Today we have with us your favourite bookish content creators talking about their journey on Bookstagram. Keep reading to find out their tips and tricks of content creation.
What is the biggest challenge you face as a book content creator?
@byputy||
Puty says: In Indonesia, books are not among the most popular content categories. If we want to reach a wider audience, not only the bookish community, we must make the content relatable and not only about the book itself. There were times when I worried if I oversimplified things just to make the content engaging. However, when the content reached people who don’t usually read books and got them interested, it felt very fulfilling for me.
@coffee_n_classics||
Antonia says: As a book content creator (in the Philippines), the biggest challenge I face is constantly being active on my page and always trying to be on the good side of the algorithm amidst the daily hustles of life and reading schedules outside these social media platforms. Yet, it’s a learning process and we cannot, on all occasions, be on the bright side. Acceptance makes everything easier and when feeling lost, internalize and go back to why you even started your page in the first place. It will make you feel grounded, wholesome, and inspired again.
@czaversusbooks||
Czarina says: I think the biggest challenge is trying to start your account, in the first place; all your self-doubt gets to you before you even begin making one. To be honest, it gets easier once you finally decide to cross that line, find your own pace, find your own aesthetic. After all, there is no clear-cut rule when it comes to content creation: the more you post, the more you hone your creativity. The only thing you need to do first is let go of your inhibitions and take that first step.
@bibliophilogy||
Meg says: I definitely feel deflated at times while building a reading community and retaining the audience. I know it is very much out of a creator’s control if the algorithm is not necessarily showing your content to the people who follow you (same goes with your following! I rarely see some of my booksta friends’ posts nowadays if I don’t search for them), but of course this pushes me to think out of the box and experiment with other styles, types of posts etc. that stretches out from what I usually do, and it is always rewarding to see it finally pay off! Every obstacle is a learning opportunity for me, and I would love to continue tackling these problems and improve my content that I put out for sure!
@vintagelygrace||
Grace says: I would say my biggest challenge is finding the balance in life to keep up with books, writing, and creating content. I admit I have days where I just run out of inspiration. The dry spell feels extremely horrible, no sugar coating it. However, I always use this period to gather back my drive, whether it’s through changing my current read, going to a library/bookstore in town, or putting on my go-to playlists. Pinterest is also my best friend, because there’s always a wide variety of ideas I can find on the platform! Having said that, I hope I will eventually find (and cultivate) a rhythm which suits me best.
@kritiisachan||
Kriti says: The biggest challenge for me is keeping up with the latest trends and keeping up with the ‘trendy’ books! Bookish content is not just about book reviews these days, it’s also about ‘aesthetics’ and making content that goes viral. Following the new trends that are going viral on the platform is a challenge in itself. Then there’s not giving into the number game, to not let all these things affect what you read and how to make and engage with content. At the end of the day, bookish content is all about reading and talking about books you love.
What is that one tip or advice you would like to share with budding content creators on Bookstagram/BookTok?
Puty says: Start small and with books that interest you. Building an audience takes time, so trust the process. At the end of the day, the content of the books you read may serve as your reading log, and it may help someone to discover their new favorite book.
Antonia says: Always aim to be your most authentic self and make it your core etiquette as you grow and thrive in this community, especially in these fast-paced and ever-changing platforms that we use. Give credit where it’s due and do it with modesty, elegance, and grace at all times.
Czarina says: Consistency. I know this one is overplayed but consistency when it comes to posting does not necessarily mean doing it everyday—it is about setting a set of days when you can commit to posting. In my case, I try to upload photos and reels around 3-4 times a week at a time that is convenient to me.
Meg says: Find your own niche and build your bookstagram brand around it! Explore what you love posting most and stick with that because the last thing you wanna feel is too burnt out to create content! In short, create content that you love!
Grace says:Stay determined and focused on your goals on these platforms, but most importantly, enjoy what you’re reading and build friendships! Some of my favorite books and several longest lasting connections were discovered and formed through bookstagram. I love this community so much.
Kriti says: Read books you love, talk about them, focus on meeting like-minded people, and don’t let the number game get to you. And my two cents on content creation: if you want to make more content, you also have to consume more content to come up with new ideas.
That’s all for today, folks!
Question for you: Would you rather live in the world of the book you’re reading or hang out with the characters of your current read? Click here to watch some fun responses!
On the 25th of April 2015, as the sun bathed the Himalayan expanse in its warm, golden embrace, the sky painted itself in a flawless shade of blue. Only the gentlest wisp of clouds dared to mar its perfection.
Although thin at this lofty altitude, the air felt remarkably crisp, as if it had been freshly plucked from the lips of celestial beings. Everything seemed to align, heralding the perfect opportunity for a summit attempt— a window of hope amidst the towering challenges of Mount Everest.
But as fate would have it, the serenity of that moment was about to be shattered. Suddenly, the very ground beneath us began to quiver and shake as though a stampede of a hundred fully laden yaks bore down upon us. I lifted my gaze toward the glacier, my eyes widening in disbelief. What had once been a serene, glistening expanse had transformed into a monstrous juggernaut, a titanic wall of white, thundering toward us with terrifying velocity. It was a tidal wave of destruction, a torrent of snow, ice, and rock, a behemoth of nature’s fury unleashed, hurtling at a breakneck speed, perhaps eighty feet high, or even more. It was an avalanche, an explosive force born of a cataclysmic event—a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that had struck Nepal and its neighbouring lands.
As the avalanche bore down upon Everest Base Camp, I was torn between knowing and not wanting to believe. A sense of powerlessness overcame me. The monstrous avalanche devoured the mountain and everything in its path, from the tents to the people who had been upon it. It felt like the very earth had opened up, swallowed everything whole, and closed its gaping maw, leaving only devastation and despair behind.
I felt my heart plummet within my chest. With a heavy heart, I knew the avalanche would have devoured everyone and everything that stood in its way. Two expeditions had been on the mountain, their members residing around Camp 2. My thoughts raced to the grim reality of the situation-people had most likely lost their lives. Avalanches had visited this sacred peak before, but this one, I feared, would be the most merciless of them all.
As the chaos unfolded around me, Everest Base Camp, the place I had come to know so well, was irrevocably altered. Familiar landmarks that once provided a sense of orientation were now conspicuously absent.
The Norwegian trekking company, Jagged Globe, with its distinctive blue and white banner, the well-trodden trail leading to Crampon Point-gone. A nightmarish landscape of rock and ice debris lay in their place, shrouded in a dense, eerie fog that clung to the camp like a ghostly shroud. The snow began falling as if Nature wept for the horrors she had unleashed.
As I took in the surreal, post-apocalyptic scene, the memory of another tragedy struck me just a year prior, in 2014, sixteen Sherpas had perished in the Khumbu Icefall. How could such a calamity repeat itself?
Was it the mountain’s way of reminding us of our fragility, of our audacity in intruding upon its sacred domain?
StepbyStep is the biography of Pemba Gelje Sherpa, written by Mark Powell. The book will take you on an incredible journey of a village boy who conquered Everest and became a renowned guide and environmentalist. Get a copy to read his captivating story.
Old wounds felt fresh again. Simon let out a loud sigh.
He looked at Duardo, who was cowardly. If Duardo had not stopped him at the cemetery, he could have retaliated on behalf of his parents.
The next day, he went to look for the graves again. He had to; he just did not know why. He stayed there for hours. He stared at the cemented fence around Paterno Borja’s property; he did not even try to go near it. Tears began to form in the corner of his eyes.
Were you able to find them, son?’ asked the old man whom Simon had talked to the previous day.
Simon shook his head. People started arriving at the cemetery to clean the tombs of their loved ones. Tomorrow, the cemetery would be full of people offering prayers for their departed loved ones.
Simon did not linger at the cemetery for long. He left hurriedly. At the gate, he saw a horse carriage parked.
Is there a vacant seat?’ he asked the old coachman.
The man pointed at the vacant seat beside a grieving woman.
‘I need a ride.’
Simon climbed into the horse carriage and it sped away at the height of noon. They travelled across the downtown streets. The horse never changed its pace. The coachman continued to whip it, too.
The coachman heaved loudly upon reaching the rural area.
Wait for me, Simon told the coachman upon reaching Ka Tindeng’s hut. He jumped off. He grabbed his remaining pieces of clothing from the midwife’s house and set off.
‘Where are you going, Simon?’ asked Ka Tindeng, who was shocked. Hulyan, Duardo, and Saling watched as the two talked.
‘I’m leaving for Manila again, Ka Tindeng.’ Simon embraced her. ‘I will go back to Manila, Ka Tindeng. I will not
return without a plan for vengeance. I swear, Ka Tindeng.’
Simon went out and got into the horse carriage. The coachman once again whipped the horse. Simon passed by his former hut, but did not look back. He met some farmers on his way, but he did not greet them. He held on tightly to the window of the carriage.
BleedingSunis a gripping story of a farmer’s son who grows up motherless, loses his father, runs away from home and comes back with a silent revenge. Get a copy of this latest addition to our Southeast Asian Classics today!
Cory pushed off the blanket and shivered as the chilly draft from the air conditioner penetrated her flimsy nightgown. She wondered whether the aircon was the reason for her recent migraines, especially at night. Or was she coming down with the flu? Again?
She plodded towards the bathroom, paused before the switch, and decided not to turn on the light. The faint illumination filtering through the window cast a calming glow upon the space. She felt a wave of relief as she sat on the cold toilet seat and relieved herself.
With her head nestled in her hands, she drifted into a drowsy state. Time stretched and blurred, an indeterminate period of restful tranquillity enveloping her. Yet, just as her fatigue began to consume her, her head sank forward, jolting her abruptly awake, as if some dark force had yanked her from the depths of sleep.
Alamak?, I went to sleep on the darn toilet bowl? Crap!
She laughed aloud as she pushed the flush lever and then dragged herself back to the bedroom.
Must crank up the thermostat.
Must not sleep on the toilet seat.
Must drink some water.
She waddled to the kitchen and picked up the steel water bottle; a stray beam of light streaming in through the window glinted off the bottle cap and made it look like a spacecraft with pilots ready to lift off.
Just as she was about to take a swig, she heard a scurrying sound that made her freeze in fright.
Hesitantly, Cory switched on the kitchen light.
Is that a rat?
A roach?
A lizard?
A ghost?
The Singapore Strain, authored by Raju Chellam is a fictional story about a new and scary variant of Covid-19 that changes the victims’ DNA and alters perceptions and attitudes to make them environmental activists. Get a copy to read this page-turning story today!
Fiction Frenzy brings forth an excellent curation of books that span across genres like romance, fantasy, crime, mystery, and contemporary fiction. Browse the collection below!
Grab your copy now!||
Death and the Maiden
Who wouldn’t cry when they realize that they are dead?
The capital beyond twilight is full of nocturnal birds squealing annoyingly on electricity poles. Who would have known that they were messengers of death who perform music to send souls to the underworld?
Stella is a ghost boy in a skirt who lives in an abandoned tower in the middle of the capital. He calls himself the Eleventh Floor Theater Administrator. Every evening he wakes up to repeat the same routine, caring for lost children, watching a spectacular parade of the Defeated Gamblers. The boy wonders why the Reaper whom he lived with had not yet sent his soul away.
What secrets are the Reaper keeping from him? And what is he being protected from?
Grab your copy now!||
Deplorable Conversations with Cats and Other Distractions
Lucky Lee has everything—wealth, charm, money, good looks—and does very, very little with it. He’s content. He’s happy. He takes for granted that life is good and always will be. But then his sister, the go-getting, successful, famous TV chef Pearl Lee, dies, horribly, and suddenly. Lucky is devastated. As he struggles to live without the big sister who’s always been the dominant, often relentless force in his life, the inconceivable happens—her cat begins to talk to him. It wants to know where Pearl is. It questions his eating habits, his outfit choices, his life. It hogs the TV. It tells him stories. Now grief-stricken Lucky has a major problem: he may very well be mad.
Grab your copy now!||
Harmony Heights
Harmony Heights is anything but harmonious. In this nineties-style block of condominium located in a forgotten part of town resides a microcosm of bourgeois Malaysian society. From retired judges and doctors to CEOs and homemakers with side hustles, the residents in this apartment pride themselves on being model citizens.
But beneath the veneer of civility and respectability, lies a hotbed of secrets and skeletons that reveal the true nature of these residents. How will they respond to the trials and tribulations which life throws at them? Will they all manage to keep up appearances when their private affairs and exploits are exposed? Harmony Heights is a peephole, allowing you to look in, to watch the unfolding lives of cheating husbands, ambitious women, unconventional families, and witness explosive (literally) situations. If you look close enough, you might just see someone you know. Are you ready to keep a secret?
Grab your copy now!||
Love on the Second Read
Emma Morales, tenacious romance book editor and proud cat lady, knows romance, but love? Nope. Thank you very much.
Enter nerdy science fiction and fantasy editor Kip Alegre, who quotes JRR Tolkien for breakfast and knows heartbreak all too well.
When Emma gets a career-changing sci-fi romance manuscript which may just save their publishing house from folding, she knows she must work with Kip if she wants to succeed.
Sounds simple enough, right? But when the well-meaning meddling best friends, an obsessive ex-boyfriend, and a beautiful ex-fiancée get into the picture, the job doesn’t seem so simple anymore. What starts out as a friendly-flirty-literary smackdown between Emma and Kip by quoting authors from Emily Henry to Brandon Sanderson grows into something deeper than either of them had signed up for.
The deal was to edit the book, not their lives.
Emma and Kip may be willing to read the manuscript over and over again, but will they be willing to give love a second read?
Grab your copy now!||
The Showgirl and the Minister
Sydney, 1966. Flower power is in full swing. The Cold War is at its height.
Somewhere in Kings Cross, Singapore’s former Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock is missing. Now the Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia, he had left his home in Canberra without a word of where he had gone.
Is he dead? During his reign as Chief Minister, he had cracked down hard on the Communists, and they will want to settle scores with him.
Is he in hiding from mounting debts? Lim is known for his punts on the horses on weekends.
Or is he mixed up in Cold War espionage? One of his ministers, Chew Swee Kee, was alleged to have received money from the CIA – and there’re rumours Lim had his share of it.
And how is a 19-year-old stripper, Sandra Nelson, Russian by birth, involved in this shady business? Is she Lim’s honey trap?
Private detective Dave Chen has to unravel these tangled knots of political intrigue and personal trauma – and confront his own demons.
Written in poetic form by Felix Cheong and wonderfully illustrated by Arif Rafhan, The Showgirl and the Minister is inspired by the real-life disappearance of Lim over ten days in 1966.
Grab your copy now!||
No Room in Neverland
All Gemma Young remembers of her childhood are her regular visits to the idyllic, imaginary Neverland before her mother fell sick.
When Gemma meets Cole, a disenchanted boy who stirs up more than just memories of her adventures in Neverland, she begins to piece together her half-forgotten childhood: her mother sick with longing for Neverland, the accident that ripped her family apart, and her father who abandoned her when she was a child.
But now, Gemma’s near-obsessive quest to find her father sends her spiralling deeper into Neverland just like her mother had. As the boundaries blur between the real world and Neverland, Gemma must sift through fact and fiction, discern between truth and make-belief, to find out what happened to her mother and rebuild a new life with her father.
Grab your copy now!||
Sudden Superstar
What happens when one goes from obscurity to celebrity, overnight?
Thirty-year-old Arya Alvarez is a travel manager at Isle Z, a luxury travel company in Singapore where she creates bespoke trips for celebrities and influencers. Discretion is her specialty at work and personal life: few people know that she’s fled her home city, Manila, to get away from the scene of a devastating break-up.
When she travels to Svaneti, in the Republic of Georgia, Arya briefly encounters the mysterious Dave in a remote village high up the Caucasus mountains. Intrigued, she posts his photos on Instagram-which goes viral the very next day. Turns out, Dave is Davit Nadibaidze, a famous yet reclusive artist who’d retreated from the public five years ago and Arya is the first person to see him since he disappeared.
In less than 24 hours, Arya gains hundreds of thousands of followers. She’s deluged with invitations to talk shows, influencer parties, and celebrity junkets, all as her social media apps overflow with DMs, tags, and comments, both nice and nasty. Men are suddenly vying for her attention, including her ex, Jake.
Arya tries her best to step up, but she also struggles. What she really wants is to finally get over her painful break-up, find herself and a fresh start. But can she really, when she’s caught in this complex whirl of viral fame?
Grab your copy now!||
Frappes for Three
Maya Joseph is a Penang girl who dreams of becoming a writer despite her father’s objections.
Chong Mei Li is a stylish fashionista who wants to make her mark in the fashion world, although her parents want her to preserve their legacy by taking over the family business in Sabah.
Rohan Das, born and raised in Delhi, needs to work hard and secure a good job to support his middle class family. As the first born son, there’s a lot of pressure for him to excel and little room for him to explore his own interests.
As luck would have it, their paths cross at Maestro University and this unlikely trio soon become good friends. They each have their own dreams and aspirations, but struggle with the burden of family expectations, difficult lecturers and self-doubt. But no matter what happens, they’re always there for each other.
This story of love, loss and self-discovery reminds us that university life, often bittersweet, carves us into the people we are today. And many of the lessons we gain are learned outside the classroom with our dearest friends.
Grab your copy now!||
For the Win
Eighteen-year-old Nathaniel Carpio has been having chicken inasal with his best friend Elena Dizon at their favourite sidewalk grillery for four years now, and he likes that things are always the same. But then, on a particularly bad day, Lena whips out a silly six-peso coin to comfort him, and-with the moment holding nothing and everything at the same time-Nat realizes that he’s fallen in love with her.
It only makes sense that when Tala Tales Games-local developer of their favourite real-time strategy game Mitolohiya-offers college scholarships to a select few, the two of them should go for it, right? Nat certainly thinks so-there’s nothing better than spending the rest of his life with Lena doing something they both love.
But just when Nat’s game plan is coming along nicely, in pops a new challenger-Rafael Antonio, the world-renowned Filipino voice actor for the hero Apolaki in Mitolohiya. Now, star-struck Lena spends all her time bonding with her online idol, and Nat starts to feel more and more like a boring Non-Playable Character with zero chance against the Big Final Boss.
With the scholarship program underway and his future hanging in the balance, Nat embarks on an epic quest to compete with the celebrity in a real-world PvP match he’s not ready for. But in the midst of life’s frustrating glitches, epic wipeouts, and disastrous rage-quitting, is winning over his best friend the right strategy after all before it’s Game Over?
Grab your copy now!||
Finding Us Again
Bryce and Nora fall in love in their last year of high school. They worry about their relationship surviving after graduation but are separated sooner when Bryce’s father is transferred and Bryce has to leave.
Bryce promises to write but not in a conventional way. He promises to leave messages behind pictures in hotels where his father works. He tells Nora if she finds his messages, they are meant to be together.
Years pass and Bryce leaves messages for Nora as promised, but wonders if it may be more of a habit than anything else.
Bryce and Nora have moved on to other partners over the years and while Bryce still leaves messages for Nora, she has mostly forgotten his promise until she finds an old photo of Bryce. She begins to search for his messages and succeeds in finding one.
This action is enough for fate to trigger a series of serendipitous events that will bring Bryce and Nora together again but at what cost and who will pay the price?
Grab your copy now!||
The American Boyfriend
Phoebe Wong would do anything to escape a British winter. But it may cost her more than her airfare.
Sunsets, tacos and margaritas all sound perfect to exhausted forty-three-year-old single mum Phoebe with a dead-end job in Southwark. When her long distance boyfriend in New York invites her to meet him in Florida, she couldn’t wait to jump on a plane with her toddler. Arriving with her teething child at her boyfriend’s Key West ‘vacay home’ before him, she is robbed on her first night. With no money, cards or passports, she is grateful for the support of friendly locals. At a BBQ, she meets an old expat British businessman. Her boyfriend arrives eventually, apologetic, and takes her out to a posh seafood dinner. But when the British expat is shot that night in the same restaurant’s car park, Phoebe is trapped in a put-up job, and her boyfriend’s delayed arrival is suspiciously timed. If this place has turned darker and chillier than London, she wants out.
Will she be able to pull herself and her daughter away from danger?
Grab your copy now!||
Mami Suzuki: Private Eye
Beneath the sheen of its orderly streets and obedient populace, all is not well in the port city of Kobe. Business is as brisk as the Haru-ichiban spring breeze for Mami Suzuki, hotel clerk by day, private investigator by night.
Who’s stealing from Japan’s biggest pearl trader? Where’s the master sushi chef and why are his knives missing? How did the tea ceremony teacher’s brother really die? And what does an island of cats have to do with a pregnant Shinto shrine maiden?
From the Kobe wharfs to the rugged Japan Sea coast, the subtropics of Okinawa, and a remote island community in the Seto Inland Sea, each new adventure ends with a universal truth – that there are two sides to every story of misfortune.
There’s a story for every reader, waiting to be discovered.
We invite you to come visit our exclusive Fiction Frenzy display at the Books Kinokuniya Main Store in Singapore until 15th April 2024!
Did you know that the ASEAN Super App market is estimated at $4 billion in revenue and will have a projected increase to $23 billion in 2025? Well, in most Super Apps, the four usual services included would be ridesharing, food delivery, online banking, and e-commerce through FinTech.
Let’s look at the structure of the Super Apps, its value prepositions, and dig in deeper to have a greater understanding and probe the question: Why are Super Apps a hit in Asia?
Some examples of Asian dominance in the Super App space include China’s WeChat and AliPay, India’s Paytm, Singapore’s Grab, Indonesia’s GoTo, Vietnam’s Zalo, and South Korea’s Kakao. Further in this chapter, get some answers on how Super Apps have been successful in the East and not so much in the West.
Structure of Super Apps and its Value Proposition
Super apps are the phone’s ultimate go-to app
Because these apps are handy and save time, end consumers value the convenience of use and search of products and services in an all-in-one app. Consider it a clone of your home screen where you can access all of the services you need to organize your everyday life in one app!
Has a high open-rate for at least one service or function
Gojek, which is based in Indonesia, and Grab, for example based in Singapore, began as a ride-sharing app and then added features such as instant messaging and an e-wallet. GCash in the Philippines began as a mobile wallet for payments, branchless banking service, and a payment centre but has now expanded to include multiple verticals within the app. Whatever purpose a Super App was created for, it excelled at it, allowing it to evolve into an ecosystem of services.
End customers’ wallets are easily accessible
Why should your customers keep their money in a different app when you have direct access to their wallets? Many apps with aspirations to be Super Apps provide this vital function, e-commerce platforms such as Lazada and Shoppe introducing their own e-wallet feature to make payments easier for their customers.
Partnerships with other platforms are encouraged and welcomed
Super Apps are similar to shopping malls, how are they similar to shopping malls? Well, they feature a variety of stores offering a variety of services. Their ability to be open to collaborations and partnerships is the exact reason they are who they are. Other platforms can be smoothly incorporated into the ecosystem they’ve created thanks to their app framework. Goama, a gamification platform, has relationships in over twenty-four countries and offers a carefully curated library of addictive games.
Super App’s value proposition is to cover every online and offline demand of an internet user by replacing Amazon, Instagram, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Venmo, Tinder, and PayPal with a single app.
One Stop||Neha Mehta
One Stop, written by Neha Mehta, talks about the appeal of convenience and efficiency in the hustle and bustle of today’s world. Get a copy to learn more about the digital revolution caused by Super Apps.
In our tower, whichever floor that is, somebody is plastering the wall.
I can feel it. It is like how I am aware of the black rain that seeps through the ceiling. The droplets fall into the potted plant that I have been raising. New green leaves are sprouting from the small ornamental plant whose name I do not know. Each branch pokes through the ribs buried in the earth, resembling the bronchi that spread within the lungs and around the heart. I look up at the rows of clay pots above—they are also full of flowers. Among the colourful blooms, I am only familiar with the little hogweeds, a species that seems to grow anywhere and everywhere. Their name, which anyone can recall, really suits their pig-headedness. If I were the me that I used to be, I would have been able to name more than a thousand types of plants. Someone used to tell me while stroking my hair, ‘Sweet child. You have a green thumb. You can grow anything . . .’ I don’t exactly agree with the title of ‘sweet child’, since that is not me at all. The latter part is true, though. I really do have a green thumb. That is why everywhere I go, the plants are all very happy.
Where I live right now is the dressing room of the theatre on the eleventh floor of a high-rise tower. This tower was abandoned even before it was completed. It has become our domain. I am in-charge of keeping the eleventh floor clean and tidy, which is why I sometimes have to bring myself to run up and down and keep my relationships with the others going. The Gamblers on the floors above like me. Aunties and uncles seem especially delighted when they see me at the window where they fall past every evening. A group of lost children on the floors below keep following me around. I do not like kids. You can even say that I hate them. Even though my age is not that of an adult and I have lived through almost the same number of years as them, I do not consider myself one of them. It is even more annoying when they stop before the theatre doors and keep pestering me to allow them inside. Once they get in, they refuse to let go of my limbs. One time, they even pulled off the ribbon that Vikal had tied for me. It flew down into the bushes beside the building, and there was no way for me to retrieve it.
‘Twinkle, twinkle, Little Star . . .’
Holding each other’s hands, they form a circle and start to sing. ‘How I wonder what you are . . .’
‘Shut up!’ I yell. They smirk, elbowing each other in the hips. Perfect timing, as always. They all show up not long after the sun sets, their irritating giggles and laughter echoing all over the tower’s nooks and crannies. Crossing my legs on the shiny padded chair, I ask them the same old question.
‘What do you guys want?’
‘Twinkle, twinkle, Little Star . . . Parva Stella, tell us a story.’ ‘Why do I have to tell a story to brats like you?’
‘Because the new girl won’t stop crying.’
The group parts down the middle, revealing an unfamiliar little girl who’s sobbing and rubbing her eyes. I look at the group of eight useless noisy children, boys and girls aged between five to ten years. They remind me of the Lost Ones from Peter Pan. The two eldest boys had appointed themselves as leaders and have been fighting for the role of Peter Pan. Since there can only be one Peter Pan, I think they look more like Ralph and Jack from Lord of the Flies, who never see eye to eye. The most annoying thing is how these imps keep multiplying and now it is only getting worse.
‘Are you the newcomer?’
I crouch down beside her and try to ask her name. She keeps shaking her head like people do when they are confused. The girl looks to be about seven years old and is wearing an expensive- looking dress—that has already become dirty—with a cartoon princess on it. Her face is covered with tears. The girl has been crying so much that her skin is starting to bruise.
‘All right, stop crying. Which story would you like to hear?’ ‘Bean Princess,’ a girl says and is immediately booed by the group’s leader.
When I make a disapproving sound, he interrupts with, ‘I want the King with the Donkey’s Ears.’
‘I’ve told you that donkey king story a million times.’
‘But I want it!’ the boy screeches. The rest of them start to disagree.
‘I’m tired of the donkey king. I want Baba Yaga.’
‘No. The one about the dancing corpse in the woods is way better,’ a short kid declares.
‘No way. It’s too scary,’ a kid with glasses says. He glances at the newcomer’s dress and mutters, ‘Hey kid, is that the Little Mermaid?’
The newcomer stops crying and nods quickly. We are all relieved. At least now we know that she has something of a favourite. The act of consolation won’t be as difficult anymore.
‘Then, Stella, tell us the story of the Little Mermaid,’ they conclude.
‘Hmph. All right.’ I drop myself onto the quilted armchair and rest my chin on one hand, posing as the female protagonist among all the extras. ‘Have any of you been to the sea?’
Amid the group of kids on the theatre’s floor, some raise their hands, saying that they have, and some merely say no. Most of the time, their answers are ‘no’ or ‘can’t remember’. They are too young to remember the world in their own way, yet they know stories from every corner of it.
‘What does the sea look like, Stella?’ a tall boy asks with a curious tilt of his head.
‘There’s a lot of water there,’ a boy with freckles cuts in. ‘Stella’s told us before.’
‘How much?’
‘A lot, a lot,’ the same boy says, spreading his arms wide. ‘Shut up. I’m asking Stella, not you.’
I look at the newcomer and ask, ‘Do you know that at the edge of the land, there is a vast body of water?’
The girl and the Lost Ones run around, all saying that they do not know.
‘The water body at the edge of the land is called the sea. Humans have only explored one-twentieth of it. There’re still so many oceans that they haven’t been to. Like the Milk Sea, the Blood Sea, the Perpetual Still Water, the Bone Sea—’
‘What’s the Bone Sea?’
‘It’s the graveyard of the sea people. Their last resting place when their lifespan is over.’
‘Have you ever been to the sea graveyard, Stella?’ ‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘If you keep asking about something unrelated, I won’t tell the story anymore.’ I tip my chin up. ‘The reason why I haven’t been there is the same as why you lot don’t get to be in heaven. Because you’re brats.’
‘Then you’re just like us,’ the leader of the group talks back. ‘You’re a brat too.’
‘Just stop,’ Leader Number Two says. ‘We’re getting nowhere with the Little Mermaid because of you.’
I pretend not to care about them, turning back to the newcomer and continuing.
‘In the land of a vast water body called the sea, there live the sea people. They’re without souls. Their bodies turn to sea foam and become one with the sea graveyard when they die. Except when they’re in love. A requited one.’
‘Ew!’ One of the girls makes a face.
‘This is the story of a little mermaid who falls in love with a human—’
‘A beautiful mermaid, right, Stella?’
‘Yes, she’s a beautiful mermaid. Her hair glows like stars, her eyes are the same colour as the sea.’
The beautiful mermaid with long, lovely hair has been living her beautiful life. Until that one fateful night, when everything changes . . .
‘Please continue, Stella.’
I close my eyes and images appear behind my eyelids. Above our tower, a sperm whale is dashing through the sky, calling out to other whales in deep frequencies.
‘Mmm.’
The sound of someone plastering the wall has quietened down. Outside the tower, the wind is bringing forth the smell of grief from the capital city along with its evening bustle. Nocturnal birds on the power lines are chittering, relaying some important news. It seems like there’s a wildfire in the north, heavy rain in the south (the soil is getting healthier again), and a flood in the north-east. The world keeps on turning and there’s nothing that we can do about it. We cannot save anyone. ‘Poor them, poor them, poor them,’ they harmonize. The story about a mermaid goes on.
‘Scylla is a shoal, Charybdis is a whirlpool.’ I try to make my voice solemn and respectable, but the new girl will not stop sobbing. I have witnessed this same scene so many times that I’ve become used to it. All the newcomers always cry their eyes out on their first day.
It is only normal.
Who wouldn’t cry when they realize that they are dead?
Death and the Maiden, written by Apinuch Petcharapiracht and translated to English by Danaya Olarikded and Pimpida Pitaksonggram is out now and available at Kinokuniya Singapore, Amazon Singapore, Kinokuniya Malaysia, MPH Books & Eslite MY.
On the occasion of Singapore’s 58th National Day, we share with you non-fiction book recommendations from our bag of books that tell you more about the Country’s rich culture, arts, history, and politics.
Find your next non-fiction read below –
Chickpeas to Cook and Other Stories by Nilanjana Sengupta
Chickpeas to Cook & Other Stories||Nilanjana Sengupta
The Votive Pen by Nilanjana Sengupta
The Votive Pen: Writings on Edwin Thumboo||Nilanjana Sengupta
Exploring Southeast Asia With – Liu Kang, Master of Colours by Eva Wong Nava, Jeffrey Say and Quek Hong Shin
Exploring Southeast Asia with Liu Kang||Master of Colour
Beyond Storms and Stars – A Memoir by Noeleen Heyzer
Beyond Storms and Stars||Noeleen Heyzer
Eggs for Dinner: A restaurateur who sees the world differently by Guy Wachs
Eggs for Dinner||Guy Wachs
Far From My Hospital Bed – Reflections on the Pandemic and Society by Teresita Cruz del Rosario
Far From My Hospital Bed||Teresita Cruz del Rosario
Threading Worlds: Conversations on Mental Health – Singapore and Mental Health by Hun Ming Kwang
Singapore and Mental Health||Hun Ming Kwang
A Nation’s Disgrace: Singapore’s Shocking Scandals by Balvinder Sandhu
A Nation’s Disgrace||Balvinder Sandhu
Explore Singapore’s literature through our list of fiction books by local voices. Click here for more.
Celebrate the spirit of inclusivity, strength and hope with us as we move #OnwardAsOne and commemorate the 58th National Day of Singapore. Add these exciting reads to your #TBR today!
Celebrate Pride Month with these captivating reads that honor diverse voices and experiences. From thought-provoking fiction to engaging short stories, this curated list of LGBTQIA+ literature offers a compelling journey through love, identity, and resilience.
Delve into the list below to discover your next captivating read –
The Heart of Summer Stories and Tales||
Award-winning stories and tales about the rites of passage in our lives-love and loss, gladness and grief, departure and return-written in the realistic and fabulist modes by one of Asia’s best writers.
No Wonder, Women||
A collection of stories about women loving women, and the relief and sadness that come with learning to love another and oneself.
A Paradise of Illusions||
A story of love, courage, and compromise set in the multi-cultural backdrop of pre-war Penang.
The Zero Season||
In post-WWII Paris, a Cambodian student radical and French drifter play a dangerous game of lust and revenge.
Orchids of the Rainforest||
Six Indians strive to embrace their sexuality and their own notions of relationships in a conservative yet urban Asian metropolis.
Riverrun A Novel||
A rite-of-passage novel in the life of a young gay man growing up in a colourful and chaotic dictatorship.
The Dogs||
Haunted by a childhood tragedy, a man looks back on his past and rediscovers a new meaning to his life.
Now available at bookstores near you in Southeast Asia and internationally via Amazon. Get your copy today!
