No Malaysian newspaper has reviewed BODY 2 BODY

One journalist sent me an email: "My editor refused." And an editor at a different publication said: "Someone higher up refused."

Luckily, there is Time magazine. The issue goes on sale next week but the article can already be read here. This is the Asian version that will be sold all over the continent. Since the book itself is sold only in Malaysia, Singapore and one bookshop in Australia, it is hoped that interested readers can make their way to Amazon.com :-)

Page 1

Censored line from MUALLAF

Contrary to popular belief, Muallaf was never banned. But this is a line that the censors requested to be muted:



The picture itself won't be cut, but you won't get to hear the line or read the subtitle.

Malaysians will finally get to catch the film when it's released here from 24 December. To celebrate the fact, my 5,100-word chapter on the film will be in the December-January double issue of Off the Edge magazine. It's actually the shortest chapter in the book, because Muallaf is, at 80 minutes, Yasmin's shortest feature.

Buku Untuk Filem: ESTET & Buku Untuk Filem: PISAU CUKUR akan diluncur di sini. Ayuh!

Turut hadir untuk sesi otograf: Mamat Khalid (ESTET) dan Rafidah Abdullah (PISAU CUKUR).

Peta untuk ke Rumah Pena:

Typos in international books (2)

Toby Young, media slut, must be a very annoying person to know in real life, but I enjoyed his first book How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. (Roger Ebert's review of the film version also acts as a nice intro to what Toby does.)

I picked up the paperback of the sequel, The Sound of No Hands Clapping, at the Penguin sale. It's published by Abacus and this paragraph occurs close to the very end:



Noticing that he'd left his email address at the end of the book, I wrote to him pointing out the typo. He replied:

Thanks. Good spot. Not sure there will be any more editions, but if there are I'll be sure to correct it.

What is the typo that I spotted?

Typos in international books (1)

I think typos are quite charming. This may have something to do with the fact that all Matahari Books titles have them, damnit!

These are two extracts from a book, Tom Rob Smith's Soviet thriller The Secret Speech, published by the very reputable Simon & Schuster UK:




These two sections have the same error. What is it?

I have a column in this new magazine

I have not yet received my copy so can't comment further. But the column is called Video Ga-Ga and looks at Youtube videos that are related to Malaysia.

The only page in YASMIN AHMAD'S FILMS to mention Rosmah Mansor

Petikan daripada Buku Untuk Filem: PISAU CUKUR

RAFIDAH: Apa yang saya dapat dari filem-filem P. Ramlee ialah
untuk meraikan flirtation dan penggodaan. Ianya mainan asmara, dengan nuansa dan lirikan mata, yang kami (sebagai masyarakat)
dah lupakan. Bila saya tengah cari lagu karaoke untuk Datuk nyanyi, saya cadangkan “Joget Si Pinang Muda” ... Mari-mari cik adik...Saya cari dalam Youtube dan jumpa versi asal daripada Anakku Sazali. Dia tengah nyanyi dengan Zaiton dan semuanya amat fun dan menggoda. Ada satu versi baru oleh budak-budak Akademi Fantasia dan unsur sebegitu tak ada langsung, ia jadi teramat steril.





BERNARD: Diorang tercegat kat pentas macam nyanyi “Negaraku.” Lima dekad kemudian, bayangan kebaya, penggodaan, seduction, semua dah hilang.