• (Im)politeness

    Scene 1 A restaurant. Leeds. J: Can we see the wine list, please? Waitress: Yes, you may. Scene 2 A second-hand bookstore. Central London. Shopkeeper (to me): How may I help you, honey? J: She’s with me. Shopkeeper: Oh I…

  • Jeanette Winterson writes about Italo Calvino’s "The Night Driver"

    In today’s Guardian, twelve writers write about their favourite short stories. Jeanette Winterson pens a beautiful description of Italo Calvino’s “The Night Driver” (from his 1967 collection t zero). I couldn’t find a link to it so I’m typing it…

  • Who was the first Cinderella?

    In her hugely enjoyable book, From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers (first published in 1994 — mine is the Vintage’s 1995 version) the mythographer, novelist and historian Marina Warner answers: The earliest extant version of ‘Cinderella’ to…

  • Today, an empty chair

    ––Read Liu’s “from “Experiencing Death””.––

  • The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising

    SEE MORE PICTURES HERE. When it comes to collecting, I have nothing on Robert Opie. Opie is an avid collector of consumer products and packaging which are on display at The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in Notting Hill.…

  • Eddie Tay’s Colony, Nation, and Globalisation

    – – From the Hong Kong University Press website: Colony, Nation, and Globalisation: Not at Home in Singaporean and Malaysian Literature by Eddie Tay Description and Author The literature of Malaysia and Singapore, the multicultural epicenter of Asia, offers a rich…

  • Nicolette Wong joins Dark Chaos

    – Nicolette Wong has joined the editorial team of Dark Chaos as Assistant Editor. Visit the publication here. Nicolette Wong’s short stories were published in Issue #1 and Issue #6 of Cha. –

  • Nicolette Wong in Dark Chaos

    – Nicolette Wong’s flash fiction “Mirage” is now featured at Dark Chaos. Read it here. Nicolette Wong’s short stories were published in Issue #1 and Issue #6 of Cha. –

  • "Already you’re flying"

    –This morning in Hong Kong, the receptionist took this between the MK and Hunghom stations: At this point, the receptionist is dreamily flying, –– 

  • From N’gueniene to Dakar

    My friend the graphomaniac bookworm sent me some wonderful pictures and below is one of them. – “This one was taken in Senegal, from inside a taxi, on the road from N’gueniene to Dakar. The colourful, hand-painted vehicle you can…