The BM subtitles on local television can really suck sometimes. But even when no translation is required, they still manage to get it wrong: on the American Idol results show tonight, Carrie Underwood's song was labelled "Jesus Take the Will".

Obviously, the people who write subtitles for Malaysian tv need to get out more and stop living in their own little world.

I was hanging around Kinokuniya again. Is it possible to marry a bookstore? —Lainie

I only wish! lol

The silence of the night seems almost oppressive. She is unable to sit still; restless, she clicks again and again and again. Nothing holds her attention. She scans the pages before her almost desultorily.

Holding out the remote control, she presses a button. Soft music shatters the silence. Still, all is not as it should be.

She needs to rest. She will not allow herself to rest. But something in her is not in sync. Unbending. She cannot settle down, cannot concentrate on anything. Chewing on a mint dragee, she tries to focus her mind. It flits here and there, never remaining in one place for any length of time.

Escape. Wanting to escape. Wanting out of this existence. Too much. It's all too much. She can feel the walls closing around her. She looks around wildly. And the music plays on... Peter Cetera, You're The Inspiration. The lyrics ring in her ears.

She reaches for the telephone. Punches out the numbers to call the Befrienders. Anyone. It's 1:30am. But the receiver is replaced before the call can connect. She's spinning now, spiralling out of control. Isn't aware of what she's doing, what she's saying. Barely can articulate what she's thinking. She reaches for the implement. She's going to do it. Just this once. No longer a coward. No longer a wimp, a wuss, a chicken. Get out of here. Away. Away. The song changes. I wasn't the one who said goodbye… I wasn't the one who disappeared in the night...

Note to self and everyone else: great writers revise, revise, revise and revise and then maybe revise some more. Mediocre writers (including one or two who致e passed manuscripts my way) say "Do I really have to?"
—Sharon Bakar, published writer

I have never ever, in my entire life, revised anything. All the essays I wrote in school were done as is, without a prior outline. The articles I used to submit to the newspaper were handed in as is, with no preliminary drafts. My blog posts are published as is, with no editing whatsoever, except for clarity and grammar. I don稚 know how to revise.

And I hate hacking up my babies. Yes, I feel extremely proprietary about my writing. God help you if I ever discover you致e plagiarised my work.

Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?
—Henry Ward Beecher

Man, the guy knew what he was talking about!

A writer's life involves delving into both the scrumptious and the bland. Not much luxury to pick and choose, especially when it's a matter of simply needing to eat. As Dad used to say, "Don't want to eat this, don't want to eat that! You should have gone through the Japanese Occupation*, that would have taught you to eat anything you're given!"

For me, corporate work comes under the heading of — well, not bland, exactly, but it is like having to eat spaghetti when you are craving fried chicken. Different taste, different texture, different smell... it is not different in a bad way; it just doesn't quite jive with me, somehow.

Sure, I can still do it. But it is never going to win me any awards, that's for sure.

 
*a reference to World War II when Japan invaded Malaya

The market for local authers here? Pathetic, unless you write something sensational like 50 reasons why some people should not become PM, that kind of thing, haha!
—Warren Lau, author of four published books

It is as I expected. Still, pretty discouraging to have my fears confirmed. I wonder whether Tash Aw would have done as well if he had published locally, or even in Singapore. Somehow, I doubt it.