-saving tips and ways to boost your self-esteem, respectively. Also by the former, the lowdown on collective nouns for animals, six herbs to need to get acquainted with, and a quiz to gauge how romantic you are.
• Three book launches: Made in Malaysia by freelancer and columnist Alexandra Wong, new and reprinted collections by Datuk Lat, and Sofia Leong Abdullah's guide to the franchising industry in Malaysia.
• A couple of recipes from another Masterclass Kitchen cookbook: The Fat Spoon Cookbook for the upcoming festive season.

And more.

Soon to arrive at all good bookstores, for the last time.

Book Marks: RA Montgomery, Libraries, And Ursula K Le Guin's Speech

An era died a bit more last week with the passing of Glen A Larson, writer of the series my generation grew up with (Knight Rider, The Fall Guy, BJ and the Bear, etc.); and R. A. Montgomery, author and publisher of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.

Plus:

• As part of a conference organised by the Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians (ASCEL) in the UK, four young readers talked about the power of libraries and librarians. Author and professional speaker Nicola Morgan was impressed with what they had to say.
• The publisher of (deep breath, please) Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: The Plane, the Passengers—and the True Story of What Happened to the Missing Aircraft says the new book, coming out early next year, "solves mystery of MH370" - except that author says it doesn't. But seems the publisher also screwed up when selecting the cover.
• When freelance journalist Mridu Khullar Relph spoke to an editor at TIME, he shares some tips on how to pitch one's queries. Also: writer Catalina Rembuyan put together this basic guide on e-book publishing (in Facebook, so you gotta log in, BOO) for Malaysian authors - more than just a primer for those considering digital publishing.
• Y'all heard about Ursula K Le Guin's speech at National Book Awards? Here it is.
• Andrew MacGregor Marshall, author of A Kingdom in Crisis, is apparently "delighted" the book is banned by Thai police. In other words: free publicity.
• How the religious right bought its way into the New York Times best-seller list. Shocked? Don't be. It's not new.
• New York Times book critic Dwight Garner on reading, reviewing and avoiding blindness.
• Publishers get kicked out of the Sharjah International Book Fair over copyright violations and other issues.
• Publishers Pearson and McGraw-Hill pledge to remove climate change denial from their textbooks.
• Black-market crime fiction and spy novels are becoming popular in North Korea, where titles are available for rent. Considering the level of intrigue in the Hermit Kingdom, this shouldn't surprise anyone. I remember reading about crime and noir fiction being popular in Cairo because audiences kind of relate to what's in them.