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Penguin Select Classics: Mansfield Park

“Drama is to life what ships are to the sea. A means to traverse it. To plumb its depths, breadth, and beauty.”

At the age of ten years old, Fanny Price was removed from her poverty stricken home to live with her rich cousins in Mansfield Park. Fanny was beautiful but not seeking beauty, quite but not weak, sensible but not proud. The residents of Mansfield couldn’t get themselves to show her the fondness she deserved. In the midst of it, she had only one ally in her cousin Edmund.

When the cousins grow older, suddenly the Crawfords family takes residence in the neighbourhood, and the sister-brother duo set off events of romantic encounters and heartbreak.

Will Fanny defend her bonds and protect the life she has built in Mansfield Park? Will she hide her love for Edmund or come forth?

Mansfield Park is touted as Austen’s most mature and sensitive novel, mostly in credit to her heroin who is both sensitive and brave.

Penguin Select Classics: Frankenstein

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as great and sudden change.”

The world of Frankenstein explores the depths of human nature and the consequences of great and sudden change.

Victor Frankenstein, a Swiss student of natural science breathes life into a creature made from stolen body parts. Initially seeking love and companionship, the monstrous creation instead incites revulsion in all who encounter it.

Plagued by loneliness and despair, the creature turns against its creator, leading to a devastating climax that claims lives.

Frankenstein serves as a cautionary tale, warning against the perils of scientific and creative ambition, the corrupting influence of unchecked progress, and the dangers of knowledge without true understanding.

Penguin Select Classics: Emma

“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk and show it more.”

In the world of Emma, love, self-discovery, and matchmaking intertwine in a charming countryside town. Emma is Austen’s most vivid heroine : beautiful, spoilt, generous, and exceptionally witty.

While caring for her demanding father, life in the quaint town becomes tiresome. Seeking amusement, Emma immerses herself in the art of matchmaking, set to unite her orphaned friend, Harriet Smith with the eligible clergyman Mr. Elton.

However, her astute neighbor, Mr. Knightley calls her out for seeking her own interest and not her friend’s. Both Emma and Mr.Knightly are attracted to one another, primarily because only they can match each other’s wit and intelligence.

Emma’s path towards maturity and self-awareness is a poignant story. A captivating exploration of personal growth, as she navigates the consequences of her meddling.

Ageless

There has been explosion of knowledge in the new field of geroscience which is the study of the genetic, cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive the aging process. Recent transformative research has been translated to clinical medicine, in order to prevent, treat or even reverse aging in humans through an integrated onslaught on its hallmarks. The average person now has within his control a stronger grasp of aging better and prolonging his healthspan while living a longer life. This book, written with the layman in mind, lays down the latest scientific evidence in man’s search for healthy longevity.

Following decades of dedication as a medical practitioner, Dr Michael Khor Kok Seng shares his perspective of living agelessly by embracing and optimizing what he calls the 5 pillars of longevity: exercise, diet, sleep, happiness and having a purpose in life. Apart from this, he details how these pillars can be adopted to address the mortal maladies of the modern man: obesity, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer and dementia.

Through a combination of personal anecdotes and thorough research, this book aims to bridge the gap between the bench and bedside, to further Dr Michael Khor Kok Seng’s legacy of service to the community and to educate the reader by promoting healthy living and informed choices.

Worship the Body

An owner of a furniture workshop, Jaime drops by a restaurant to cool off with a glass of beer. Working in that restaurant, Jun waits on him in that random visit. Something happens between them as their eyes meet over the glass of beer which Jaime considers an accident and Jun considers luck. Their paths will once again cross when Ria innocently hires Jun as their family driver after Jaime gets into a car accident for drunk driving.
Hidden within a network of intimate relationships, Jaime, Jun, Ria, and Maya try to forge an extraordinary family in urban Manila, as they discover that secrets also have their own joys. Ria and Maya establish a unique connection as women confronted with questions about power and emotion even as they uncover a bond between their husbands, Jaime and Jun, themselves confronted with questions about history and myth.
Told from different but interlocking points of view, their story becomes a song complete with recurring refrains and a coda, intimating that there are silences to the body that are essential to our understanding of happiness.

The Female Digital Revolution

Smartphones, digital payments and health apps are examples of how technology is empowering women to upskill, lead or start tech companies and live healthier and greener lives. The digital revolution is dramatically transforming the role of women in the economy delivering new opportunities to work, play and learn. But women are missing out. Not enough innovative technologies are being developed ‘by women’ or ‘for women’ leading to untapped benefits for the female population and missed opportunities for businesses and government to cater to half of the world’s population.

The Female Digital Revolution provides a unique insight into the changing role of women in the digital economy which is growing at an unprecedented rate. Through a collection of powerful real-life stories and research, it brings to life current and future digital changes that are reshaping the role of women. It urges government and businesses to start consciously thinking about women as powerful digital economic agents, highlights the need to increase female participation in all aspects of our digital economy, and implores all relevant actors—investors, entrepreneurs, CEOs, public leaders, and the like—to be part of the female digital revolution.

Me In Your Melody

Once a promising legal eagle, heartbroken and unemployed Emily Chung is sent to live with her no-nonsense Uncle Raymond, strange but passionate retired actress Aunt Bridget, talkative oddball cousin Daniel and cunning feng-shui believer grandmother in Penang Island, Malaysia after a devastating incident almost costs her her life. In a bid to help Emily move forward and pick herself back up, Emily’s uncle offers her an internship at Serendipity Sanctuary, a non-profit community food centre for the underprivileged with close ties to the family.

What starts as butterflies in her stomach under the rambunctious pastry chef mentorship turns into a cool-headed environment when she meets Michael Kim, the solo traveller volunteering as a pay-it-forward. The encounter unfurls her past clandestine romance with former renowned K-Pop-idol-turned-soloist Edward Ahn and the devastating heartbreak that led her to cast away a strictly confidential fairy-tale chapter, and, her desire to love again.

As Emily struggles to contend with her past and rebuild her present, she learns that to get a grip is to find courage and strength in spite of the adversities; by replacing attitude with self-respect—from coping with the bad faith of a long-time friend to a near-death experience, she realises the importance of family and unconditional love. But, will she be ennobled by Edward’s unimaginable return? Or will she be swayed by Michael’s warm-heart and benevolence? Can Emily survive the sweet storm and learn to open up once more to what love and life have to offer?

The Singapore Strain

A mysterious new variant of Covid-19, dubbed the Singapore Strain
is infecting people around the world. It changes the victims’ DNA
and manifests itself by altering perceptions and attitudes
to make them environmental activists and turns them
into Dynaborgs. A motley team of investigators
from America, Australia, Botswana, Britain,
Estonia, India, Singapore & Sweden are
trying to unravel its secrets even as
they turn Dynaborgs themselves.
Is it as benign as it seems?
What are its origins?
Does it have the
potential to
wipe us
out?
!

No More Bosses

In No More Bosses, Adrian Tan shares his journey of leaving the security of a corporate job to pursue self-employment. As a former HR entrepreneur, Adrian understands the challenges and opportunities of making a mid-career transition.

Through the book, Adrian offers practical advice and insights for readers considering a similar path. He covers topics such as assessing readiness for self-employment, finding the right business idea, building a network of support, and navigating the financial considerations of going solo.

But Adrian’s story isn’t just about the nuts and bolts of starting a business. He also candidly discusses the emotional ups and downs of leaving the familiar for the unknown and how to stay motivated and resilient during the transition.

With its combination of personal narrative and actionable guidance, No More Bosses is an inspiring and valuable resource for anyone considering leaping self-employment.

The Hantu House

Real estate agent Eric Foo is tricked into spending a night in a haunted house he’s trying to sell. He discovers an eerie ability—he can sense ghosts. Finding himself drawn into a murder mystery and a web of supernatural intrigue, Eric races against time to uncover the truth behind a series of untimely deaths. As he navigates through the intersection where the worlds of the living and the dead meet, the line between reality and the supernatural blurs. Will Eric solve the mystery, or become the next victim in the sinister narrative of the haunted house?