Are you a fan of Dr. Seuss?
If YES, then don’t miss this Tony award-winning musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss.
Dates: 12th – 21st December 2014
Time: Weekdays 8:30 pm except Monday & Tuesday
Weekends 3:30 pm & 8:30 pm
Location: PJ Live Arts, Jaya One, Petaling Jaya
Ticket prices: RM33, RM63, RM73, RM103, RM133
You could buy tickets online at www.tix.my.
For more details on the musical, visit this Facebook page.
All bookworms in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor…unite! KL Book Exchange Club is bring another book sale:
Date: 20th of December 2014 (Saturday)
Time: 3 – 6 pm
Location: Fuwa Fuwa Bakery Cafe, Jaya One, Petaling Jaya (click here to view map)
What to expect: book bargains galore; reading & autograph session by Tutu Dutta Yean; lucky draw prizes; Childrens’ Picture book swap
If you would like to sell books, please contact event organiser. More details at the event page.
KL Book Exchange Club is a members-only group for individuals who want to exchange and sell books. Become a member of KL Book Exchange Club by visiting this link.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original concept started by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday a specific bookish topic will be discussed in the blog community. It’s a great way to encourage people to talk about books and to introduce book-loving bloggers to one another.
Today’s topic is ‘Top Ten Books to Read to Get in The Halloween Spirit’. Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of 31st of October. The word Halloween is short for All Hallows’ Evening, also known as Hallowe’en or All Hallows’ Eve. Did you know that Pagans too celebrate the Day of the Dead also known as Samhain (pronounced ‘sow’inn’)? If you would like to read more about Halloween, visit this link.
Here are my book suggestions for this Halloween/Samhain. Kindly take note that these books are available for rent at SS Readers Corner!
I selected these books because they feature local ghosts who are usually known to be restless spirits. If you enjoy watching Thai horror movies, then you may like these books.
Local horror stories available for rent
Be spooked by these ghost stories!
This collection is for those who are nostalgic and/or would like to introduce the series to their own children. Mr Midnight series is very popular in Malaysia and Singapore that they outsold Harry Potter series at one time.
‘Mr Midnight’ books for rent
Christopher Pike for young readers
These shows are my favourite tv shows when I was a teenager. If you don’t know anything about it, read this short summary. The shows featured a lot of supernatural elements such as vampires, werewolf, witches, demons, alternate world etc.
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
‘Ange’, a spinoff of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
Our paranormal romance section features authors such as Sherilyn Kenyon, Kresley Cole, Nalini Singh, Lyndsay Sands and Charlaine Harris. Sherilyn Kenyon’s books features demons and shapeshifters while Kresley Cole writes about vampires, witches and also demons.
Check out these books by Sherilyn Kenyon
Our collection of Kresley Cole’s books
This book is last year’s winner of Goodreads Choice Award in the horror genre. ‘Doctor Sleep’ is the sequel to ‘The Shining’ whereas ‘Odd Thomas’ is about a young man who is able to see dead people.
‘Doctor Sleep’, a sequel to ‘The Shining’
‘Odd Thomas’ by Dean Koontz
What are your favourite spooky reads? Share your comments and/or list in the comment box below so I could read and comment on your chosen books.
Happy Halloween/Merry Samhain!
The Broke and the Bookish hosts a weekly meme called ‘Top Ten Tuesday‘. It aims to: 1) encourage people to talk about books and 2) introduce book-loving bloggers to one another.
Instead of writing about ‘Top New Series I Want To Start’, I would like to post something that promotes SS Readers Corner this week. Therefore I have chosen to take an old topic and write about ‘Childhood Favourites’. Here are 10 children’s books that are available at this book rental store!
Our collection of ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ books
Complete set of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ in our store
‘Artemis Fowl’ collection
Enid Blyton for rent
Our collection of Terry Pratchett books
‘Septimus Heap’ available in our store
Our classics collection
Books by Jacqueline Wilson
‘Nancy Drew’ books available for rent
Have a look at our Young Readers bookshelf. Call Mr Sam if you are looking for a specific children’s book.
What are your childhood favourites? If you have written about this post before, share your links below.
‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness is being adapted for the big screen. For those who have not read the book, here is a short description of the story:
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting— he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd— whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself— Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.
‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness
The movie will be directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, whose previous works include ‘The Impossible’ (2012) and ‘The Orphanage’ (2007). Patrick Ness himself writes the screenplay. The cast includes Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Kebbell, Geraldine Chaplin and newcomer Lewis MacDougall. Production has already begun and Patrick Ness seemed excited about it.
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/517785027929997312
‘A Monster Calls’ will be released tentatively on 14th of October 2016. Are you excited about the news? Share your thoughts below.
Scholastic is collaborating with a global superstar Usher in a campaign to promote reading habit in children. There will be a live performance and special programme that will teach students ways to take informed action, become reading advocates, and help make a difference in their schools, communities, and the world.
Here are details of the programme:
Date: 6th of November 2014 (Thursday)
Time: 1:00 p.m. USA Eastern Time/10:00 a.m. USA Pacific Time
Sign up for the webcast here.
View the promotional video, tweet and banner below.
For those who haven’t read the book nor watched the 1967 Disney animated movie, let me start with a brief synopsis:
Saved from the jaws of the evil tiger Shere Khan, young Mowgli is adopted by a wolf pack and taught the law of the jungle by lovable old Baloo the bear and Bhageera the panther. The adventures of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the snake-fighting mongoose, little Toomai and the elephant’s secret dance, and Kotick the white seal are all part of Mowgli’s extraordinary journey with his animal friends.
One of many book covers for ‘The Jungle Book’ by Rudyard Kipling
There will be TWO movie versions of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’. That’s right, TWO movies by TWO different studios. Main cast and crew have been decided and here is a summary of both movies:
| The Jungle Book | Movie title | Jungle Book: Origins |
| Disney | Studio | Warner Bros |
| Jon Favreau | Director | Andy Serkis |
| Justin Marks | Writer | Callie Kloves |
| 15th of April 2016 | Release date | 6th of October 2017 |
| Cast | ||
| Neel Sethi | Mowgli (human) | Rohan Chand |
| Bill Murray | Baloo (bear) | Andy Serkis |
| Idris Elba | Shere Khan (tiger) | Benedict Cumberbatch |
| Ben Kingsley | Bagheera (panther) | Chrisian Bale |
| Scarlett Johansson | Kaa (python) | Cate Blanchett |
| Giancarlo Esposito | Akela (wolf) | Peter Mullan |
Cumberbatch vs Elba: Who will be a better Shere Khan?
In my opinion, the cast for both adaptations look solid so the quality of the films will depend on the director’s capabilities. I am massive Benedict Cumberbatch and Cate Blanchett fan hence I am in favour of ‘Jungle Book: Origins’. Despite that, I plan to watch both adaptations.
Which adaptation are you looking forward to? Vote below!
‘Bahasa Malaysia’ is the national language in Malaysia. English and Mandarin are widely spoken, particularly in main cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Education First’s English Proficiency Index listed Malaysians as highly proficient English speakers. Yet recently several people have noted that English proficiency of Malaysian university graduates are quite low (read articles written by The Sun, Lok Wing Kong and/or BA Hamzah for more details). As a result, these graduates become unemployable in the English-medium private sector (‘Bahasa Malaysia’ is the medium of instruction in the government sector).
There are many ways to improve one’s English language skill. One of the ways is to read (click here to see other strategies).
Out of 28,000 books stored in SS Readers Corner, majority of them are written in English. I asked my friend, who is an English graduate, to recommend books for English as Second Language (ESL) learners. She suggested these titles:
Even though these titles are categorised as young adult and children’s books, the language deployed in each book is rich. The plot has substance hence making it appealing to adults and teenagers.
We have the complete set of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ in our store
Some of the suggested books are available from SS Readers Corner. Visit our store to rent the books and work on improving your English proficiency.
ps: This is a serial of blog posts to encourage people to borrow/rent books. Click on the number to read previous posts: #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5.
Have you ever wondered about the food/drinks that your favourite author consumes while writing? The New York Times has compiled a list of ‘Favourite Snacks of the Great Writers’ (click on the image for better view). The illustrations were done by Wendy MacNaughton and I love the comic strip look of it!
Food and drinks that fuel authors’ writing
These writers need certain food and/or drinks to inspire their writing. Daniel Handler, who is more known for his work under the pseudonym ‘Lemony Snicket’, includes raw carrots in his writing rituals. In contrast, Truman Capote consumed a variety of drinks at different hours to fuel his thought processes. I’m slightly surprised that Mary Roach enjoys eating pho with rare beef. I assume someone who writes a non-fictional book about bodies donated to science would not want to eat rare meat.
Do you know other prolific writer who has distinctive food cravings as part of his/her writing ritual? Share with me in the comment box below.
In case you didn’t know, here are some facts regarding Roald Dahl:
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a digital event that will celebrate Roald Dahl Day. 🙂
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory turns 50 this year!
Roald Dahl’s fans in Malaysia, do not fret! Penguin Books Malaysia will have a special event to celebrate this occasion:
Date: 14 September 2014
Time: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Location: MPH Nu Sentral Mall (that new mall next to KL Sentral)
More details are available at MPH Subang Parade, Publika, 1 Utama, Mid Valley, Bangsar Village or Nu Sentral Mall.
Keep yourself updated on Penguin Books Malaysia’s new by liking their Facebook page.
If you have not read any of Roald Dahl’s books, why not rent them from our store? Visit us at no. 72, Jalan SS15/4, 47600 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
SS Readers Corner 