The Penang Bookshelf's
Hasty Newsletter
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| From The Penang Bookshelf |
Dear Friend
Not A Precedent
Why
the hurry? The last newsletter was only about a month ago. Well...Yes, I
normally am a bit shy about inflicting so much chatter on
those
who bother to read these things. However I can probably invent a bit of
news for you. I've also been kicked to promote a book or two so let's
see how it goes. Also, although you may not realise it, I do pay some
insufferably chirpy individuals in the States good money every month for
the privelege of writing to you. So sit up! I've got to get my money's
worth; every sen, cent and penny of it.
Something Different
I've just finished writing an article about The Penang Bookshelf. Never a difficult task for this
attention
seeker. One bit I couldn't quite fit in was a moan - another one! -
about how easy it is to predict what The Penang Bookshelf's Malaysia
based customers will buy. Everyone buys books about Britain's fumbling
colonial antics in the country. Expatriates also buy books about the
birds and bees (nature and wildlife.) Everyone else also mainly buy
books about their own cultures. So I will be fascinated to see who buys
these mould breaking books by Barbara Ismail, an American, whose
chosen to honour my birthday by turning up in Penang on Thursday, 7th November to
talk about her two detective novels set in Kelantan. Reports from the
recent Singapore Writers' Festival say that she was one of the more
sparky speakers there. The event is organised by Spyral Synergy. If you want to meet her and pig yourself on China House cakes then do quickly book a seat. If you can't make it and want autographed copies of one or both of her novels, please contact me before noon on Thursday. I've also managed to include a bit about the event on
A Bit of a Grind
New
topic. New grumble. One of the really back breaking bits of work
running The Penang Bookshelf is trying to get publishers in Malaysia
and, to a lesser extent, Singapore to first reveal and then actually
release their books. It was a Singapore member of the fraternity that
took top prize last month. First there was the serendipitous discovery
of their existence and some quite interesting titles on 
their inventory. Then, as expected, no other bookseller in the world
who had a website was selling their new stock. Aha! A target! I then
discovered not only could they not offer trade terms, but it was
impossible for someone who did not have a Singapore bank account to buy
any of their titles. A lagardly correspondence ensued and then, as a
result of a third party intervention, the books were couriered to my
doorstep. When I retire from The Penang Bookshelf, I could probably make
more money as a marketing consultant to the publishing industry.
However I doubt if I'd get many offers. Please note. The publishers of Invisible Tears (MYR) are not the publishers to whom I am referring.
Passing the Buck.
Some enjoy reading this newsletter. For most it's probably just too convoluted. Last week I  discovered that I have an excuse - blame it on my ancestors. So convenient. In the UK a biography of my late aunt
has
just been published. While listening to a radio programme about the
book last week, I heard one of the contributors say about my
grandfather, 'He said everything that was important to him in an aside.'
Although I'm on the eve of my 66th birthday, I'm still happily
discovering more about myself
With best wishes and thanks,
William Knox
The Penang Bookshelf
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The
links to book titles are to The Penang Bookshelf's main website where
prices are in US dollars. If you live in Malaysia, you may prefer to
click on the (MYR) link that follows the main link. This second link is
to The Penang Bookshelf's eBay store where prices are in Malaysian
Ringgit.
News Snippets
Flip Flop
Since
The Penang Bookshelf's clientele is split almost equally between those
in and outside Malaysia, it has always been my dearest wish to have
one website where both sets of customers
were
equally comfortable. The search for this nirvana has led me into many
mind chilling chats with geeky gurus from all over the place. The
result was a decision to try to herd each band of customers to two
different sites. Hence Pinang Tree Books
was born. Stillborn might be a more accurate description. Sales from
the site have been almost negligible in nearly a year's existence while
The Penang Bookshelf's other Malaysian ringgit site, its eBay store,
has gone from strength to strength. So Pinang Tree books will fizzle
out and disappear in the next few weeks. In the meantime I'm pulling the
remaining strands of my hair out trying to make eBay a bit more user
friendly.
OK
it's a bit clunky, but I've never played about with HTML before, so
give us a break. The eBay site now breathlessly tries to imitate the
main site with New Arrivals pages and a list of some books that may arrive  on the sites one day. This is a composite version of the monthly new arrivals list on The Penang Bookshelf Blog. Finally the eBay store is now graced with a Bestsellers List that has more of a pop chart format. Yowee! The fastest mover this month has been Images of Penang (MYR)
which is one of the many cases where I have had to eat humble pie. I
couldn't see how another Penang picture book could succeed when it was
first published. The Penang Bookshelf's never sold a copy online, but
they're always molested and spirited away when ever I take them about
town.
Postal Saviour?
The last newsletter
whined on about the Malaysian Post Office's strange meddling with the
overseas postal rates. Of course I should have guessed that vulture
competitors would soon be attempting be
attempting
to transform our post office's excretions into gold. Sure enough our
wily cousins lurking on the peninsula's southern border are amongst the
new movers and shakers in the postal mayhem. The Penang Bookshelf's
fallen for their blandishments and will be sending off its first trial
package to Germany tomorrow using the new carriers. By the time of the
next newsletter, which may be sooner than you think, there could be an
announcement of cuts in postal costs for those having the misfortune
not to live in Malaysia.
Literary Jamboree
Yes. Don't forget Penang has its own literary festival, The George Town Literary Festival. It's back with us again from 29th November to 1st December. Book your bus/plane tickets or get on your bike now! If you can nimbly sidestep
some of the more grating bits of hyperbole on their website you'll see
that it's bigger and better than before with an interesting mix of 
Malaysian and overseas writers. It really has been quite an acievement
for the organisers. I think it's only in its third or fourth year and
no mean feat. Bear in mind that the more glitzy Galle Literary Festival
in Sri Lanka now seems to be stuck in the mire.
.
The Penang Bookshelf will be there for a third year - just. Because of
the presence of a mega bookseller or two this year, we've been asked to
bring along only 'rare' books. A licence to print money, maybe. Since
probably around 30% of The Penang Bookshelf's in print books are not
carried by any other major bookseller in Malaysia, assembling a decent
bundle of the new, old and absolutely impossible to find elsewhere
shouldn't be all that difficult.
Padding (Like the rest of the Newsletter, surely?) For
those of you who are keen on self-improvement, but put off by the
lovey-dovey slurp that glues together all festivals, The Oscars, the
Olympics etc, Just take a read of this. Good literature not only improves the mind, but helps you gain and keep friends. Hmmm... The
sermon continues...If you're a bit wary about Chekov, you could try
something like crime (already plugged) or romantic/historical fiction
(just about to be plugged). For Christmas or for any time that you feel
like a splurge, The Penang Bookshelf will soon be stocking a boxed set
of Dawn Farnham's complete Straits Quartet As a footnote I'll grudgingly mention that my deadly rival in the Malaysian bookselling business, John Nicholson of Popular Picture History Resources,is having his annual book sale at the Badan Warisan in Kuala Lumpur until the 15th of November. I'm too lazy to go, but you don't have to follow my example. I
suppose one way to get out and about a bit would be to find a capacious
vehicle and move about with a few of my books. looking at these photos has fiven me a few ideas
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About The Penang Bookshelf
Category Pages - Asian Fiction, Asian History, Asian Religions, Borneo Chinese Ceramics Malaysian Architecture Malaysian Agriculture Malaysian Arts and Culture Malaysia: Cartoons, Malaysian Chinese Community Malaysian Cooking and Food Malaysia: Colonial Biography, Malaysia: Modern Biography, Malaysia - Fiction Malaysia: Journalism， Malaysia: Language & Linguistics, Malaysia: Literature, Malaysia: Malay Community Malaysia & Singapore: 19th Century History, Malaysia: Post-Independence History, Malaysia: Miscellaneous, Malaysian Nature and Wildlife Orang Asli (Indigenous People) Malaysian Poetry Malaysian Politics Malaysia: Religion Malaysia & Singapore: World War II Perak Singapore: Anthropology & Sociology Singapore Fiction
Email: penangbookshelf@gmail.com
Telephone: +60-12-972-6485
Business Address: Aquarius, 4-8-8 Jalan Low Yat,
Batu Ferringhi, 11100, Penang. (The Penang Bookshelf's entire inventory
is available for browsing. Please call to fix an appointment.)
Mailing Address: 36, Cheeseman Road, 11600 Penang, Malaysia
Registered Business No: PG0282219-D
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