Saya membesar membaca buku DBP

Sewaktu kecil, ibu bapa saya sering membelikan saya buku-buku cerita terbitan DBP. Saya masih ingat seronoknya dibawa mengunjungi pesta buku. Saya tak pasti pesta buku yang saya maksudkan itu hanya pesta buku DBP atau pesta buku antarabangsa seperti yang kita maklum hari ini. Barangkali hanya DBP, saya tidak ingat penerbit lain waktu itu.

Sayang, DBP sekarang sudah kurang menerbitkan buku kanak-kanak dan remaja. Atau sebenarnya ada, tapi kurang publisiti? DBP telah menyerahkan hak mencetak dan mengedarkan buku-buku terbitannya kepada Dawama pada tahun 2002 untuk kontrak selama 12 tahun. Khabarnya ramai pihak yang tidak berpuashati dengan prestasi Dawama. Secara peribadi, saya tidak tahu buku-buku apa yang diterbitkan DBP, dan buku-buku DBP juga sukar dicari. Mujur ada pembelian online menerusi laman Dawama. Saya baru terjumpa laman ini dan masih belum cuba membeli. Kalian ada yang sudah membeli menerusi laman Dawama?

Hujung minggu lepas, saya mengambil gambar beberapa buku-buku DBP lama. Sayang, saya tidak berjumpa dengan koleksi Tidurlah Intan, ada berbelas juga siri itu. Waktu itu, harga buku yang mukasuratnya sekitar 100 halaman cuma sekitar tiga empat ringgit sahaja! Hari ini, 20-25 tahun kemudian, harga buku seumpama ini sudah naik tiga empat kali ganda, belasan ringgit kebiasaannya. Berapa agaknya harga buku yang perlu dibayar oleh anak-anak kita untuk cucu-cucu kita, ya?





Saya senaraikan (tidak mengikut aturan gambar) judul buku, nama pengarang, tahun diterbitkan dan harga (dicetak di mukasurat dalam). Waktu itu, simbol $ masih digunakan, RM belum diperkenalkan.

-Surat Sarina, Saniah Reduan, 1990, $4
-Tebing Tidak Tinggi, Zailiani Taslim, 1983, $4
-Disket Misteri, Admua M.N., 1991, $6
-Keduduk Pohon Larangan, Agus Salim & Mahaya Mohd Yassin, 1978, $2.80
-Teratai Teratak Desa, W. Zalina Razali, 1995, $7
-Bintang Harapan, Abdul Ahmad, 1982, $3
-Janji Bayan Budiman, Khairuddin Ayip, 1992, $8
-Dongeng Rakyat Dunia V, Yulis Haji Alwi, 1992, $4.50
-Anak Seorang General (Antologi Cerpen), 1987, $4
-Diana, Jamilah Alias, 1990, $4.50
-Fadhila, Othman Puteh, 1980, $3
-Misteri Pulau Hantu, Arifin Ngah, 1982, $3

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A rare treat for this bookaholic

The queue was long, I thought as I looked at the piece of paper with my queue number. The self-service machines KIPPAS were down that day because they were doing some work to addmore units.

So I left the immigration office for the bank. Afterall, I needed to withdraw some cash to pay for the passport application. I didn't wait long before it was my turn. The officer looked at my forms and said, "Eh, ini kena ambil nombor lain. Sistem dia takde kat sini. Maaf ye dik." He looked apologetic. "Takpe, I'm not in a rush," I said with a smile. I went to the ticket machine.

After my business was settled, I decided to have an early lunch first. Afterall, there were 70 people in front of me in the passport application queue. I estimated that I should be there after 70 minutes, allotting 1 minute per application, given the number of counters pocessing.

I was wrong. 60 minutes after I had taken my queue number, I came back to see that I had missed by 15 people. I guess I had underestimated the efficiency of the team and their system.

I went to queue number counter again and told the officer there my story. Perhaps it's okay to approach the next available counter. "Maaf kak, kena ambil nombor balik," she said instead. "Ok, takpe." And I honestly meant it.

Why? Because I came prepared with a book.

I sat down and continued where I left off. It was a rare treat for me. To be able to really plunge into a book, without the need to do something else. I don't remember when was the last time I was able to do this. I'm applying for my passport for a business trip, so I didn't need to take the day off. I had already informed my boss, and there was no looming deadline or meeting. I did consider whether it was appropriate to use 'company's time' to read a novel, but I could hardly open my laptop there to do any work offline, could I?

I felt slightly annoyed when my number appeared for the final process which was the payment. It meant my time is up, and there's only 40 pages left! And the story plot was at its climax! But I consoled myself in thinking, I'd have the time to finish the book the next day, when I come back to pick up the passport. At least now I know I can finish a 280-pages book in a solid two hours.

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Jualan Gudang Buku PTS - 29 Mei 2010

Dipetik daripada blog Ummu Auni Afif, terima kasih.

From: Nazrul Samsudin
Date: 2010/5/24
Subject: Jualan Gudang Buku PTS - 29 Mei 2010

Assalamualaikum dan selamat sejahtera.

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

Terima kasih kerana membuka dan membaca e-mel ini. PTS doakan tuan dan puan sihat di samping keluarga tercinta.

Sukacita dimaklumkan, buat julung-julung kalinya, PTS Publications & Distributors Sdn. Bhd. (PTS), penerbit buku umum pelbagai kategori dalam bahasa Melayu no. 1 Malaysia akan mengadakan jualan gudang buku-buku PTS sebagaimana berikut:

Tarikh: 29 Mei 2010 (Sabtu)
Masa: 10.00 pagi - 6.00 petang
Tempat:

PTS Publications & Distributors Sdn. Bhd.,
No. 12, Jalan DBP, Dolomite Business Park,
68100 Batu Caves, Selangor

(Berhampiran Pos Laju dan Bangi Kopitiam, Batu Caves)

Klik di sini bagi melihat lokasi PTS: http://pts.com.my/index.php/contact/


Pelbagai buku terbitan PTS akan dipamer dan dijual pada hari itu. Antaranya novel remaja, kanak-kanak, novel dewasa, novel sejarah islam, bisnes, bantu diri, resepi, pendidikan, keibubapaan, islam, kamus, kesihatan, dan banyak lagi.

PTS memberikan diskaun istimewa kepada pembeli sempena jualan gudang ini. Diskaun standard bagi semua buku PTS ialah 25 peratus manakala beberapa judul buku terpilih akan diberikan diskaun sehingga 50 peratus. Jualan dalam bentuk tunai sahaja. Bayaran menggunakan VISA dan Mastercard turut diterima.

Jadi, kepada peminat-peminat buku PTS, jangan lepaskan peluang memborong buku-buku PTS pada harga diskaun sempena Jualan Gudang Buku PTS ini.

PTS turut menjual pelbagai barang merchandise PTS yang cantik dan menarik seperti buku nota, button badge, baju-t muslimah, file folder, mug, baju-t, dan banyak lagi.

Besarlah harapan kami sekiranya tuan dan puan dapat forward e-mel ini kepada rakan-rakan dan saudara-mara yang turut meminati buku-buku PTS.

Kita jumpa di gudang buku PTS nanti. Terima kasih.

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JL Bunch Cafe's Giveaway

Pertama kali nak mencuba nasib masuk giveaway. Maklumlah, hadiahnya buku - jadi mesti cuba. Walaupun agak last minute - tinggal 2 jam giveaway akan ditutup! Giveaway ini dianjurkan oleh Ummu Mishkah - she's a librarian. Tadi sempat berangan jadi librarian kejap hehe..

Dia anjurkan giveaway ni sempena Hari Buku Sedunia bulan lepas.



Slogan: Saya suka membaca kerana di dunia buku, kembara saya selaut ilmu, seluas pengalaman, sealam faham, dan seindah rasa.

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Diversified reading?

KNV, I’m replying to your comment as a post by itself :) In my previous post, she remarked that I’m diversified (my reading, I presume she meant).

Someone who knows me personally would be surprised to know that my favourite genre is crime (or whodunit, as mentioned in previous post) thriller. I don’t like murders to happen in real life, really, just in fiction. What I found interesting about crime thrillers are not in the gory details of the murder itself, but by the puzzle presented – who did it? And how? And why? I try to guess as I read along, but sometimes I just follow the story. But to tell you the truth, I prefer a simple story – where the murder motives are simply money, love or revenge. (Oh, the glory of Agatha Christies’ stories.) Pyschologically-motivated murders somehow is too ‘complicated’ for me.

Aside from crime thrillers, I also enjoy other types of thrillers, science (like Michael Crichton), medical (like Robin Cook), Dan Brown, adventures. But not really legal (like John Grisham), war or politics. I like Jeffrey Archer, though I’m not sure what his genre is called.

I also like drama, people and romance (not necessarily love story – think Jodi Picoult or Paolo Coelho or Habiburrahman El-Shirazy or Bedar Sukma Bisu by Faisal Tehrani or The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger). What’s this genre called anyway? Occasionally, I go for chick flicks or something light, for when I just want to unwind and not think. I used to read love stories (like Judith McNought) and historical romance back in secondary school days, but I think I’ve grown past that stage now.

Thirdly, I read science fiction and fantasy fiction, too, though this is more MH’s alley. But no horror fiction for me please (or horror movie, for that matter heh).

Those are fiction. For non-fiction, I like to read essays (various topics, general interest/knowledge), self-motivations or personal development, and books on Islam.

What about you? What’s your favourite genre?

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Inspector Singh by Shamini Flint

OK, I'll start by declaring - one of my favourite fiction genre is whodunits. A whodunit or whodunnit (for "Who done it?") is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final pages of the book. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric amateur or semi-professional detective. From Wikipedia.

My favourite author for this genre is Agatha Christie, surprise surprise. This Inspector Singh series written Shamini Flint belongs to this genre. I’ve been curious and eager to read this book since I heard about it last year. I’ve just finished reading the first book, A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder, thanks to a friend’s friend who generously lent it to me. My verdict – good! Here’s the blurb:

Inspector Singh is in a bad mood. He’s been sent from his home in Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to solve a murder that has him stumped. Chelsea Liew - the famous Singaporean model - is on death row for the murder of her ex-husband. She swears she didn’t do it, he thinks she didn’t do it, but no matter how hard he tries to get to the bottom of things, he still arrives back at the same place - that Chelsea’s husband was shot at point blank range, and that Chelsea had the best motivation to pull the trigger: he was taking her kids away from her. Now Inspector Singh must pull out all the stops to crack a crime that could potentially free a beautiful and innocent woman and reunite a mother with her children. There’s just one problem - the Malaysian police refuse to play ball?

Image source

The fact that the book is using a local scene works two ways. It’s interesting in the sense that many things mentioned in the book are familiar or something I can relate to. But at the same time, I could get defensive as well, on the nation and religion pride. In the book A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder for example, the man who whose murder was being investigated, was in the middle of a custody battle with his divorced wife. In a (supposed legal) twist, he was presented in the court to have converted to Islam, and the wife claims that the conversion is not genuine, just a plot to win the custody. The religion card can be a bit sensitive naturally, but I try to keep an open mind. And to be honest, I do feel that the author was fair when writing about Malaysia and its laws and enforcement.

I think the story is convincing and believable, and the author has managed to insert light moments and humour that created an entertaining read. In short, I’ve enjoyed reading it and I look forward to reading the next books in the series: A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul and The Singapore School of Villainy. I wonder where the next book will take place in?

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And there goes my two months book budget

My friend A agreed to join me for the Times book sale last Friday despite the fact that she already planned to go there during the weekend. Thanks for the company, A, and thanks for the lunch treat too! :)

Overall, I think it’s a sale worth going to. Recent and popular books were sold at 30% discount. You can find most popular authors here for example Paolo Coelho, Jodi Picoult, Cecilia Ahern, Sophie Kinsella, John Grisham, Dan Brown (even his latest book The Lost Symbol is going at 30%), Stephen King, the teenage vampire series – Stephanie Mayers I think (don’t really follow or read this hehe), and many many more. Not much BM books though. These are found nearer the entrance. Farther, you see the 3 for RM30, RM20 orRM10 ones, but the books here are more difficult to ‘sieve’ through, placed with the spine facing up rather than the cover. With the limited time, I didn’t manage to scour the area much.


One thing, I noted the posters there said that the sale is actually until the 16th of May instead of the 9th (as per poster in my previous post),but unfortunately I forgot to take the photo of the updated posters itself! So, there’s still time if you want to catch this sale.

I ended up buying 5 books for myself and MH (ok, maybe for myself only) and 2 for the kids (also at 30%). These 7 books costed me RM160. I said it’s my two months book budget because my annual book budget is RM1000, not that much eh? The total price before discount exceeded RM200, so I qualified for a RM10 voucher.



I’ve read Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist and I really liked it, so I was pleased to see his other titles there. In fact, I couldn’t make up my mind which one to choose from the many options! I chose ‘The Winner Stands Alone’ because I’ve read someone’s review (can’t remember where/who) saying he/she likes the book. And Malcolm Gladwell, I surprised myself by picking up TWO of his books, despite the fact that I’ve never read any of his works before. I have heard a lot about him and his books though. I guess the copywriters who wrote the book blurbs really did a good job - I’m sold!

And these books, weren’t bought, but borrowed from a friend’s friend (passed through A). Thanks, kak, for lending me the books despite the fact that you don’t know me well. Terima kasih daun keladi!

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Mega Book Clearance Fair

I have a date tomorrow with a fellow bookaholic at Book Xcess, Amcorp Mall. I’ve been wanting to go since they open their new and bigger store in March. But then, the store can wait, and this Times sale is only up to the 9th, and the number 90% is really tempting me… I think I’ll give her a call to ask whether she'd mind a change in venue :)

If you haven't got any plan for the weekend, why not drop by at Bangsar Shopping Centre? Other than the Times booksale, there will also be a charity bazaar (on May 8 and 9, 10am to 5pm) organised by VIVA Palestina Malaysia in aid of the Palestinians.

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Fantasy fiction

Image source

I have just finished reading the book Dark Alchemy, which is a compilation of 18 short stories on the theme of magic and wizardry. I’m not the biggest fan of fantasy fiction, it’s more MH’s favourite genre rather than mine, in fact I had bought the book for him. But there are a quite a few of the stories that I had really enjoyed! (There’s also a few that I don’t quite ‘get’.)

Somehow I found myself assessing how I generally accept fantasy fiction written in English compared to the ones in BM. I think there is some sort of mental or cultural ‘block’ if I read a BM fantasy fiction, especially if the story uses Malaysia as the backdrop. My mind would be quick to think – nah, this is so unconvincing or illogical. But if it’s a story written in English and in some far far away places, I somehow don’t ‘judge’ the stories because I have no expectations and knowledge and they are all so distant.

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