30 31 32 are set in my country

30, 31 & 32. Resident Tourist Part 1 to 3, Troy Chin (own, graphic novels, reread)

There was going to be a long essay on this but I couldn't be arsed to do it. Regardless of my laziness, Resident Tourist is an absolutely lovely graphic novel about a man who returns home to do comics. The comic follows Troy as he realises that the home he came back for has evidently changed. He has became a tourist in his own country.

Resident Tourist is an autobiography. Troy Chin draws the events in his daily life into the graphic novel. Practices such as 'seat choping' are depicted in humorous - totally true - way. Most important is the underlying message of fulfilling your dream. I do believe that Troy is one of the luckier people who, in this country obsessed with success, is doing precisely that. Perhaps that is why I identified so much with Resident Tourist.

If you are looking for beautiful art style, you will be disappointed. The art style is simple and clean and works well for this comic.

Okay. I can't write more. You can read it online at Troy's website.

Resident Tourist can also be bought at Kinokuniya, Ani-Play and G&B comics.

30 / 100 books. 30% done!

29 sees so many butterflies

29. i see so many butterflies, chin yew (own, alternative/indie comic)

As with Jack Doe, the black and white cover, which looks as though a child has its happy way with a black crayon, pulled me in from a distance; I was walking to another booth at STGCC when I chanced upon it. A closer look reveals that it is not mere scribbles but butterflies drawn haphazardly all over.


i see so many butterflies is not the typical action hero/ninja/deathgods/superhero shit that you normally see. The plot centres on a writer, Eron, who has a writer's block. Eron sees butterflies everywhere. He also has strange dreams of an insect-like creature wearing a sweater with the number 4, requesting him to write down what he sees. Meanwhile, he struggles to pen anything down and struggles to extract the most value of his remaining money. Things becomes worse as the day goes on, eventually reaching to a point where he snaps and gives in.

I did not like the comic on my first reading. However, in the subsequent readings, it has endeared me to liken it better; although the little bits of sequel may have played a part in it. To me, the insect-like creature is the uglier side of Eron, representing death - 4 is known for its connotation to death in the Chinese culture - while the butterfly represents life and destiny. If he follows the butterflies, he can change to something else. Not himself now, but not the ugly creature obsessed with the death (can't write more or I will spoil the plot) either. If he follows what the creature says, he can break through his writer's block and possibly make it big. However, he will also give up his ideals. Do I sense some criticism on mainstream shows?


The art style changes throughout the book. I particularly like the parts where he uses the brush like style (what do you call that?) to emphasise on Eron's tension. i see so many butterflies reminds me of a storyboard - I suck at those - probably because Chin Yew does films. The story is shown in pictures with limited speech and allows the parts with conversations to be more poignant.

i see so many butterflies is not all positive. At S$25, it is expensive, especially when the paper quality is not quite fantastic. That, is not the worst. I left it on my sofa (please don't keep it near anything that is leather) for a night and discovered that the black butterflies have transferred some parts of themselves over. The lovely cover is not so lovely after all. It is going to be a pain in the arse to get rid of the black marks on my red sofa.

I am uncertain where i see so many butterflies can be purchased. Please contact the creator if you wish to buy.

May update this post with more photos on another day. Never happening.

29 / 100 books. 29% done!

Graphic Novel? Comic? Here's 28!

28. Jack Doe: Anonymous, Shawn Yap et al (own, graphic novels)


Jack Doe: Anonymous is the collaborative work of Shawn Yap (main writer & artist), Gabriel Chua and Xander Lee. It was part of the monthly - and expensive - local comic magazine Mugen and had finished its run some months ago. Normally I wouldn't buy English graphic novels/comics but I wanted to support my country's struggling artists. When I saw Chuangyi's booth at STGCC '09 last month, based on the very superficial factor of the cover (I blame Hotel Dusk), I purchased Jack Doe: Anonymous over Hu Jingxuan's Lament.



The comic is about a detective who has no identity. He comes from a family of detectives who gives up their names and takes up Jack Doe's to solve crimes. The current Jack Doe is also the last in his family. Everyone else has been murdered. When a good friend dies, he is dragged into a conspiracy and he will need to act fast before he is the next to die.


Sound interesting? Good for you. I thought so until I hit the plot twist. I bought it because I was attracted to the film noir feel of the cover, and expected a detective mystery. Instead, what I read is something else involving supervillains - thankfully no superhero, unless you count Jack Doe - and the strange plot twist.


The plot twist works but it's such a waste! It could be much better. I wished it is a genuine mystery rather than the surprise that spring out near the end. The background which the comic is set in is boring. Supervillains creating monsters and yadada with more villains plotting to take over the city. I am more interested in The Pattern and how it works. The use of the cards seemed to be limited to some circumstances. A murder, perhaps?



Since the team is limited to 6 chapters, it must be hard to develop the characters. Most of the characters, including the villian-who-wants-to-take-over, are rather flat and dull. Is there any other motive for Judas Black? Most of the characters just flash and disappear. Maybe the comic might be better if there is another volume to flesh out the characters more. For instance, the females in this comic are so decorative. Cassie, the love interest of Jack, is (sort of) fine. However, I can't even get much of a feel for Rene who looks like a clone of Cassie.

I am also irked that the murder of Jack's family is never explained. Who is the mole? Or is Shawn Yap planning to explore this further in a second volume? There are also parts where I feel that the story gets a bit confusing, especially in the ending.

There's potential in this comic (the concept and art style!) but it could have been so much better. It's definitely a good piece of work and I expect good things from Shawn Yap in the future.

Jack Doe: Anonymous is sold at most major bookstores at $8.50. Please support our local talents!

28 / 100 books. 28% done!

Prepare for Bad Haiku

I wrote some vague sentences that might be haiku on twitter.

Pain struck through the leg,
nothing left but to watch them,
running pass ahead.

Soft buzz of the wings,
a bee flew past a flower,
attacking a man.

Rows after rows of
humans stood in attention,
awaiting their deaths.

Chaos wreck the mind,
But composing this haiku,
A sense of peace comes.

1. marathon running. cramp hurts.
2.thought of this when I was in the loo. strange how I get ideas when I'm in there.
3.inspired by this picture.
4.the word chaos accurately sums up my mind.

26 and 27 are vastly different

26. Deerskin, Robin McKinley (own)
Deeply frustrated by the absence of this book on NLB's shelf, I gave in to temptation and ordered this book last month online. It arrived - fortunately! - in one piece when my mother found the post(wo)man trying to stuff the package into the letterbox after she grew tired of knocking the door of an empty apartment.


Sadly, the book is not as good as I imagined it is. This is partially my fault. I have worked myself into a frenzy while waiting for the arrival of the book and may have elevated the book to a higher position than where I should have.

Based loosely on Donkeyskin, Deerskin is about a neglected princess, Lissar, who resembles her beautiful late mother. Her appearance leads to a tragedy and she eventually has to escape to survive. I can't write more or I'll spoil the plot (unless you have heard of Donkeyskin). The summary above accounts for the Part 1 of the book. Part 2 involves the magic that McKinley writes often. While it does not take away the tragedy of what happen in part 1, it feels like a ~*magical*~ solution for Lissar. I understand that it is probably extremely difficult for the plot to progress if the magic does not occur at that point - Lissar is too fragile and too isolated to face reality - but I feel so disappointed.

It does not help that parts of the book is dull and repetitive. McKinley always has a habit of writing in long descriptive proses but here, it bogs down the novel. There is far too much unnecessary details that reduce the enjoyment of read Deerskin. I find myself skimming past the words at times because the pace is too slow!

Despite this, Deerskin is a relatively good novel that deals with Lissar's trauma in a realistic manner. If you are a fan of McKinley's, this may not be a book that you expect from her. It explores darker themes from what she normally writes. Non-fans can read the book but it is not her best.

27. The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis (own)
To be honest I didn't even know that C.S Lewis write other books apart from Narnia. I only knew that after my sister informed me one fine day that she wanted this book for her birthday. That was 3 years ago.

I finally bought and read the book at the Borders this month. It isn't as bad as mere Christianity - which till now I have yet to complete - and it helps that I have seen a rather humorous satire take on politics, written in similar format as Screwtape Letters. No doubt that blog was inspired by C.S Lewis.

I am actually agnostic - which is pretty strange if you consider my family's background but that's another story - and thus I have some friends wondering why I have been reading books about Christianity. Despite it's unconventional writing style, The Screwtape Letters is ultimately about Christianity and works of evil from the devil(?). It reveals to me, insights on Christians.

It is quite possible that my non-believing in this religion may have reduced whatever humour that is mere to be in the book. I have seen several times on the web that The Screwtape Letters is funny but it is not to me. Have I missed something that makes this book funny to most? I do not know.

Should you read it if you are not a believer of the religion? Yes. The Screwtape Letters is written from the point of view of a devil and it is, without a doubt, a well-written book on the temptations one may face in their daily life. While a non-religious can read this book to discover more about Christianity, it is likely that you will not enjoy the book as much as a Christian might.

27 / 100 books. 27% done!

24 and 25 are graphics novels

24. Persepolis: The story of a childhood, Marjane Satrapi (graphic novel, borrow)
After reading Persepolis, I checked out the reviews of it on Amazon. I was peeved by the amount of people saying that Persepolis has mature themes and is not childish unlike, as it is hinted, other comics. Now, I understand that this has absolutely nothing to do with Persepolis but dammit! Not all comics are childish! Hello? The Sandman anyone?Even manga (japanese comic) which most people seemed to think as an infantile form of comic can be incredibly deep in depth and deals with mature themes such as rape(Bokurano), death(Bokurano, Vagabond), does violence solve anything(Vagabond), human vs AI (Pluto) etc.

With that out of the way, I quite enjoy the story of Marjane Satrapi as a child. It first started rather light-hearted and with some humour. It gets progressively darker as torture and death are discussed by the characters.

Persepolis provides another look into Iran. With the recent demostration towards incumbent President Ahmadinejad, anyone who is interested in the events leading towards the Islam revolution should take a look at this.

25. Persepolis 2: The story of a return, Marjane Satrapi (graphic novel, borrow)
The sequel to Satrapi's childhood, it is about her years as a teenagers to an adult. I did not find it as good as the first. Still a must read if you want to know what happens after her stay at Venice.

25 / 100 books. 25% done!

20 to 23 aren't that likeable

20. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck (borrow)
This book depresses me.

21. Sputnik Sweetheart, Haruki Murakami (borrow)
My friend told me this is not Murakami's most popular book. I can see why. It feels like a big filler from the beginning to the middle when the plot actually started. I do know that it is Murakami's trademark to leave the ending hanging. But I really feel that the novel should have ended much earlier (or at least shift the last chapter forward). It's like watching the last segment of Return of the King. Each time you think it's going to end, it just doesn't. This should have really been a novella.

On the other hand, I really like the narrator. There's something about him that I can identify with. He's also more likeable than whathisname in South of the Border, West of the Sun.

22. Young Stalin, Simon Sebag Montefiore (nonfiction, borrow)
Is this dry? Yes. But the dull writing of this biography should not prevent you from reading. It offers a fascinating account of Stalin as child to adult. The poet, the terrorist, the revolutionist, the charismatic leader who surrounded himself with people who he could be superior to, the husband who neglected his wives, and the man with many lovers... These were all faces of Stalin.

It's also horrifying to see Stalin developed his deep mistrust in people. His fear of being betrayed eventually led to the hundreds of thousands people (2 million according to some sources) executed and imprisoned in the Great Terror.

Since I cannot do this book justice, I'll just recommend it (or you can look up for more reviews on it).

23. Teacher Man, Frank McCourt (nonfiction, borrow)
I don't like the writing style of this book. This is the third book by Frank McCourt on his life. I have not read the first two but I have been told that Angela's Ashes is a much better book. Hopefully that is the case, because this book is mediocre. Huge chunk of paragraphs similar to run-on sentences cover the book. I stopped reading at least two times as I just cannot read on.

While this book should be on his life as a teacher, there is, in my opinion, too much unrelated content. It almost seemed that there isn't enough content that might interest the reader. As such, the book dragged on and I was deeply relieved when it finally ended.

23 / 100 books. 23% done!