Things We Bought Today

Disappointing

I went a little late to collect my tickets for the Neil Gaiman events at the Singapore Writers Festival. I missed out by five people.

Buying Things

I bought many things after the disappointing morning excursion. For instance, I bought two T-shirts featuring the work of Tan Swie Hian from the museum shops. The first is this one with a poem that he wrote.

The other one has a giant Lu Xun on it.

Also from a museum shop, a bookmark with calligraphy by Pan Shou.

Then there’s these things from the museum shop too. Well, actually only the books is mine, and the hanger came along with it. Sam the Samsui Woman is there because she is cute, but I was helping my sister to get it.

The book is actually a book about a local wayang troupe. Has lots of photos. I suppose it’s something of a photography book. It comes in nice binding and is a limited edition of 500. It’s number 210.

Inside the book:

Apart from the museum shops, I also bought two second-hand George Eliot books. Silas Marner and The Mill On The Floss.

Next up… I didn’t buy these today, but they came in through the mail to complete my day. It’s the Mythical Creatures stamp set from the Royal Mail, with art by Dave McKean and text by Neil Gaiman. I have four of these, but I’m only keeping one. Again, I was helping people to get them too.

But the actual last stop of the day was BooksActually, where I got these.

The pencils are inscribed with the names of writers. I have two James Joyce ones because I’m going to use one.

And yes, those are retro bus tickets on the sketchbook cover. I’m so happy I got it.

Also, Hamlet

Hamlet featuring David Tennant will be released on DVD after Christmas. [via RSC Shop Online]

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Money Matters

So you spend it.

Here’s the loot report for yesterday, or in other words, the books joining my little library:

1. Seeing by José Saramago
2. All-Star Superman Vol. 2 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
3. The Odyssey by Homer (Translated by Robert Fitzgerald)
4. The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
5. Pandora In The Congo by Albert Sanchez Piñol (Translated by Mara Faye Lethem)
6. The 4 Major Plays by Anton Chekhov (Translated by Curt Columbus)
7. Last Evenings On Earth by Roberto Bolaño (Translated by Chris Andrews)

Not quite the mix I was expecting, with a shortage of science and poetry. I think I’ll pop by for another book tomorrow if I happen to be passing by, though that’ll likely be a recent novel than anything else. In fact, it might even be in Chinese.

I’m happiest about my Pandora In The Congo buy, actually, because it’s not something I would normally read, and I’ve only heard good things about it.

I had a bunch of other books I was intending to get, including the new Kazuo Ishiguro Nocturnes and In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin, but I suspect I’m going pocket paperback for those, if they ever appear. Otherwise I’ll just get them as they are. There was also a science book that’s in a gigantic hardcover and I was at first slightly tempted, but what the hey, I’m a poor student without a job.

I’m sure there’ll be another before school reopens, since there’s the Great Singapore Sale somewhere along these couple of months, so there’s certainly ample time to stock up on my new semester reading.

Today…

I think I’ll be working on a query for The River. I just want some space from Bukit Merah for now, in case I burn out prematurely. I figure that if I can’t tell how long it’s going to be (since I am making it up as I go along), then I run the risk of either writing it too short (rushing it) or too long (dragging it). Some distance, temporal or otherwise, from it might help, so I reckon I won’t be back at it until Monday, depending on how the weekend works out.

Hmm.

Results in a week. Wonder what I’ll see. There’s something nerve-wracking about getting your results reported to you by your computer. A click of the mouse and poof it’s there. And as if it wants to mess with your head a bit more, it doesn’t appear instantly. No, it just lags a bit and hangs around and tries its best to surprise you. Then it shows up like a magic trick, and you’re struggling to contain the dread in the first couple of seconds as you try to make sense of it all.

Then it makes sense. And it’s like dust, taking ages to settle.

Next week. Friday, I think.

2.8

The WordPress 2.8 beta has got up and going. [via WordPress.org]

TRICO

Team ICO’s next project has an alleged trailer. [via Kotaku]

Looks great. I like the giant beast.

9

New trailer for 9. [via YouTube]

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