28 Apr March 2017 Bestsellers

The ebb and flow of what our customers buy is always fascinating, and there are two outstanding patterns: books about Penang and visual books, sometimes in tandem. But top of the pile, thanks to the book launch at Penang Institute, is the lively collection of essays masquerading as Letters to Home (Matahari Books), a good cross-section of writing by young Malaysians edited by Ooi Kok Hin, Aish Kumar and Nik Rashid Nik Zurin. Also having its Penang launch was Zhuang Zubin’s comprehensive survey Photography in Southeast Asia (NUS Press),which traces historical and contemporary dynamics in n image-making across the region. Both A. Shukor Rahman’s collections – More Penang Stories and 101 Stories of Old Penang (Think City) continue to do well, charming reflections on life on the island. Two bestsellers reflect the abiding interest in George Town’s heritage: Tan Yeow Wooi’s Penang Shophouses (Tan Yeow Wooi Culture and Heritage Research Studio) offers the best guide to the island’s iconic built form, while Mark Thompson and Karl Steinberg’s George Town – World Heritage Site (Neo Sentuhan) is both a guide and virtual walking tour introducing the story of the Chinese in nineteenth-century Penang. Two more visual journeys, of a different stripe, also make the top ten: Andrew Barber’s Malaysian Moments: A Pictorial Retrospective (AB&A) is a retrospective that seeks to link contemporary Malaysia to its historic past, exploring the often complex background and curious parentage of individual episodes of national life, while Kenny Loh’s modern classic, Born in Malaysia, continues to attract enthusiasts. Rounding off the top ten are two favourites: Anthony Milner’s pioneering historical study Kerajaan (SIRD) and Malachi Edwin Vethamani’s edited collection of some of the very best of Malaysian poetry in English, Malchin Testament (Maya Press). Here’s the full list:

1. Ooi Kok Hin, Aish Kumar and Nik Rashid Nik Zurin (eds) Letters to Home (Matahari Books)
2. Zhuang Wubin, Photography in Southeast Asia (NUS Press)
3. A. Shukor Rahman, More Penang Stories
4. A. Shukor Rahman, 101 Stories of Old Penang (Think City)
5. Tan Yeow Wooi, Penang Shophouses (Tan Yeow Wooi Culture & Heritage Research Studio)
6. Anthony Milner, Kerajaan (SIRD)
7. Malachi Edwin Vethamani, Malchin Testament (Maya Press)
8. Mark Thompson and Karl Steinberg, George Town – World Heritage Site (Neo Sentuhan)
9. Andrew Barber, Malaysian Moments: A Pictorial Retrospective (AB&A)
10. Kenny Loh, Born in Malaysia