farewell, Bukit Merah Public Library

today marks the final day of operations at the Bukit Merah Public Library. I have many happy memories of using this library – from reading storybooks on the weekends when I was a kid, to grading work there as a working adult, and more recently, bringing my niece and nephew there to borrow books before letting them play at the playground next to the library.

I approve of NLB’s strategy to situate the libraries where there will be greater footfall, but last week, as the day of closure loomed close, I couldn’t help but weep for the memories past. I paid a few farewell visits to soak in the place and say goodbye.

here’s the children’s section that allowed me to be that auntie associated with books and reading

and look how the niece has grown! I no longer have to read to her; she looks for me when she needs help with a word or two.

the adult section is upstairs. see the fantastic Singapore Collection in the corner – these shelves were indispensable when I prepared GP lessons based on Singapore.

on one of the visits, a familiar logo caught the nephew’s eye and he snatched it up excitedly.

the fictional aisles that gave me tomes of agatha christie and elif safak.

and the mandarin section that usually sank into the blind spot

I am also deeply indebted to the travel section where I did much of my travel research before free-falling into a new country.

and lastly, the loan counter, which has seen many many iterations. frequently, I would hurry through this section because sambal would be waiting for me in the carpark outside, and then he would frown at all the books I’m laden under, and shake his head because it’s obvious I wouldn’t be able to read all that within 3 weeks.

thank you for the services and memories you provided, dear bukit merah library. I didn’t think I would be this attached to you, but I guess it is a case of 日久情深. I will miss having you around, and miss exploring your depths full of mystery and adventure and profound sadness.

farewell.

Choice quotes from Ben Aaronovitch: Foxglove Summer

I chanced upon the Rivers of London series while browsing the stacks; the cover art attracted my attention (fascinating map!) as did, of course, memories of London. This series accompanied me through my break up, and indeed the snarky writing was one of those rare things that made me laugh during those dark days. I think these books deserve way more attention than it is currently receiving, so I’m sharing my favourite quotes here. Enjoy!
(Genre: Urban Fantasy, Police Procedural)

From Book Five: Foxglove Summer
(the latest, where the protagonist takes a break from London)

On the Theory of Evolution:

“Above and behind me the unicorn snorted its frustration and stamped the ground. I was fairly certain it wasn’t going to attempt such a steep slope.

This is where the whole ape-descended thing reveals its worth, I thought madly, sucks to be you, quadruped. Opposable thumbs – don’t leave home without them.”

* * *
On the [mis]use of Latin phrases and the allusion to The Game of Thrones:

“Hail the conquering hero,” said Beverley and held up her bottle to clink.

“sic transit Gloria mundi,” I said, because it was the first thing that came into my head – we clinked and drank. It could have been worse.

I could have said “Valar Morghulis” instead.

* * *
My personal favourite, experienced daily as a civil servant…on Official-Speak:

“I made a mental note to wheedle the list of old codgers out of Nightingale and get it properly sorted into a database. Hugh’s “grapevine” might be a useful source of information. If I’d been about four ranks higher up the hierarchy I’d have regarded it as an opportunity to realise additional intelligence assets through enhanced stakeholder engagement. But I’m just a constable so I didn’t.”

Choice quotes from Ben Aaronovitch: Broken Homes

I chanced upon the Rivers of London series while browsing the stacks; the cover art attracted my attention (fascinating map!) as did, of course, memories of London. This series accompanied me through my break up, and indeed the snarky writing was one of those rare things that made me laugh during those dark days. I think these books deserve way more attention than it is currently receiving, so I’m sharing my favourite quotes here. Enjoy!
(Genre: Urban Fantasy, Police Procedural)

From Book Four: Broken Homes

A commentary on the state of surveillance:

“The problem with the so-called bloody surveillance state is that it’s hard work trying to track someone’s movements using CCTV – especially if they’re on foot. Part of the problem is that the cameras all belong to different people for different reasons. Westminster Council has a network for traffic violations, the Oxford Street Trading Association has a huge network aimed at shoplifters and pickpockets, individual shops have their own systems, as do pubs, clubs and buses. When you walk around London it is important to remember that Big Brother may be watching you, or he could be having a piss, or reading the paper or helping redirect traffic around a car accident or maybe he’s just forgotten to turn the bloody thing on.”

* * *
Elephant and Castle: most people know it as the location of the Imperial War Museum, or, more likely, the Ministry of Sound, but I knew it first as the address of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. If Mettab is unfamiliar to you, perhaps the names of the late preacher Charles Spurgeon, or the incumbent Peter Masters, would ring a bell. Prolific Christian writers they are – stocked up my Christian bookshelf with a number of their books upon visiting the Mettab in-house book store.

(I realise it is rather incongruous to speak of Christian writing in light of fangirling over a book on magic so i shall stop here.)

My salient memory of Elephant and Castle is not the church though, but the seemingly endless tunnels one trudges through in order to get to your destination. Odd, but better this than waiting for the lights to turn in your favour.

Choice quotes from Ben Aaronovitch: Whispers Underground

I chanced upon the Rivers of London series while browsing the stacks; the cover art attracted my attention (fascinating map!) as did, of course, memories of London. This series accompanied me through my break up, and indeed the snarky writing was one of those rare things that made me laugh during those dark days. I think these books deserve way more attention than it is currently receiving, so I’m sharing my favourite quotes here. Enjoy!
(Genre: Urban Fantasy, Police Procedural)

From Book Three: Whispers Underground

This book focuses on the tube, and was actually the first book of the series that i came across.

The classic English complaint about the weather:

“The media response to unusual weather is as ritualized and predictable as the stages of grief.

First comes denial: “I can’t believe there’s so much snow.”

Then anger: “Why can’t I drive my car, why are the trains not running?”

Then blame: “Why haven’t the local authorities sanded the roads, where are the snowplows, and how come the Canadians can deal with this and we can’t?”

This last stage goes on the longest and tends to trail off into a mumbled grumbling background moan, enlivened by occasional ‘illegals ate my snowplow’ headlines from the Daily Mail, which continues until the weather clears up.”

Choice quotes from Ben Aaronovitch: Moon Over Soho

I chanced upon the Rivers of London series while browsing the stacks; the cover art attracted my attention (fascinating map!) as did, of course, memories of London. This series accompanied me through my break up, and indeed the snarky writing was one of those rare things that made me laugh during those dark days. I think these books deserve way more attention than it is currently receiving, so I’m sharing my favourite quotes here. Enjoy!
(Genre: Urban Fantasy, Police Procedural)

From Book Two: Moon Over Soho

The snarky commentary on English history that make the series such a joy to read:

“Jason Dunlop lived in the half-basement flat of a converted early-Victorian terrace on Barnsbury Road. In previous eras the servants’ quarters would be fully underground, but the Victorians, being the great social improvers they were, had decided that even the lowly should be able to see the feet of the people walking past the grand houses of their masters – hence the half basement. That and the increased daylight saved on candles, a penny saved is a penny earned and all that.”

* * *

On the change of word connotations:

“Nightingale said, “It never occurred to me that the old days [of magic] might come back. Besides, we have Dunlop’s books so we know his teacher wasn’t from some foreign tradition – this is a home-grown black magician.”

“You can’t call them black magicians,” I said.

“You realise that we’re using black in its metaphorical sense here,” said Nightingale.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Words change what they mean, don’t they? Some people would call me a black magician.”

“You’re not a magician,” he said. “You’re barely even an apprentice.”

“You’re changing the subject,” I said.

“What should we call them?” he asked patiently.

“Ethically challenged magical practitioners,” I said.”

* * *

Aaronovitch’s take on the Trocadero Centre (the basement of which I visited periodically back while I was on exchange just to watch some awesome street dancing. I have just found out that it has since closed and is now being refurbished into a hotel)

“The central atrium at the Trocadero Centre is four stories high with an open basement that added another story to the fall. The space is crisscrossed at random intervals by escalators, presumably because the architects felt that disorientation and an inability to find the toilets were integral parts of the shopping experience.”

* * *

A particularly mournful song plays a huge role in this book – here’s Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse singing Body and Soul.

Choice quotes from Ben Aaronovitch: Rivers of London

I chanced upon the Rivers of London series while browsing the stacks; the cover art attracted my attention (fascinating map!) as did, of course, memories of London. This series accompanied me through my break up, and indeed the snarky writing was one of those rare things that made me laugh during those dark days. I think these books deserve way more attention than it is currently receiving, so I’m sharing my favourite quotes here. Enjoy!
(Genre: Urban Fantasy, Police Procedural)

From Book 1: Rivers of London (or, Midnight Riot in the US)

The reader’s introduction to the Folly:

“The address I wanted had a noticeably grander flight of stairs than its neighbours, leading to double mahogany doors with brass fittings. Carved above the lintel were the words SCIENTIA POTESTAS EST.

Science points east, I wondered. Science is portentous, yes? Science protests too much. Scientific potatoes rule. Had I stumbled on the lair of dangerous plant geneticists?”

* * *
Some relationship advice from PC Peter Grant:

“I wanted to watch her tuck her long legs under the dash, but I figured the temperature was high enough already. My dad had once told me that the secret to a happy life was never to start something with a girl unless you were willing to follow wherever it leads. It’s the best piece of advice he’s ever given me and probably the reason I was born.”

Library / Biblioteca, Siena

I was just strolling around Siena today, and decided to hit up the public library that was denoted on the map. I found myself at the Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati, which has an unassuming facade –

I took this photograph as I was taking my leave, to capture the Christmas lights!

Anyway, the library is housed semi-underground. By that, I mean that it is on hilly terrain so there’s sunlight on one side and earth on the other.

Here’s the central aisle –

Computer terminals line the left, while fiction in Italian (a great selection of translated titles too) lines the right, with rooms fanning out on both sides.

In case you were wondering, nope, nowhere as crowded as libraries in Singapore.

I flipped through books at the art section because I’d be lost in translation everywhere else. They had a sign at the children’s section stating that adults were only welcome if they were accompanying a child 😦

I was ready to go, and was wandering about absent-mindedly when I walked into the linguistics section, and stumbled upon this!

An Inglesse/English section! Quite a decent collection too! And since I had no real plans, I settled down to read A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby in a little brick niche. Butt-to-chair, four hours to finish the book in one sitting, which is something  I have not done in years…if ever.

(Realistic characterization of not very likable characters, with a drily humorous though fairly accurate portrayal of suicide ideation.)

The library is located on Via della Sapienza, and open 0900-1830 on weekdays, 0900-1300 on Saturdays, closed on Sundays.

To end the day and remind myself of college exchange days in Hull and London, I opted for a kebab dinner –

And yes, this was quite possibly one of the best days of my vacation…even though this is something I could completely have done at home.

bookshelf therapy

in a bid to declutter my book collection, i decided to pull out as many books as i could (dependent on floor space, really) so that i could rearrange or donate them.

i donated bag after bag of books away, but whatever’s left of my book collection has been abandoned in a compartmentalized disarray on the floor, as it has been for close to three weeks, collecting dust and evoking memories.

by the way, taking the books out really make a difference. where previously every book was as precious as the next, now, you are wary about what you allow back into that sacred space.

after the initial craze of taking everything out, i am now paralyzed by the thought of having to rearrange all those books. my bookshelves, my sanctum sanctorum, and i don’t know what to do with it.

i chanced upon the following two books in the library, which seemed appropriate for the mammoth task im facing.

unpacking my library: writers and their books, edited by leah price

my ideal bookshelf, edited by thessaly la force, illustrated by jane mount.

while my books remain on the floor, it’s been quite fun, for the first book, looking at photographs of the personal libraries of famous writers, and the latter, reading why they love the books they do.

girls’ day out

my girly meet-up with jy ended with us browsing the stacks at toa payoh library. (while we enjoy doing that, there always is a part of us that feels we might need to get more of a ‘life’..)

she cuts a lovely but forlorn figure over in the corner.

we made an interesting discovery while hunting for a recipe book – the topics bled from cooking into dieting/health, then grooming, make-up and fashion, followed by dating (clearly, the shelving was done by a sexist, or someone who is unaware of/can’t be bothered to do anything about these tropes). the shelves opposite were concerned with pets – cats, then, if that’s not to your liking, dogs. it’s like the stereotypical single girls’ life laid out for you, failing which, you could be the cat lady.

central library @ bugis

brought my work to the national library frequently the past week, and just thought I’d share why i love this space (a follow-up to my earlier post on libraries)

main facade of the building. the library is located near bugis, bras basah and city hall mrt stations.

open-air foyer which is used for various events such as book sales, postage stamp festivals, even hosting the fyp projects of art, design and architecture schools.

they do use the building to advertise what they have..

i usually use the study tables at the reference sections in the upper stories –

and i love working here because of the view –

that’s st joseph’s church in the foreground.

the central lending library is housed in the basement, and the entrance to the library has a book exchange corner. im going through a decluttering phase, and this visit, i said goodbye to ernest hemingway, willa cather and gustave flaubert.

there are two mini exhibitions going on at the library, the first, ‘books that moved me’, the second, ‘saudi arabia’, to coincide with the month of Ramadan.

(and probably also for users to educate ourselves in order to discern between the noble arab tradition and its people from the terror of ISIS)

anyway, moving on to my favourite bit – the wonderful children’s section!

this space is lovely, and I mean to bring my niece here. i was there near closing time, and there weren’t many people around. it gets noisy with bubbly kids running around in the afternoons!

i cannot stress how important it is to have a good children’s section – if they do not start reading, using the library when they are young, it is difficult for them to pick up the habit as they get older. who would want to spend their time reading in the library when there are games to play, cartoons to watch, and homework to do?

sigh. this post makes me look too much of a nerd, haha.
(all photos taken on a Samsung galaxy ace 2 mobile)