PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM Kyung-Sook Shin A perfect gift for Mother’s Day, this Man Asian Literary Prize-winning novel is a heart-rending exploration of what it means to be a mother. When a 69-year-old woman disappears at a Seoul subway station, her family launches a frantic search for her, and discovers secrets that reveal different sides to READ the woman they call ‘mom’.
OF THE MONTH!
THE HOLMES AFFAIR Graham Moore While tracking down the murderer of a leading Doylean scholar in New York, literary researcher and Sherlock Holmes mystery buff, Harold White stumbles upon the mystery of Doyle’s missing diary and a secret Sir Arthur Conan Doyle concealed 100 years earlier.
WISDOM FROM LAUGHTER Oh Teik Bin & Lee Kiang Wui A compilation of 500 amusing anecdotes and jokes that offer life lessons revolving around kindness, compassion, understanding, as well as opening up the mind to different possibilities.
Catherine Ryan Hyde’s famous novel, Pay It Forward is about a boy who ignites a social movement using good deeds. This novel later inspired the formation of the Pay It Forward Foundation, and was adapted for fi lm. Here, she talks about her many inspirations. INSPIRATION BEHIND ‘PAY IT FORWARD’ Decades ago, two strangers came to my aid when the engine of my car was on fire in a dangerous neighbourhood. They smothered the fire with a blanket and took off before I could even thank them. So, I began stopping for stranded motorists, since I could never repay their kindness.
SEEING BEAUTY Everything is a coin with two sides. The world is as beautiful as it is horrible. I’m not delusional. I see the world for what it is, but I choose to focus on the good. The more we look for good, the better we feel about the world, and the more that good expands and fills our experience. This is the one true choice we have in life: Where to place our attention.
MY PICK-ME-UP
SANDRA BARDAS: MINI BOOK #21
I always post a ‘Daily Gratitude’ on my social networking sites. Good day or bad, I find something I’m grateful for. One day when I was worried about money, I ran into a local homeless man who put a positive spin on life, saying, “I live outdoors.” Money woes are quite relative. I’m not living in a tent with holes as the rainy season approaches. I felt grateful, and it readjusted my thinking.
Sandra Bardas
INSPIRATIONS, INFLUENCES & FAVOURITES
From the Macmillan Mini-Art Series comes a striking collection of photographs showcasing incredible graffiti and stencil art by anonymous artists in Australia and around the world.
When I was a child, there was Dr. Seuss. As I got older, I read a lot of Daniel Keyes, Ken Kesey and Kurt Vonnegut. A good example of influence would be John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. That’s when I knew I wanted to champion the character who tends to be short on champions. My favourite young adult book is probably The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The one thing I insist on is emotional honesty. I’m not big on existential angst; I like characters who understand what really matters in life, at least from my point of view.
INSIDE APPLE Adam Lashinsky Discover the secret systems, leadership strategies and magical touches Steve Jobs employed to transform Apple into one of the world’s most innovative powerhouses.
IMAGES: ADAM LEE
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TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS
TRAVEL 3SIXTY˚