The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers Aug 16
Fiction
Hakuda Photo Studio by Her Taeyeon; translated by Shanna Tan
PHOTO: JOHN MURRAY PUBLISHERS
1. (1) The Passengers On The Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa; translated by Allison Markin Powell
2. (2) Hakuda Photo Studio by Her Taeyeon; translated by
Shanna Tan
3. (3)
Strange Houses by Uketsu; translated by Jim Rion
4. (5) Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
5. (-) East Of Eden by John Steinbeck
6. (7)
What God Took Your Legs Away by Wahid Al Mamun
7. (-)
Welcome To The Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum; translated by Shanna Tan
8. (-) Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi; translated by Geoffrey Trousselot
9. (-)
Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa; translated by Eric Ozawa
10. (-) The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa; translated by Philip Gabriel
Non-fiction
I Am Not Good Enough by Ismail Gafoor And Low Shi Ping.
PHOTO: FOCUS PUBLISHING
1. (1) I Am Not Good Enough by Ismail Gafoor and Low Shi Ping
2. (3)
The First Fools: B-Sides Of Lee Kuan Yew's A-Team edited by Peh Shing Huei
3. (2) Why Palestine? Reflections From Singapore by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah
4. (6) The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
5. (5) Retire With More Money by Tan Ooi Boon
6. (-) How Countries Go Broke by Ray Dalio
7. (9) The Last Fools: The Eight Immortals Of Lee Kuan Yew edited by Peh Shing Huei
8. (4) From Beirut To Jerusalem: 40th Anniversary Edition by Dr Ang Swee Chai
9. (7) Atomic Habits by James Clear
10. (10) Murdle: The Case Of The Seven Skulls by G.T. Karber
Children's
The Day I Forgot My Flag is written by Neil Johnson and illustrated by Vincent Lee.
PHOTO: EPIGRAM BOOKS
1. (-) The Day I Forgot My Flag by Neil Johnson; illustrated by Vincent Lee
2. (1) I Can't Do Many Things by Chua Hui Ying; illustrated by Isabelle Tan
3. (-) Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
4. (-) Singapore Is 60: Celebrate With Us! by Sharon Koh
5. (8) Lottie Brooks Vs The Ultra Mean Girls by Katie Kirby
6. (-) Birthday Surprise! (Disney Stitch) by Virginia Murphy
7. (-) Powerless by Lauren Roberts
8. (-) A Forgery Of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
9. (6) National Geographic Kids Almanac 2026 by National Geographic Kids
10. (7) The World's Worst Superheroes by David Walliams
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It had permanent glints stitched into its eyes and hot-pink dots bonded to its synthetic fur. 'Hey, Grem,' Mr Eaton said. 'What are the spots on your face?' A bright mechanical trill originated from Grem. 'Oh, those are my special pink dots,' it said. 'I get more as I grow older. They're like little badges of fun and adventure. Do you have something special that grows with you?' I did. 'I have dots that grow on me, and I get more as I get older, too,' I said. 'That's so cool,' said Grem. 'We're like dot buddies.' I flushed with self-conscious surprise. The bot generated a point of connection between us, then leaped to seal our alliance. Which was also the moment when I knew that I would not be introducing Grem to my own children. Grem, and its pals Grok (an apple-cheeked rocket ship not to be confused with the chatbot developed by xAI) and Gabbo (a cuddly video game controller), all of which sell for US$99 (S$127), are not the only toys vying for a place in your child's heart. 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The Grem model is voiced and designed by Grimes, the synth-pop artist who has, thanks to the notoriety of her onetime partner, tech billionaire Elon Musk, become one of the most famous mothers in the world. 'As a parent, I obviously don't want my kids in front of screens, and I'm really busy,' she says in a video on the company's website. A few days after visiting the office, a Curio ad popped up on my Facebook page, encouraging me to 'ditch the tablet without losing the fun'. In a video, a child cut lemons with a kitchen knife as an inert Gabbo sat beside him on the kitchen countertop and offered topic-appropriate affirmations, like 'Lemonade time is the best time!' Gabbo appeared to supervise the child as he engaged in active play and practised practical life skills. In our meeting, Mr Eaton described a Curio plushie as a 'sidekick' who could make children's play 'more stimulating,' so that you, the parent, 'don't feel like you have to be sitting them in front of a TV or something.' 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Straits Times
18 hours ago
- Straits Times
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