Bookworms have a new playground to visit with the opening of Tsutaya Bookstore, the dynamic junior brand of Japan’s esteemed Tsutaya Books. It celebrated the grand opening of its first Southeast Asian store at Intermark Mall in Kuala Lumpur. The event, honored by the presence of His Excellency Mr. Katsuhiko Takahashi, Ambassador of Japan to Malaysia, signifies the enduring friendship between Japan and Malaysia and the brand's commitment to enriching Malaysia's cultural landscape.
Undoubtedly the most popular Tsutaya is probably the one at Shibuya only because you can get a view of the famous Shibuya Crossing from the second floor of its tenant, Starbucks. The second famous Tsutaya is the instagrammable one in Nagoya.
But now in Malaysia, the name Tsutaya Books goes hand-in-hand with Pavilion Bukit Jalil, home to the first Tsutaya outlet in the whole of South East Asia. Making a promise to be more than just books, Tsutaya is "a space to discover and explore and to cultivate creative pursuits." Their words, not mine.
Books do still hold a special place in my heart. What kind of a writer would I be to turn my back on the foundation of my creativity and love for the written word? As a child, books are where our imaginations can run free with the skies and our knowledge being the limit.
Parents and children would be keen to know that the new soon-to-open Japanese bookstore, Tsutaya Books at Bukit Jalil will have its own children section. Think over 20,000 children's book titles from over 10 genres including children’s literature, cognitive development, picture books and art books, encyclopedias, creative handicrafts and many more. This vast collection would make Bukit Jalil's Tsutaya Books outlet home to the largest collection of kids edutainment section in any bookstore in Malaysia; a place of discovery for budding bibliophiles!
To celebrate World Book Day on 23 April 2020, you can travel in the time of quarantine and social distancing – through the delights of storytelling. So whether you are on a couch, window seat or at the kitchen table, get ready to go on an adventure through books and technology as Agoda introduces five book trails to inspire readers to kick off their (virtual) journey.
1. Murder on the Orient Express (Harper Collins)
Author: Agatha Christie
Destination: Turkey “It would be a pity to pass through (Istanbul), — comme ça.” He snapped his fingers descriptively. “Nothing presses—I shall remain there as a tourist for a few days.”
After solving his latest case, detective Hercule Poirot planned to spend a few days in Istanbul as a tourist. With its East meets West location, visitors can immerse themselves in its long history dating back to the Roman empire. Istanbul is undoubtedly rich with culture, unique arts, and remarkable architectural sites. If the book inspired you to get to know more about Istanbul, take a look at the Hagia Sophia, once an Orthodox Church and Ottoman Mosque.
Have you ever walked out of the movies or finished reading a book and wondered what if the ending had been different or if a character from another universe had been in it?
For instance, what if Buffy the Vampire Slayer had been in Twilight? Okay, we all know the answer to that one. The book would have ended in Chapter 2 and we would have been spared Bella's constantly stoned state.
And Buffy shot them both dead. The End
Or what if Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross and William Brandt from Bourne Legacy and Mission Impossible 4 were all part of Clint Barton/ Hawkeye's many secret identities in the Avengers movie-verse?
Jeremy, you have been type-casted....
Yeah...I have definitely been giving that one way too much thought.....
So anyway, there is a website called Fanfiction.net where just about anyone can contribute their own stories featuring characters from their favourite movies, anime, TV series and etc etc. You can get a wide range of stories, parodies, poems and crossovers from all sort of writers and storytellers here and some of them are pretty damn good writers. Better than published writers even.
I am not going to namedrop any authors because I don't know what rocks your boat. I am merely sharing with you a site that I have been following since high school that has helped expand my imagination....and caused me to flunk half of my subjects during my finals.
Or if you prefer something along the lines of a parody, watch HISHE (How It Should Have Ended) videos. The animation is awesome, scripts are hilarious and the voice actings are just spot on! Just watch the Batman spoof below:
Or for something of a musical, do check out the Hillywood Show by Hilly and Hannah. Their production work is just amazing considering that their videos are funded from their own pockets. Kudos to these talented sisters!
If you like fan-made manga, comic and anime, then I would suggest checking some doujinshi works over the Internet or even from some of the local talents at Comic Fiesta 2012.
There will be cosplayers, doujinshi artists, fan-made merchandises and video games. The dedication and effort these fans put into their work is just impressive as you'll see Final Fantasy, Bleach, Naruto and Dragonball characters literally come to life. Those with DSLR cameras, this event is the best to put your photography skills to good use because you will have ever ready models always prepared to strike a pose for you!
It's a two-days events with tickets available at RM20 per day or RM35 for both days. For more info, go to their website at http://comicfiesta.org.
And before I sign off, here's a little random redundant fun fact:
The Fifty Shades trilogy was initially written as a Twilight fan fiction, originally titled Master of the Universe (insert He-Man theme song here). It was published on fan-fiction websites by E.L. James under the pen name "Snowqueen's Icedragon". Now over 60 millions copies have been sold worldwide. (source: wikipedia.org)
