July 2022 Inspirational Reads!

It is our pleasure to share with you the second issue of Reading Nook’s Recommended Readings! This issue comes with three book recommendations as well: Specialists’ Picks, Leaders’ Recommended Reads, and Watcha Reading?

In this issue, we are excited to bring you the recommendations from Joo Jin (Sec), Stephanie (Pri) and Victoria (Pre-U). Read on and find out more about their recommendations below!

Specialists’ Picks

By Sim Joo Jin

Imagine coming across a book entitled “An Introduction to Poetry” and finding out that its authors were Eliot, Larkin, and Auden or while looking for a good introduction to painting, stumbling upon a book named “How to Paint” by Picasso.

The books above don’t exist, at least not as introductory books written for beginners. But Memory, written by a trio who have made key contributions to our understanding of how we remember stuff (and forget others), is just such a book.

Looking over the last decade of my time in HQ, I find that much of it has been a “cognitive” adventure. Part of this could be due to what seems to me now the sociolinguistic bent of my course in university. Without realizing it, I was starved of cognitive explanations for the things I was studying. When we go on a long trip in a foreign land, we need a guide, and Memory is like the Lonely Planet Guide to Your Mind, providing an itinerary that included all the “must-see” concepts, like episodic memory, motivated forgetting and retrieval.

Digging deep into readings from a cognitive perspective helped me understand what might be going on in the mind when we comprehend, remember and learn. This helped me in my conversations with colleagues in other Branches, where we go beyond language acquisition and explore learning in other disciplines. Perhaps unsurprisingly, going beyond language learning helped me understand language learning more.

Leaders’ Recommended Reads

By Stephanie Louise Ho

This delightful pocket-sized book was a gift from a good friend. When I received it, I was curious about its contents because on the surface, it appeared to be a book more suited for young readers.

But once I started reading this short but beautifully drawn fable about three children’s adventure to a new playground, I began to realise that the powerful mix of quotes and illustrations was prompting me to contemplate more deeply about leadership and courage. Like a comforting cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day, this book has inspired and motivated me with its many little nuggets of wisdom.

In trying to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the larger intent and meaning of the journey undertaken. For this reason, one of my favourite quotes from the book is this: Excitement comes from the achievement. Fulfilment comes from the journey that got you there. It reminds me to be grateful for the long, winding and sometimes bumpy road that life offers. Additionally, the book reminds me to treasure the people who journey with me because together is indeed simply better.

Watcha Reading?

By Victoria-Marie Er

17A Keong Siak Road chronicles the unique life of Charmaine Leung and her mother. It explores a world that no longer exists and is inconceivable in these times.

It tells the story of a woman taken from her homeland in China to be adopted in Singapore, and eventually raises her own daughter in a brothel. This is history unrecorded in our textbooks and academic readings: stories of strong women in hard places who were forced to make difficult choices, and now live in the invisible shadows of Singapore that has transformed tremendously in front of their eyes. After all, their familiar red light district has turned into a hangout for the middle and upper-class echelons of society.

More than the novelty of hearing such a rare narrative of our home, the story of familial relationships, heartbreaks and finding our way home resonated with me, and reminded me that even though life can change drastically in ways that we can’t even imagine, the human condition remains the same – we all need love, connection, and a home we can belong to.