He's just not that into you by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo

The No Excuses to Understanding Guys

He's Just Not That Into You is not a guide to dating. Aimed at women of a certain class and lifestyle and filling a slim 165 pages, the book serves merely as a calling card for its authors, five-years-out-of-the-dating-pool Sex and the City consultant Greg Behrendt and 41-years-old-and-single SatC executive story editor Liz Tuccillo. Presumably their participation in the creation of that callow and over-praised HBO television series is what qualifies Greg and Liz (the book always refers to its authors by their first names) to offer relationship guidelines: the book is titled after an episode of the show, and the design of the book is engineered to reinforce that connection.


The first eleven out of sixteen chapters have titles that begin with the phrase "He's Just Not That Into You If" and end with putative sins such as "He's Not Calling You," "He's Not Having Sex With You," "He's Having Sex With Someone Else," and "He Doesn't Want to Marry You." These chapter titles, and the relationship failures they indicate, tend to represent either the blindingly obvious or an intensification of traditional dating and relationship rules, often both at the same time. The book is addressed to urbane, heterosexual women looking for marriage. It's not exactly an under-served market, but it is only slightly narrower than the Sex and the City demographic.


Each of these chapter contains a brief description of the problem from Greg; two or three advice-column style questions from women, which Greg answers; a paragraph or two under the heading "It's so simple," which reinforces the chapter title; "Here's Why This One Is Hard," wherein Liz empathizes with reluctant readers and whines ad nauseum about how difficult her romantic life is; "This is What It Should Look Like," which discusses how an ideal situation would appear by contrast; and "Greg, I Get It," credited to one woman or another who finds the advice liberating. Three items end each chapter: "If You Don't Believe Greg," which always has '20 out of 20' or '100% of polled men' giving advice that stands by the chapter's rule; a redundant "What You Should Have Learned in This Chapter" summary; and a trivial but occasionally giggle-worthy "Workbook" section.

You pay: S$12
You get back: S$6
Status: Available

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan

The Bonesetter's Daughter tells the intertwined stories of a mother-daughter pair. Ruth Young, a middle-aged Chinese-American, has trouble relating to her elderly China-born mother, LuLing Young. LuLing is suffering from memory loss: a symptom of dementia, or Alzheimer's, perhaps.

But when LuLing tells Ruth the story of her past, Ruth finds the power to understand and forgive her mother. LuLing recalls her life in the village called Immortal Heart, brought up by her Precious Auntie, more than a nursemaid to her. Precious Auntie, the daughter of a famous bonesetter, found herself plagued by misfortune and ghosts from the past. LuLing fears the effect of such bad luck will filter down through many generations. This was why Ruth's mother burdened her with insecurities and paranoia all through her childhood.

Once again, Amy Tan plumbs her fascination with the supernatural, while capturing the idiosyncratic dynamics within a Chinese family. All the same, Tan affirms the role of the mother in preserving the continuity of tradition. "A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin."


You pay: S$10
You get back : S$4
Status: Available

Local Delights - Neil Humphreys

* Notes from an Even Smaller Island

From the aunties in the hawker centres to expats dressed as bananas, from Singlish to kiasuism, and from Singaporeans at home to Singaporeans abroad, Humphreys explores all aspects of Singaporean life, taking in the sights, dissecting the culture and illuminating each place and person with his perceptive and witty observations.


Written by someone who is at once both insider and outsider, the book is wonderfully funny and disarmingly honest portrait of Singapore and its people.

** Scribbles From the Same Island
Singapore’s most famous Toa Payoh HDB flat-dwelling ang moh, Neil Humphreys is back with more Scribbles from the Same Island. He is not rich, doesn’t own a condo, and doesn’t have many expat privileges, but nonetheless manages to remain the same funny bloke happily living in the heartlands of Toa Payoh.

One year after his best-selling, Notes From An Even Smaller Island had the whole of Singapore laughing helplessly, Neil Humphreys is still madly in love with his humble but stimulating existence on the sunny island of Singapore.

So much, in fact, that he now makes a living poking gentle fun at every oddball aspect of Singaporean life. Expect to find more of his take on SPG, sex, doctors, toilets, farecards ...... all seemingly innocuous subjects but made hilarious through his witty observations.

Nothing is safe from Neil’s humorous scrutiny. Not even the unsuspecting creatures at the zoo, and certainly not the bawdy nightlife at Geylang.

Scribbles From The Same Island is a collection of Neil Humphreys’ columns that were first published in WEEKEND TODAY on life in Singapore. Also included are several short stories specially written for this book. The 38 pieces of writing take a humorous look at how a foreigner adapts and copes with life in the lion city as well as the regular Singaporean’s reaction to his behaviour.

*** Final Notes from a Great Island
The country’s best-selling author and popular columnist is back. After a decade in Singapore, Neil Humphreys has decide to move on to the land Down Under because he really wanted to spend time living among the world’s most poisonous snakes and roo poo.

But the British writer didn’t want to leave the island he fell in love with 10 years ago without taking one final, kaypoh look around the place. Embarking on a farewell tour from his Toa Payoh home, Humphreys vowed to explore Singapore as he did when he first arrived, on foot and unaware, taking in his favourite places, the ulu haunts, the green spots, the clean parts and the dirty bits; the nation’s underbelly and its belly dancers.

From Sentosa to Sembawang, Choa Chu Kang to Changi, St John’s Island to Johor (he got a bit carried away), Humphreys treks, cycles and even hitchhikes his way across this great island, encountering murderous dogs, dead cats, wild crocodiles, mad cyclists, terrifying transvestites, persistent prostitutes and half-naked ice cream vendors.

Humphreys’ unique tours take in the glorious countryside of Lim Chu Kang, the serene beaches of Kusu Island, the history of Changi, the pristine public toilets of Raffles Hotel and the mating couples of Mount Faber to prove, once and for all, that there is so much more to Singapore than shopping malls.

Honest, insightful and funny, Final Notes From a Great Island is a warm, uplifting tribute to Singapore and every Singaporean (and tourist, employment pass holder and permanent resident for that matter) should read it.

Visit http://www.neilhumphreys.net/books.html

You pay $12 (per book)
You get back $6

NDP Promo Special

Celebrating the Singapore Spirit...

It's our nation's celebration month as we anticipate for the 43rd birthday of our little red dot.

Introducing the NDP promo, rent 1 book, and rent the next book at 50% off!!!
The promo is valid for the whole month of August.

Let's celebrate the month and read up!!!

Gods Behaving Badly

From Marie Phillips, hailed by the Guardian Unlimited website as a “hot author” destined to “break through” in 2007, comes a highly entertaining novel set in North London, where the Greek gods have been living in obscurity since the seventeenth century.

Being immortal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Life’s hard for a Greek god in the twenty-first century: nobody believes in you any more, even your own family doesn’t respect you, and you’re stuck in a dilapidated hovel in North London with too many siblings and not enough hot water. But for Artemis (goddess of hunting, professional dog walker), Aphrodite (goddess of beauty, telephone sex operator) and Apollo (god of the sun, TV psychic) there’s no way out… until a meek cleaner and her would-be boyfriend come into their lives and turn the world upside down.

Gods Behaving Badly is that rare thing, a charming, funny, utterly original novel that satisfies the head and the heart.

You pay: $15
You get back: $9
Status: Available

Then We Came To The End By Joshua Ferris

This wickedly funny, big-hearted novel about life in the office signals the arrival of a gloriously talented new writer.

The characters in Then We Came To The End cope with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, secret romance, elaborate pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks. By day they compete for the best office furniture left behind and try to make sense of the mysterious pro-bono ad campaign that is their only remaining "work."

Visit the website http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/features/twctte/twctte_022307/index.html for more details about the book.

You pay : $14
You get back: $8