River

There are books so alive that you're always afraid that while you weren't reading, the book has gone and changed, has shifted like a river;

while you went on living, it went on living too, and like a river moved on and moved away.

No one has stepped twice into the same river. But did anyone ever step twice into the same book? ~Marina Tsvetaeva

Nothing to do?

Check this out for more reading related events happening here in Singapore!

Dare to Dream

Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.

- john updike

another book blog

Interesting read!



http://www.readysteadybook.com/

Nothing to do with books

But what a great match it was..

Chelsea v Barcelona!

Telegraph Report

Guardian Report

Don't know how to read a book?

Learn how to properly read a book here!

Eerily similar

Scary to think what might happen if the Swine Flu situation develops further and becomes something like described in Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.

Read more here.

Available from thebookcrew!

Think you know your books?

Take the never ending book quiz.

Challenge yourself!

Why do you read?

Here's why she reads:

The Historian

...as reviewed by The New York Times

Title:The Historian

Author: Elizabeth Kostova

Year Published:

Price: $12.50 + Postage

Condition: Fairly new, hardcover (3/5)

Experience Thailand

When Singaporeans think of Thailand, we often associate it with cheap shopping and good food - an affordable destination for a quick weekend getaway.


However, Thailand is a large country, and its sights, places, people, and culture are far more diverse than we give it credit for.

The country has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons, but it would be foolish to dismiss this vast country for something that is happening in just 1 part of nation.

One of the best ways to learn about a country and her people is through the eyes of a travel writer. Travel writers are inevitably more perceptive souls than ourselves, and through their eyes, a place always seems more seductive and appealing.




So, satisfy your wanderlust with travel writing from Thailand..

• writing by Samantha Brown

• writing and pictures by Lee Foster
  
  
• writing on myseveralworlds.com
  

Title:Thailand - True stories of life on the road

Year Published:

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Fairly new (3/5)

Rediscover the joys of reading today!!!

"Curling up with a book and a cup of hot coffee on a cold winter night may be sound like fun to some people out there but those of us who are addicted to reading know just how wonderful it feels to lose yourself into a whole new world. So we also know exactly what Gustave Flaubert was trying to say when he exclaimed, "Read in order to live'...."




"There they stand, each and every school morning, eyes on stalks, mouths as tight as books snapped shut. Who? Why, the anti-readers. The people who hover over classroom reading folders, beadily noting "what stage" each child has been set. You can spot them by the way they handle books: they don't look at the cover, or check the first page for a gripping opening..."



"Imagine walking along a deserted seashore, hiking to the top of mountains, sleeping in a field of flowers, finding love, or chasing after an elusive criminal mind. Works of literature--novels, short stories, poems, and plays--are filled with these many moments. As you read through the pages, discover the pleasure of reading--enjoyment that can last a lifetime..."

A man's best friend

" Nancy sat down a little closer to Red Dog than she had yesterday, and he looked sideways at her, showing the white of his eyes, as if he were about to bite her. Instead, he got down, stuck his muzzle under her thigh and once more tried to push her off... ...The next morning, Red Dog realised that he was looking forward to sitting next to Nancy, and when she sat next to his, he forgot to try to push her off.. ...From that moment onward, Red Dog and Nancy became friends. There were not many others who dared to try it, but Nancy sat next to him whenever she liked."

- Extracted from "Red Dog" by Louis de Bernieres

• how the dog became man's best friend
• is a dog really man's best friend?
• dogs from the squidoo family
• dangerous dogs

Title: Red Dog

Author: Louis de Bernieres

Year Published:2001

Price: $5.50 + Postage

Condition: Fairly new (3/5)

BLINK!

1) What is Blink about? It is about this

2) Who is Malcolm Gladwell? He is this and this

3) What do people think about Blink? They think this and this

Title: Blink

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Year Published:

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Fairly new (3/5)

Night Train to Lisbon - Pascal Mercier

In the Night Train to Lisbon, Raimund Gregorius does what everybody has thought of doing at some point but dared not do - he left his life behind, and took off on a train to Lisbon after a chance encounter with a women who mesmerized him with her "fabulously soft, southern voice, that sounded like an endless hesitant drawl that drew you in merely by hearing it.



It was not that his life in Bern was particularly bad; it was also not a notion that he had entertained before - but for once in his life, he decided to do something different. He decided to just leave, and see what was in store for him.


From there on, the story is told with a dreamlike quality, as Gregorius attempts to translate a certain Dr. Amadeu de Prado’s autobiography to "tracks down the people it describes, piecing together Prado’s story: his aristocratic but unhappy childhood, his intensity and discipline as a young scholar, his rigid moral code, and his participation in the resistance movement against Portugal’s right-wing dictator, Salazar. The more facts he uncovers about Prado, the more he hopes to achieve an intimate understanding of what it was like to be Prado. Yet his actual discoveries are the insignificance of the facts of his own life and a greater awareness of what it is like to be himself."

The twin romantic notions of uprooting one's life for the unknow, and travel and discovery in this bestselling novel by Pascal Mercier produces an irresistible mix that is as "mesmerizing and dreamlike as a Wong Kar-wai film".

Title: Night Train to Lisbon

Author: Pascal Mercier

Year Published: 2008

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Fairly new (3/5)

The Master of the Legal Thriller - John Grisham

John Grisham has been one of the best-selling writers in recent times, selling more than 250 million copies of his books so far. A former lawyer, Grisham is famed for his gripping legal-themed thrillers that have so captivated readers worldwide that almost all of his novels reached the dizzying heights of being number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.

While Grisham undoubtedly enjoys a successful writing career now, it has by no means been an easy journey for him.

He had to come to terms with the fact that he did not have the talent to become a professional baseball player – a dream he had held since he was a young boy. Having accepted the harsh truth, Grisham then put his mind to getting an Accountancy degree, followed by going to law school, eventually becoming a tax lawyer.

Having become a lawyer, it would have been easy for Grisham to continue down that road, leading a comfortable life as a lawyer.

However, he managed to juggle a grueling legal career and write his first book, A Time to Kill, at the same time. The publication of that book was the precursor for the rise of the “King of the Legal Thriller”

Read more about Grisham in his revealing interview with the Academy of Achievement here.

There are 4 of Grisham’s acclaimed legal thrillers on sale here:

1) The Partner – review by Entertainment Weekly

2) The Brethren – review by BlogCritic Magazine

3) The Testament – review by Shvoong

4) The Summons – review by Book Browse

Also, available is A Painted House – a rare departure from the legal genre by Grisham, but nevertheless still a bestseller when it was published! Read a review by bookreporter.com

Title: The Partner

Author: John Grisham

Year Published: 1997

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Well used (2/5)

Title: The Brethren

Author: John Grisham

Year Published: 2000

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Well used (2/5)

Title: The Testament

Author: John Grisham

Year Published: 1999

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Well used (2/5)

Title: The Summons

Author: John Grisham

Year Published: 2002

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Well used (2/5)

Title: A Painted House (Hardcover)

Author: John Grisham

Year Published:

Price: $15.50 + Postage

Condition: Like new (4/5)

On Natural Selection, Charles Darwin

2009 marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, the man who introduced the theory of evolution which, coincidentally, was published in his book, "The Origin of Species" 150 years ago.

Darwin's journey to the creation of the theory began when he was invited aboard His Majesty's Ship Beagle by the ship's Captain, Robert Fitzroy.

Once aboard, he assumed the role of naturalist, and went on to make observations - which he found to be peculiar - about the wildlife that he came across as the ship made its voyage around South America. Piecing together the evidence he had gathered, it become clear to Darwin that evolution was at the root of life on earth.

The February 2009 edition of National Geographic dedicates its main story to Darwin's founding of the theory of evolution.


Upon the publication of his controversial theory, there was an intense focus of Darwin's personal life and character. However, Darwin was generally found to "be a humane, gentle, decent man, a loving husband and father, and a loyal friend". Learn more about the life and times of Charles Darwin here and here.

While the theory of evolution is generally accepted as fact today, its arguments and evidence were disputed by many scientists and Victorian clegymen when it was first mooted 150 years ago.

Read for yourself what Darwin had to say on the theory in his book, "On Natural Selection", which is an extract of "The Origin of Species."

Title: On Natural selection
Author: Charles Darwin
Year Published: 2004
Price: $5.00 + postage
Condition: Fairly new (3/5)

Email thebookcrew@gmail.com (with the book's ref no.) for inquiries, or to order today!

Why buy used books?

Can buying an old book ever compare with buying a new one? “Of course not!” you say.

Quite true - few things can compare with ripping the shrink wrap off a paperback and opening the pages of a book for the first time. The new book always looks better, smells better, and definitely reads better.

However, since thebookcrew deals mostly with secondhand books, let me try to make a case for the humble used book:

The used book arguably has more character than the new one. Since its publication years before, it probably has been read by numerous people before you; it has sat on the coffee tables, bedside tables, and desks of readers who have read those same words that you now read.

These readers have gone through the same emotions, and thought the same thoughts that you now think as you go through those same pages. This rich history is something that a new book is surely devoid of.

Also, buying a used book makes more environmental sense. Following on from having done your part for the earth by participating in Earth Hour, why not continue the good work with books?

By passing on a book from one reader to the next, the book is ‘recycled’.

Rather than being consigned to your bookshelf for the rest of its days, the book is passed on and given a new lease of life.

Additionally, there is the interesting moral aspect of book buying, as explained here, to consider. If you think the struggling independent bookseller deserves your dollar more than the author of the book does, do go out and purchase that used book (from thebookcrew!).

Finally, used books are cheaper! The price of 1 new paperback could possibly get you 3 used ones.

The increasing popularity
of used books in recent times has been so powerful that it has not only been credited with increasing literacy rates, but also with the downturn in the book industry!

Used books are back in fashion! So do pick out a book you like from thebookcrew today!