Reading Slowly and The Frankfurt Book Fair

Right before the AFCC in May, my friend Kenneth Quek, was interviewed about his weekend and the upcoming Asian Festival of Children's Content. You know, I've never been interviewed about my weekend. I guess that an article about how I sleep through it would be really very boring.

OK, so two days ago,  I picked up a copy of the Straits Times  only to find the same photo of  Kenneth reading Isa Kamari's The Tower that the papers used back in May.  Hey, I guess they used it to ostensibly imply that Kenneth is still reading the book and that would go along with the title of the article: Make Time to Read Slowly.  Ken, hurry up lah, finish the book already! *Kidding* 

Now with today's increasingly frenetic pace, most people tend to speed read  online  which, according to some studies, could literally lead to comprehensive cases of literary indigestion. So the gist of the article, according to the ST and the Wall Street Journal, is about about reading in  'continous linear pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions.'  

Say what?  In my house there are no quiet spots free of distractions!  In fact everywhere I go there are distractions. I'm even distracted by the silence at the library.

Kenneth gave a really good quote about how reading develops the imagination.  Desmond Kon also gave a good  quote about the how he thinks technology has fostered the social aspects of reading.

Let me just say, I read in print and online and I'm still as unsociable as ever. I think most people who know me on any level would agree.

Now back to the topic of reading,  I'm about to start reading The Collected Works of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. And from everything I've heard I'm really looking forward to it, though I'm sure I'll be facing a lot of distractions so I'm sure it'll take me a long time to read it.




Still on the topic of books, Kenneth and Celine, my frequent travelmates to the London Book Fair are now at the Frankfurt Book Fair as are my agents Jay, Helen and Andrea from Jacaranda Literary, Linda Lingard, and Edmund Wee, my publisher AKA Mr. Epigram Books.  I hope you guys have a fruitful time at the fair and I wish I were there too.

I'm really, really jealous. The last time I was in Germany was when I was four and my clearest memories of that visit were throwing up and catching the measles.

Thanks to Epigram and Ken for sharing the photos they took of the Singapore Pavilion. See if you can spot my books! Till laters, people.