My 2007 Book Rereading List.

Wow! They finally upgraded my Blogger account to the new Beta version! Yay!

Since some of us are posting up our "to-be-read" 2007 list, I'm gonna go the other way round and post what I will be reading again next year.

The following list is not in any particular order:

1. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Not as influential to me as it was when I was in Form 4, but still relevant. After all, as Malaysians, aren't we all under the gazing eye of Big Brother?

2. Animal Farm by George Orwell
For years I couldn't find this book in bookstores (ah... the days before Kinokuniya KLCC), until my second year in university. I made friends with a guy from the studying management and he was complaining about this "boring" book he had to study for his English class. When I found out it was Animal Farm, I asked if I could borrow the book. He said I could have it and he didn't want to see the damn book ever in his life. He must really hate socialism.

3. Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
The best and only worthwhile book in the Narnia series! Even if it does have that insufferable Eustace.

4. A Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
Can't remember what happened in this book as I usually skip this one (and The Last Battle, ugh) when I do a Narnia marathon. Due for a reread then.

5. Neuromancer by William Gibson
Technically not a reread since I've never finished it, but I have read the first half of the book about three times now... Shall attempt another read as I want to know what happens in the end.

6. Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
Read this in Standard 6... I don't remember what happened in it. Ah... the start of the Star Wars revitalisation. Anyone remember the good old days before Episode 1?

7. Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn
See above.

8. The Last Command by Timothy Zahn
Ditto.

9. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Genius kid plays video game to save Earth. A classic.

10. My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl
One of only two adult novels Dahl wrote, and I love it. Uncle Oswald, that cad.

11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Need a refresh before HP7 comes out.

12. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I'm planning a full Sherlock Holmes marathon. This'll be the start.

And one book I do not want to reread... ever:

The Silmarillion by whatsisname

Lesson: Commemorative Covers are Lame.

Well, I got the first day cover that commemorates the 35th anniversary of the establishment diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Except that it's not a first day cover, it's a commemorative cover, which is a slightly different beast. I guess I should read the news article properly next time! The difference between the two is that first day covers are specially-designed envelopes stuck on with specially-designed stamps, and marked with a specially-designed postmark. A commemorative cover is a specially-designed envelope... and that's it. All in all, it's an unremarkable affair, especially if you're used to well-designed first day covers (not that Malaysian first day covers are well-designed... but I digress). Oh sure, a commemorative cover has a stamp printed right on to it but that's just like an overglorified aerogramme. Lame. On the whole, what a disappointment. I haven't been collecting first day cover...

REVIEW: Confessions of an Old Boy by Kam Raslan

Kam Raslan's right. In the preface for his new book, Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato' Hamid Adventures he writes that we've known Dato' Hamid all our lives. Seeing as my own dad is an old boy of MCKK, the people I get to meet when he drags me to an Old Boy function and the people he tells me of, reflect the characters found in Kam's book. It really does feel like I've known Dato' Hamid all my life. Dato' Hamid is a civil servant of the Tunku Abdul Rahman generation. He is the sort of person you rarely see nowadays, a fine example of the anachronistic Malay. This generation, groomed in the ways of the colonial British would be out of place not just in 21st century Malaysia, but in Britain too. And yet, Dato' Hamid, in all his snobbishness and patronising ways, is essentially a Malaysian. Without people like him, our country would probably never exist at all. At least not like we know it now. I'm glad that Kam Raslan decided to capture this ...

An Ipoh Ghost Story.

When I was growing up in Ipoh in the 90s, the only good bookshops around were Mubaruk's, which specialised in textbooks (and still does), and Novelhut, the second-hand bookstore that used to be in Yik Foong (and maybe still is there, but I haven't checked in years since I prefer going to their Ipoh Parade outlet when I'm in town). There was also a pretty good bookstore in the Parkson Grand in Ipoh Parade which could have been a Berita outlet, but I don't remember. This was in the days before they expanded Ipoh Parade into what it is today. (And temporarily causing the Convent school next door to consider moving.) I recall this because I was thinking of when exactly I started reading "serious" fiction, trying to pinpoint the years when I moved from young adult/fantasy/sci-fi books into non-genre fiction. I still can't remember, but it brought back memories of a book I bought from a short-lived bookshop in Old Town. Mum had brought me there, because she must...

bibliobibuli9/12/06 11:16 am
i want to read neuromancer v. much - keep forgetting to look for it in the bookshops

i love 1984 and have reread it a couple of times. it's a kind of touchstone to measure society (any society for that matter) against

but anyway i hope you are also going to read plenty of new stuff
bibliobibuli9/12/06 11:17 am
oh sorry forgot to ask - what is the difference with blogger beta? any disruptions during the switchover?
Anonymous10/12/06 11:32 am
Oddly enough, after you left the course, Ender's Game became a required reading for SEGD Games Foundation.
Ted Mahsun10/12/06 3:49 pm
Sharon: I experienced no disruptions while switching over. There are quite a few differences... the most noticeable are the new blogging interface, ability to categorise blogposts according to tags (or labels as Blogger calls them), instant publishing, (no need to republish the whole blog everytime you update the template) and easier-to-customise templates. I don't know how easier to customise the templates are though. You have to use new Blogger Beta templates to take advantage of that.

Hilmy: Wow! Haha... but I'm not surprised. I remember reading an old post on your blog where you were toying with that idea or something.

But what can we learn from Ender's Game that's applicable to games design? The need to think outside the box? The need to post on forums to slowly sway public opinion? :D
Anonymous10/12/06 10:37 pm
whatshisname is J.R.R. Tolkien la
Ted Mahsun10/12/06 10:41 pm
Who? Never heard of him.

haha. no lah. j/k. of cos i know it's Tolkien :p
ビビ13/12/06 3:49 pm
I have read Neuromancer and I was down right confused. Hence the reason why I couldnt really appreciate and understand the book. But then again I havent been much of a 'cyberpunk' fan anyway.

But if you're interested in Gibson then you ought to read Idoru. I think Idoru is the best among all Gibson's books that I have read.

The Silmarillon..whatevere by Tolkien. Well...it's boring. It's like reading Greek mythology and the world's ancient practice in one. But then again if you really really want to know about Middle Earth, Hobbits, Elves na na na...you just have to read it. The Hobbit was more interesting though!

Happy reading in 2007!
Ted Mahsun13/12/06 3:56 pm
Yeah, I have Idoru on my "to-get" list. I'll get to it one day.

Years ago, before the movies came out, I used to binge on ALL THINGS TOLKIEN... resulting in lunacy such as reading The Silmarillion 3x, reading The Hobbit 10x, reading LotR 5x...

Never again. Well, maybe I'll read The Hobbit to my kids when I have them, but before that, No.

Ted Mahsun

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