Heavily booked

If Kinokuniya Books on Orchard Road in Singapore were the sole indicator of print’s future, then the paperback book appears to be in rude health. Our casual mid week browse amongst hundreds of shoppers, had a palpable buzz of activity. A queue on the way to check out ran 30 deep, and many cradled several titles each. Stacks of books were imaginatively curated, and bookworms hovered about the freshly pressed sections.
Our visit here two months ago was met with the same scene. With a suitable e-book model yet to be delivered to tech-savvy Singaporeans, it’s ‘long live the book’ … for now.

Humble Beginnings

Beginnings are an interesting place to be. The journey, the evolution, the lessons ahead. It’s an exciting time stepping out that front door, not knowing where twists and turns may lead.

Hindsight has its charms too. Ideas in their first flowering can display a raw vision, or a seed concealing bigger plans within. Who would have thought that the 1950s Charlie Brown, looking all at sea in a zig zag knit could take his innocent shtick, along with a rag-tag gang of little folk and become world beaters for decades to follow. He endured subtle makeovers, and later appeared as a more upbeat rendering of his downbeat self.

Looking back at Lauren Child’s I Want a Pet (1999), we now see a leggy, scribbly protagonist trying to release her inner Lola – the party girl to the pre-school set. The first Charlie and Lola book arrived a mere twelve months after I Want a Pet, the rest is history.

And here we are, at the first Baker Smith Small Talk post. Not a Charlie between us. Are we world beaters, or just a couple of innocents all at sea? Who knows? I sure don’t. There are twists and turns ahead though … you coming?
rs