FOMB Book Blog, My Talks, Singapore, Travel

June 11 event at Books Actually, Tiong Bahru, Singapore

Dear friends, I will be appearing at a Books Actually event on June 11th, where I will speak about both my books, Floating on a Malayan Breeze (see here) and Hard Choices: Challenging the Singapore Consensus (see here). Session will be moderated by Jen Wei Ting, good friend and fellow UC Berkeley alumna. Books Actually is one of Singapore’s only independent bookstores. As you know … Continue reading June 11 event at Books Actually, Tiong Bahru, Singapore

Sudhir Thomas VadakethJune 5, 2014May 27, 20202 Comments

China, FOMB Book Blog, India, Travel

Letter from India: People

Note: This is an on-the-road blog post. To find out more about why I am on this trip, please read, Next book: From Kerala to Shaolin.

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A continuation of Letter from India: Kalarippayattu

The best part about being on a long research trip is that I get to meet so many fascinating people. Every day. All the time. It is actually both a blessing and a curse, because I spend hours agonising over which people to spend more time with, which ones I may develop into character profiles for the book, which ones must be interviewed right there and then, which ones can wait till a later trip/phone call, etc.

As I went through the first editing process for Floating on a Malayan Breeze in late 2010, I had to omit, with great sadness, many different characters about whom I had already written. There was “Penang Lyn”, who ran Sweet Manna Matchmaking, helping, among others, Singaporean Chinese guys looking for Penang Chinese girls, in demand because they are apparently less materialistic than KL and Singapore girls.

Continue reading “Letter from India: People”

Sudhir Thomas VadakethJuly 10, 2013November 18, 20134 Comments

FOMB Book Blog, Malaysia, My Talks, Singapore, Travel

kinitv: Interview about Malaysia and Singapore

Dear friends, Temily Tianmay of kinitv, part of the Malaysiakini group, interviewed me via Skype a few days ago. We spoke about Malaysia, Singapore, the recent Malaysian elections, ethnic relations, corruption and my book, Floating on a Malayan Breeze. Continue reading kinitv: Interview about Malaysia and Singapore

Sudhir Thomas VadakethMay 23, 2013May 27, 2020Leave a comment

FOMB Book Blog, Malaysia, Singapore

Floating on a Malayan Breeze: US book tour, April 2013

Dear friends, as I enter my last two weeks at The Economist Group, am getting increasingly nostalgic. I’ve had a wonderful seven years here, the longest I’ve spent at any institution–so feel like I’m losing a small part of me.

Thankfully, as part of my transition to full-time writing, I’ve got a great trip to the US to look forward to. Am very happy that this book tour has come together, partly because the US remains the most important market for English-language writing. Exciting!

For all of you based in the US, I’d love to see you sometime, perhaps at one of these events. For those based elsewhere, if you have any friends in these cities who might be interested in Malaya or my writing, please do share this page with them. Tell them to come support a Malayan author 🙂 Continue reading “Floating on a Malayan Breeze: US book tour, April 2013”

Sudhir Thomas VadakethMarch 17, 2013March 31, 20131 Comment

Economist Group, FOMB Book Blog

Floating on a Malayan Breeze mentioned in this week’s Economist

Dear friends, our company will not review books written by staff, but we do list them at the end of the year, “What we wrote when we weren’t in the office”. So–nice to have made that list, at least. Continue reading Floating on a Malayan Breeze mentioned in this week’s Economist

Sudhir Thomas VadakethDecember 12, 2012June 1, 20201 Comment

FOMB Book Blog

Floating on a Malayan Breeze has been sent for a second print run!

Dear friends, I wanted to share some good news about my book, Floating on a Malayan Breeze. Barely two months after the launch, the book has been sent for a second print run. The first run of 1,750 is almost gone. That is small beer for an international book, but pretty good for a niche topic–when I first signed up with HKU Press, an editor … Continue reading Floating on a Malayan Breeze has been sent for a second print run!

Sudhir Thomas VadakethDecember 11, 20127 Comments

FOMB Book Blog, Singapore

Select conversations: 4pm, Sat Dec 1st, Select Bookstore, 51 Armenian St

Dear friends, if you’re free and keen to find out more about my recently published book, do come down to Select Bookstore this coming Saturday. I’ll be taking part in a “Select conversation” with Sharon Siddique, my dear friend and mentor. Aunty Sharon was one of the few people who encouraged Sumana Rajarethnam and me to go on that bicycle trip around Malaysia in 2004, … Continue reading Select conversations: 4pm, Sat Dec 1st, Select Bookstore, 51 Armenian St

Sudhir Thomas VadakethNovember 25, 2012November 25, 2012Leave a comment

Cycling, FOMB Book Blog, Malaysia, Media, Singapore

Malaysia Star’s review of Floating on a Malayan Breeze

Dear friends, The Star wrote a couple of pieces about the book in today’s papers. First is a straight up book review written by Neil Khor, a friend of mine, who is a social historian and senior fellow at Think City, which manages the George Town Grants Programme. You can read Neil’s review here. The Star also published an interview that Rouwen Lim, a reporter … Continue reading Malaysia Star’s review of Floating on a Malayan Breeze

Sudhir Thomas VadakethNovember 20, 2012November 22, 2012Leave a comment

Cycling, FOMB Book Blog, Malaysia, Media, Migrants, PAP, Singapore

Singapore’s population policies: Book extract in the New Straits Times, Nov 5th 2012

Ahead of my book launch in KL this Saturday, Malaysia’s New Straits Times (NST) has published an excerpt from my book, Floating on a Malayan Breeze, today. Over the past few weeks, NUS Press, one of my co-publishers, and I had been lobbying the Malaysian media channels, trying to get them to feature us. Last week, NST confirmed the passage they would like to run. … Continue reading Singapore’s population policies: Book extract in the New Straits Times, Nov 5th 2012

Sudhir Thomas VadakethNovember 5, 2012January 21, 201311 Comments

Democracy, FOMB Book Blog, Malaysia, Singapore

Op-ed in Malaysiakini today: Peaceful revolutions in Malaysia and Singapore

Below is an Op-ed I published in Malaysiakini today. Steven Gan, one of the founders of Malaysiakini, has become a friend over the years. He is one of the interviewees in my book, Floating on a Malayan Breeze, in the section where I discuss Malaya’s changing media landscape (pp. 98-102).