Singular Acts of Endearment
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé
Singapore: Squircle Line Press, 2014
ISBN: 9789810913410

This is a story where nothing happens. Think William Gaddis minus the unattributed dialogue. Think Joyce's Ulysses when the citizen's biscuit tin gets hurled through the air. It's dramatic but the act doesn't have a purpose. It doesn't translate. After twenty years abroad, Jasmine Lee-Heschel has returned to Singapore to read literature at college. Jasmine is Jewish-Chinese. He insists on email correspondence, so she pays attention to what he's saying. Ma is a cursory presence, and Prof is an accidental father figure. Uncle Han checks in on Ah Gong, who's dying of cancer. A year to live is the doctor's prognosis. A caretaker at a plant nursery, Ah Gong is bent on building a garden for their HDB flat. To appease him, Jasmine seems tasked to take Ah gong to what small enclaves of nature still exist on the island. There's, of course, a boy. And there's the dead Nina who saw an angel. But everything stands still, like a tree in the middle of pasture. And everything, shifting in and out of perspective, attempts to dip into the eminently unreadable.

Of Robbe-Grillet, Barthes writes: "Description for Robbe-Grillet is always 'anthological' - a matter of presenting the object as if it were in itself a spectacle, permitting it to make demands on our attention without regard for its relation to the dialectic of the story". If Robbe-Grillet's novels are prolonged expositions on the objects around us with no implicit judgement, this story represents an inversion, revelling in a sort of violent catachresis. The metaphors are mixed, heaped in a huge mess. Everything seems at first to have meaning, and meaningful import. A branch, a flower, a kind of leaf, a tree. The epistolary provides the illusion of a continual epiphany, but for Jasmine , the explosive declarations or introspections lead to no real denouement, no real insight to life. At least not for her, when she starkly exposits that "nothing makes sense". Indeed, in the anticipation for death, there is little to no sense. No sense to be made of it at all. And by association, the language, its narrative and all the rest of it.

Eating Together: Food, Space, and Identity in Malaysia and Singapore
Jean Duruz and Gaik Cheng Khoo
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014
ISBN: 9781442227408

Accepting the challenge of rethinking connections of food, space and identity within everyday spaces of "public" eating in Malaysia and Singapore, the authors enter street stalls, hawker centers, markets, cafes, restaurants, "food streets," and "ethnic" neighborhoods to offer a broader picture of the meaning of eating in public places. The book creates a strong sense of the ways different people live, eat, work, and relax together, and traces negotiations and accommodations in these dynamics. The motif of rojak (Malay, meaning "mixture"), together with Ien Ang's evocative "together-in-difference," enables the analysis to move beyond the immediacy of street eating with its moments of exchange and remembering. Ultimately, the book traces the political tensions of "different" people living together, and the search for home and identity in a world on the move. Each of the chapters designates a different space for exploring these cultures of "mixedness" and their contradictions -- whether these involve "old" and "new" forms of sociality, struggles over meanings of place, or frissons of pleasure and risk in eating "differently." Simply put, Eating Together is about understanding complex forms of multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore through the mind, tongue, nose, and eyes.

Warm Nights, Deathless Days: The Life of Georgette Chen
Sonny Liew
Singapore: National Gallery Singapore, 2014
ISBN: 9789810910914

Warm Nights, Deathless Days: The Life of Georgette Chen is Eisner-nominated comic artist Sonny Liew's response to the legacy of one of Singapore's most prominent pioneer artists Georgette Chen (1906-1993). The result is a moving portrait of Chen's life, thoughts, and dreams, a charming chronicle of her days as a precocious young painter to her winning of Singapore's prestigious Cultural Medallion in 1982. Richly illustrated in a soft, milky palette, the comic captures the quiet space of art and friendship that Chen sheltered amid a turbulent backdrop of political turmoil and personal hardship.

The Babas [4th ed.]
Felix Chia
Singapore: Landmark Books, 2014
ISBN: 9789814189569

This fourth edition of the social history of the Babas and Nonya makes the seminal work by Felix Chia available again after being long out of print.

Now illustrated throughout by full-colour pictures of a rich array of Baba artefacts sourced from private and public collections, this beautifully designed full-colour book will capivate and entrance both readers who are familiar with and new to Baba culture.

Baba Felix Chia gives a witty, frank and lively exposition of the way of life he grew up in. His reminiscences and personal anecdotes are given additional weight by oral history and research. The result is an exceptional book where text and pictures combine to encapsulate the fascinating origin, language, practices, festivities and character of the Baba.

The Babas, first published in 1980, won the Highly Commended Award for English non-fiction by the National Book Development Council of Singapore.

Home: 50 50-Word Stories to Celebrate Singapore's 50th Birthday
Andre Yeo
Singapore: Andre Yeo, 2014
ISBN: 9789810917876

There are numerous books on life in Singapore. But none like this. In the first of its kind, veteran journalist, Andre Yeo, captures everyday life here in 50 stories, each 50 words long. To celebrate Singapore's 50th birthday in 2015, it is a book Singaporeans can relate to.

From serving National Service, to breathing in the haze, to wasting food, to raising a family and buying property, Andre captures these experiences and much more. You'll smile, laugh and chuckle to yourself as these passages remind you of days gone by.

The Other Singapore Story: One Man's Journey From PSLE Failure to University Graduate
Ravindran Kanna
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2014
ISBN: 9789814561198

This book tells the story of a young man who failed his PSLE examinations, but through sheer determination, perseverance and hard work is now a graduate teacher at a primary school in Singapore.

Attending a full-time vocational course (Maintenance Fitting) in the day and part-time night classes, he scored his first success -- a GCE N Level certificate in 1989. While in National Service, he studied and sat for the O Level exams, not once but twice so as to get better results to enter a polytechnic. While holding full-time day jobs, he attended night classes at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and in 1997 obtained a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering. In 2000, he joined the Ministry of Education and attended teacher training courses in the day while continuing at the polytechnic at night; by 2002, he had two more diplomas to his name -- a Diploma in Education and an Advanced Diploma in Industrial Engineering and Management. Capping it all is a Bachelor of Arts in English with Psychology awarded by UniSIM in 2005.

The author did not let failure set him back nor problems or challenges defeat him. He forged on with an iron will. He took a shot at every available educational opportunity Singapore offered to better himself -- and he succeeded. A firm believer in lifelong learning, his 16-year journey of part-time studies covers true events of the many people who have helped him in one way or other.

Teens and the Law [2nd ed.]
Singapore Association of Women Lawyers
Singapore: Singapore Association of Women Lawyers, 2014
ISBN: 9789813065970

Teenagers face many challenges navigating through the physical and environmental development of their teenage years. It is during this difficult period that they may break the law unintentionally. As a result the consequences can leave emotional, financial and legal scars that can last a lifetime.

This book, Teens & the Law provides teens with the basic principles of legal protection and helps them understand the real life consequences and penalties of breaking the law. It also provides sources of additional information such as websites on the issues faced by teenagers in today's context and where they can turn to for counselling solutions. It is the only book in Singapore that explains the law relating to teenagers in simple English.

Today's teens are spending more time on social media like Facebook and Twitter. New in this book are the inherent dangers associated with using or visiting social networking sites -- the perils of the internet, information security threats, human vulnerabilities and traps on the internet. Teens need to be aware of the enormous consequences of posting personal information online and how to handle these situations.

50 Things to Love About Singapore
Susan Long (ed.)
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2014
ISBN: 9789814342803

As Singapore marks 50 years of independence, The Straits Times (ST) has put together a book about love. This intimate study of the things we know and love about Singapore is written by some of ST's most authoritative beat reporters.

It is a dossier of modern Singapore halfway through her first century, an often surprising composite portrait of the little quirks, incongruities and rhythms of life in Singapore, which we chortle, ruminate and worry over, with familial affection but sometimes also exasperation.

It delves into the ironies of nanny state policies and political instincts that die hard among rulers and ruled alike, pricey cars and real estate, a land-scarce city which prizes greenery to the point of fashioning vertical gardens, Singapore's prowess at the most oddball sports and penchant for setting all manner of world records, her own brand of guided multi-racialism, her citizens' preference to complain rather than protest, the fast-growing global cult that is Singapore maths, and the skilful code-switching that makes it so natural for Singaporeans to eat across many cultural and culinary cost divides.

But enduring love is not blind. The writers do not flinch from looking at where Singapore is showing her age and what she has had to leave behind in the quest for her next edge.

There is much to love about Singapore at 50. But this has been no easy ask-no-questions, take-her-as-she-is love.

The Quah Kim Song Story: Pass Kim Song the %#@* Ball!
Quah Kim Song & Jacintha Stephens
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2014
ISBN: 9789814342810

The Quah Kim Song Story is about football in Singapore and the region, told in Kim Song's colourful football vernacular to Jacintha Stephens. This book, she says, "is of a special time and place in Singapore's social history. Of a moment in time when a young nation suddenly found a common goal and identity -- and roared their allegiance as their football team played their hearts out. This was the birth of the great Kallang Roar."

For almost three decades, there was a Quah in the national team. A legacy started by Quah Kim Beng in the late 1950s ended with Quah Kim Song in the early 1980s. In between there were Kim Swee, Kim Siak and Kim Lye, and three sisters, Theresa, Doreen and Rosa, who also donned national colours.

In his book, Kim Song delves deep into what the Quahs were all about. His anecdotes and experiences, particularly on the football pitch, added to his lively sketches of crucial games, teammates, coaches and competitors, make this a rich memoir of the Kallang Roar era.

Prof Tommy Koh, in his Foreword, writes that "When the Singapore national team was playing at its peak, the whole nation was proud of it and followed each match with bated breath. ...Every great team must have an inspiring striker. Quah Kim Song was our inspiring striker in the 1970s."

Mr SIA: Fly Past
Ken Hickson
Singapore: World Scientific, 2014
ISBN: 9789814596442

Introducing the life and times of a legend in international aviation -- Lim Chin Beng -- the man they called Mr SIA.

Absorbing the life and work of Lim Chin Beng is like watching a fly past of airlines and aircraft old and new. In this book, his past comes to meet you in many forms -- designs, shapes, figures, photographs, episodes, places, people and you discover the connections with business, society and international aviation today and into the future. Here's a man who was instrumental in taking the very basic components of a business -- like a potter taking the clay -- and creating what has become one of the world's leading brands, Singapore Airlines. But this airline "specialist", trained as an economist, had more jobs to do. His broad range of interests -- arts and sports, property and tourism -- led to him being called on to do his "national service" for Singapore. He was Ambassador to Japan for two terms and trade negotiator, chairman of the Singapore Tourism Board, Changi Airport International, Singapore Airshow, Singapore Press Holdings, Ascott Group, and ST Aerospace. Described as a quiet achiever and a visionary, this modest gentleman was not afraid to make bold decisions and take risks, even to the extent of setting up a budget airline, Valuair. Here was one man, who in his time, played many parts, on the world's stage and at home

Black and White: The Singapore House, 1898-1941 [updated ed.]
Julian Davison
Singapore: Talisman, 2014
ISBN: 9789810903282

The unique Black and White house in Singapore is the most distinctive and imposing of the island's colonial architectural legacy. Surviving examples are testament to their physical and aesthetic durability - a unique tropical style with a colourful pedigree of architectural influences. In this updated edition, an additional chapter on residential life in these extraordinary homes adds depth and added information to an already comprehensive book. The colonials of yesteryear enjoyed a life of undisputed privilege - and even today, many of these beautiful houses continue to serve their original purpose as gracious family homes. Others have been adapted successfully as restaurants, offices and artisan's studios. Researched, written and photographed with flair, Black and White traces their evolution through the architects and practices that designed them - houses as relevant today as when they first appeared over 100 years ago.

World Film Locations: Singapore
Lorenzo Cordelli (ed.)
Bristol: Intellect Books, 2014
ISBN: 9781783203611

A vibrant city and country nestled at the foot of the Malaysian peninsula, Singapore has long been a crossroads, a stopping point, and a cultural hub where goods, inventions, and ideas are shared and traded.

Though Singapore was home to a flourishing Chinese and Malay film industry in the 1950s and 1960s, between independence in 1965 and the early 1990s, few movies were made there. A new era for cinema in the sovereign city-state started with the international recognition of Eric Khoo's first features, followed by a New Wave comprised of graduates from local film schools. In recent years the Singapore film industry has produced commercially successful fare, such as the horror movie The Maid, as well as more artistic films like Sandcastle, the first Singaporean film to be selected for International Critic's Week at Cannes, and Ilo Ilo, which won the Caméra d'or at Cannes in 2013.  Covering the myths that surround Singaporean film and exploring the realities of the movies that come from this exciting city, World Film Locations: Singapore introduces armchair travelers to a rich, but less known, national cinema.

Narrating Presence: Awakening From Cultural Amnesia
Azhar Ibrahim
Singapore: Malay Heritage Foundation & Select Publishing, 2014
ISBN: 9789810916299

In addition to celebrating the intellectual tradition of a past generation of Singaporean Malay thinkers, social and cultural activists, this series provides unique insights and perspectives into the lived-experience and collective memories of the Malay community in Singapore. This book investigates and raises questions on the background and social-historical conditionings that have shaped and coloured Malay thinking and world view, from the past to contemporary thought, through its literary heritage and letters.