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Sylvia Lim's memoir to be published by Epigram Books in 2027
Sylvia Lim's memoir to be published by Epigram Books in 2027

Independent Singapore

time7 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Independent Singapore

Sylvia Lim's memoir to be published by Epigram Books in 2027

Sylvia Lim. FB screengrab/ The Workers Party SINGAPORE: Sylvia Lim, who has chaired the Workers' Party (WP) for over two decades now, is working on her memoir. According to an Instagram post, it will be published by Epigram Books in 2027. Ms Lim, like Singapore has turned 60 this year. Her story is part of a series of profiles of people who were born in 1965, as featured in . The project was launched by Tay Kay Chin, who was, as one might have guessed, born in the same year. It was announced in a b1965 Instagram post on Jul 17 that Ms Lim is working on her life story. Screenshot In a comment on the post, Ms Lim noted how meaningful it is to be included in Mr Tay's collection of profiles, adding, 'As we celebrate SG60, it is opportune to reflect on our personal journeys and fascinating to see where our cohort mates have been.' While those who are interested in knowing more about Ms Lim's life story will have to wait a couple of years before the book is published, the b1965 interview provides fascinating insights into Ms Lim's background, including the desire from her youth to be of service to society. 'When it comes to what I want to do in my life or my career choices, it always has to be in terms of contributing to society,' she said, adding a while later that 'one of the main slogans of the WP since the 1970s was 'Towards a caring society.' That means something to me. It means that the poor and the underprivileged will always have a special place in WP's agenda.' Ms Lim, a former police officer and law lecturer, joined the WP in 2001, after reaching out to the then secretary-general, Low Thia Khiang. She was elected party chair in 2003. After having served as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament from 2006 to 2011, she was elected as an MP for Aljunied GRC and is now in her fourth term, representing the Paya Lebar ward. She also talked briefly in the interview about her husband, Quah Kim Song, one of Singapore's football greats, saying that one great thing about him is that 'he wears his heart on his sleeve.' The pair got married earlier this year, after more than a dozen years of being together. When asked to compare her journey with that of Singapore, she said, 'Singapore, in the early days, we were finding our way. And now, after 60 years of so-called independence, there are new challenges. So, broadly speaking, I find that it is similar to us as well.' /TISG Read also: '60 is the new 40' — Sylvia Lim on the important role of older workers () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });

The bestselling Canadian books of 2025, so far
The bestselling Canadian books of 2025, so far

CBC

time14 hours ago

  • General
  • CBC

The bestselling Canadian books of 2025, so far

Here's a ranked list of the top 20 books Canadians have been buying so far in 2025. This bestseller list is compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from more than 260 Canadian independent stores between January 1 and June 30 of this year. 20. Who We Are by Murray Sinclair with Sara Sinclair and Niigaan Sinclair Murray Sinclair made his mark on Canadian society as a judge, activist, senator, chief commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and co-chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry. He wrote all about it in his memoir Who We Are. The book answers the four guiding questions of Sinclair's life — Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? Who am I? — through stories about his remarkable career and trailblazing advocacy for Indigenous peoples' rights and freedoms. Murray Sinclair died in November 2024, at age 73. Anishinaabe and a member of the Peguis First Nation, Sinclair was the first Indigenous judge appointed in Manitoba and the second appointed in Canada. He won awards including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Manitoba Bar Association's Equality Award and its Distinguished Service Award (2016) and received Honorary Doctorates from 14 Canadian universities. Sara Sinclair is an oral historian of Cree-Ojibwa and mixed settler descent. She teaches at Columbia University and is currently co-editing two anthologies of Indigenous letters. Niigaan Sinclair is a writer, editor, activist and the head of the Department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba. He is the co-editor of Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water and Centering Anishinaabeg Studies: Understanding the World Through Stories. He won the Peace Educator of the Year award in 2019. He is also the author of the book Wînipêk. 19. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters In The Berry Pickers, it's July of 1962, and a Mi'kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. A few weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, and he is forever altered by her mysterious disappearance. Years later, in Maine, a young girl named Norma is troubled by recurring dreams that seem too real to be her imagination. As she grows older, she senses there is something her family isn't telling her, and this eventually sets her off on a search for the truth. Amanda Peters is a writer of Mi'kmaq and settler ancestry based in Annapolis Valley, N.S. Her work has appeared in The Antigonish Review, the Alaska Quarterly Review and The Dalhousie Review. She is the winner of the 2021 Indigenous Voices Award for Unpublished Prose and was named a Writers' Trust 2021 Rising Star. The Berry Pickers won the Carnegie Medal for Excellence and was on the shortlist for the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. 18. All the Little Monsters by David A. Robertson In the memoir All The Little Monsters, bestselling author David A. Roberston opens up about his experiences with anxiety as a way to accept and heal. He reveals what tools help him cope with his struggles in the hopes that others going through similar things won't feel as alone. Robertson, a two-time Governor General's Literary Award winner and member of the Norway House Cree Nation, has written over 30 books for both children and adults, including the Misewa Saga series, picture books On the Trapline and When We Were Alone, graphic novel Breakdown, and his debut memoir Black Water. He lives in Winnipeg. 17. Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson In Theory of Water, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson traces the historical and cultural interactions of Indigenous peoples with water in all its forms. She presents water as a catalyst for radical transformation and shows its potential to heal and reshape the world in response to environmental and social injustice. Betasamosake Simpson is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, activist, musician, artist, author and member of Alderville First Nation. Her books include Islands of Decolonial Love, This Accident of Being Lost, Dancing on Our Turtle's Back and As We Have Always Done. This Accident of Being Lost was shortlisted for the Rogers Writer's Trust Fiction Prize in 2017 and the 2018 Trillium Book Award. Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and the Dublin Literary Prize. Her book Rehearsals for Living, a collaboration with Robyn Maynard, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction. 16. Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey Watch Out for Her is about a young mother named Sarah who thinks her problems are solved when she hires a young babysitter, Holly, for her six-year-old son. Her son adores Holly and Holly adores Sarah, who is like the mother she never had. But when Sarah sees something that she can't unsee, she uproots her family to start over. Her past follows her to this new life, raising paranoid questions of who is watching her now and what they want. Samantha M. Bailey is a journalist and editor in Toronto. Her first thriller, Woman on the Edge, was released in 2019 and was an international bestseller. Her other novels include A Friend in the Dark and her latest, Hello, Juliet. Her journalistic work can be found in publications including NOW Magazine, The Village Post, The Thrill Begins and The Crime Hub. 15. At a Loss for Words by Carol Off At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage, traces what former CBC Host Carol Off calls the manipulation and weaponization of language through the lens of six words: freedom, democracy, truth, woke, choice and taxes. 14. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice Moon of the Crusted Snow is a dystopian drama involving a protagonist named Evan Whitesky and a northern Anishinaabe community facing dwindling resources and rising panic after their electrical power grid shuts down during a cold winter. While the community tries to maintain order, forces from outside and within threaten to destroy the reserve. Waubgeshig Rice is an Anishinaabe author and journalist originally from Wasauksing First Nation. He is also the author of the short story collection Midnight Sweatlodge and the novels Moon of the Turning Leaves and Legacy. He used to be the host of CBC Radio's Up North. 13. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Released in 1985, The Handmaid's Tale was Margaret Atwood's breakthrough book on an international scale. The modern classic tells the story of a handmaid known as Offred who is trapped in a society where her only purpose is to conceive and bear the child of a powerful man. Atwood is one of Canada's best known and most prolific writers. She has written more than 40 books in nearly all literary forms including short stories, nonfiction, children's books and stage plays. The Handmaid's Tale won Atwood her second Governor General's Literary Award and scored her first nomination for the Booker Prize. It has since undergone several adaptations, for film, stage, ballet, opera and a graphic novel. It was also adapted for television and the sixth and final season was released in May 2025. 12. A Two Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby, with Mary Louisa Plummer In A Two-Spirit Journey, Ma-Nee Chacaby, an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian who grew up in a remote northern Ontario community, tells the story of how she overcame experiences with abuse and alcohol addiction to become a counsellor and lead Thunder Bay's first gay pride parade. Ma-Nee Chacaby is a two-spirit Ojibwa-Cree writer, artist, storyteller and activist. She lives in Thunder Bay, Ont., and was raised by her grandmother near Lake Nipigon, Ont. Chacaby won the Ontario Historical Society's Alison Prentice Award and the Oral History Association's Book Award for A Two-Spirit Journey. In 2021, Chacaby won the Community Hero Award from the mayor of Thunder Bay. Mary Louisa Plummer is a social scientist whose work focuses on public health and children's rights. 11. Finding Flora by Elinor Florence In Finding Flora, Scottish newcomer to Canada, Flora, escapes her abusive husband to the Alberta prairie, determined to rebuild her life. But when a hostile government threatens their land and her violent husband is on the hunt for her, Flora forms a bond with her neighbours — a Welsh widow with three children, two American women raising chickens, and a Métis woman training wild horses. United, the women come together to face their challenges. Elinor Florence is an author, journalist and member of the Métis Nation of B.C. Her debut novel was Bird's Eye View, and her second novel, Wildwood, was one of Kobo's Hundred Most Popular Canadian Books of All Time. Florence holds degrees in English and journalism. She grew up in Saskatchewan and currently lives in Invermere, B.C. 10. The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue The Paris Express takes readers aboard a suspenseful train journey from the Normandy coast to Paris. Inspired by a real-life photo of a train hanging off the side of Montparnasse station, The Paris Express unravels over the course of one fateful day, featuring the fascinating stories of the passengers, from a young boy traveling solo to a pregnant woman on the run, the devoted railway workers and a young anarchist on a mission. Emma Donoghue is an Irish Canadian writer whose books include the novels Landing, Room, Frog Music, The Wonder, The Pull of the Stars, Learned by Heart and the children's book The Lotterys Plus One. Room was an international bestseller and was adapted into a critically acclaimed film starring Brie Larson. The Pull of the Stars was longlisted for the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize and Canada Reads 2025 and shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award. 9. Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston Jennie's Boy is a memoir that recounts a six-month period in Wayne Johnston's chaotic childhood, much of which was spent as a frail and sickly boy with a fiercely protective mother. While too sick to attend school, he spent his time with his funny and eccentric grandmother, Lucy, and picked up some important life lessons along the way. 8. The Cost of a Hostage by Iona Whishaw In The Cost of a Hostage, Lane's quiet August morning is jolted when two shocking cases unfold — she receives news that her brother-in-law, Bob, is missing in Mexico, while her husband, Inspector Darling, is confronted by a frantic mother reporting her son's kidnapping. While the couple searches for Bob, the kidnapper and child are found, making it seem like the case is solved — until another body is discovered. Iona Whishaw is a Vancouver-based author and former teacher and social worker. She has published works of short fiction, poetry, the children's book Henry and the Cow Problem and the Lane Winslow Mystery series. 7. Mallory and the Trouble with Twins by Arley Nopra In Mallory and the Trouble with Twins, Mallory is confident in her babysitting skills — after all, she's taken care of her seven younger siblings for years. But when she starts watching the Arnold twins, Marilyn and Carolyn, she quickly realizes they're more trouble than she expected. The twins play tricks, act spoiled and make her job a nightmare. Still, as a responsible member of the Baby-Sitters Club, Mallory refuses to give up. Arley Nopra is a Filipino comic creator who lives in Toronto. She has adapted and illustrated the Babysitters Club books Claudia and the Bad Joke and Mallory and the Trouble with Twins. 6. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper In Etta and Otto and Russell and James, 82-year-old Etta decides to walk 3,232 kilometres to Halifax from her farm in Saskatchewan to fulfil her dream of seeing the ocean. With little more than a rusty rifle and a talking coyote named James for company, she begins her adventure, and in the process, her early life with her husband, Otto, and their friend Russell is revealed in flashbacks. While Russell wants to bring her home safe, she's committed to making her way to the sea before returning to her husband, who waits patiently for her to come back. Emma Hooper is a Canadian musician and writer. Her other novels include , which was longlisted for the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky. She also holds a PhD in music-literary studies and has published her research on many related topics. Raised in Alberta, she currently lives in England. 5. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune One Golden Summer is a follow-up to Carley Fortune's debut book Every Summer After and tells the story of Alice, a photographer seeking a quiet, restorative summer at her childhood cottage with her grandmother. But her plans for peace are upended when Charlie — charming, flirtatious and impossible to ignore — unexpectedly reappears. Soon, Alice finds herself feeling like she's 17 again, questioning whether this summer might hold something more than she ever expected. 4. The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight In The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, Pen arrives at the University of Edinburgh, set on uncovering what her divorced parents in Canada have hid from her. Not only does she start to uncover the truth about them during a weekend visit to a famous writer, an old friend of her father's, Pen also experiences the many milestones of adulthood for the first time, including falling in love for the first time. Emma Knight is an author, journalist and entrepreneur based in Toronto. Her work has appeared in Literary Hub, Vogue, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus and The New York Times. She co-hosted and created the podcast Fanfare and co-founded the organic beverage company Greenhouse. She is the author of cookbooks How to Eat with One Hand and The Greenhouse Cookbook. 3. Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew Dandelion is a novel about family secrets, migration, isolation, motherhood and mental illness. When Lily was a child, her mother, Swee Hua, walked away from the family and was never heard from again. After becoming a new mother herself, Lily is obsessed with discovering what happened to Swee Hua. She recalls growing up in a British Columbia mining town where there were only a handful of Asian families and how Swee Hua longed to return to Brunei. Eventually, a clue leads Lily to southeast Asia to find the truth about her mother. 2. Values by Mark Carney Values is a book by the former Bank of Canada governor and current prime minister, Mark Carney. Published in 2021, Values looks at the "fault lines" that divide contemporary society — racial, geographical, cultural and economic — and argues that they all stem from the same thing: a crisis of values. In the book, Carney offers a vision of a "more humane society" and a map toward getting there. Carney is the prime minister of Canada. He was formerly the Governor of the Bank of England and the Governor of the Bank of Canada. He lives in Ottawa. 1. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This marks Egyptian Canadian journalist and writer Omar El Akkad's nonfiction debut. On Oct. 25, 2023, after Israeli bombardment of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks, he posted on social media a statement: "One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this." One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This expands on his powerful social media message and chronicles his thoughts on the fragile nature of truth, justice, privilege and morality.

Orgies, threats at breakfast and Champagne at any cost: Private jet attendant reveals what the super wealthy are really like at 45,000 feet
Orgies, threats at breakfast and Champagne at any cost: Private jet attendant reveals what the super wealthy are really like at 45,000 feet

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

Orgies, threats at breakfast and Champagne at any cost: Private jet attendant reveals what the super wealthy are really like at 45,000 feet

In 2015, Danielle Styron, then 32, was offered her dream job as a private jet flight attendant. It promised a six-figure salary, trips to luxury resorts and full benefits. It seemed too good to be true — and it was. Over the course of two phone interviews, the pilot continually hinted at the 'alternative lifestyle' of the plane's owner, a religious man who split his time flying with his family half the month and with his girlfriends the other half. As the conversation went on, it became clear the role involved participating in orgies with the girlfriends onboard while the owner watched. 'We only fly them once a month, so it's not like you have to be a lesbian, you would just need to have fun with them,' the pilot assured her. Styron writes about the seedy job interview — and the seven years she spent flying with the rich and famous — in her dishy new memoir 'The Mile High Club: Confessions of a Private Jet Flight Attendant' (Post Hill Press; out now), co-written with her brother, James Styron. 'Names have been changed to protect (us from) the malevolent,' the intro reads. 'Behaviors have been presented to humble them. You know who you are.' Styron, now 41, didn't end up taking the job with the orgy-loving jet owner, but she went on to work for for a number of difficult people. Some of her clients, she writes, were 'miserable, vampires of human joy.' One passenger berated her for not having the proper tequila stocked, even though it wasn't requested. Anorexic, food-obsessed wives micro-managed everything that came out of the galley kitchen. An assistant threatened to punch her in the face over a not-hot-enough breakfast sandwich. Then there was the time a woman shoved Styron into a bulkhead mid-turbulence because her beloved puppies got jostled. 'She treated the dogs better than any human on board,' Styron writes. One of her lowest points was being asked to source Champagne on the tropical island of St. Maarten, just after it had been devastated by a hurricane. The client demanded bubbles despite the natural disaster. 'I'm standing there thinking, 'There's no Champagne. There was just a major hurricane. People are standing outside waiting for bread, and you're asking me to spend $20,000 on bubbly,'' Styron told The Post. There was only one supermarket open, which Styron begrudgingly patronized in search of the requested Champs. 'It felt dystopian,' she said. Then there was the two-timing bigwig who would fly with his pregnant wife one day and his mistress a few days later. 'As a woman, it was hurtful to be a part of that,' she said. 'Even though I had no choice. What was I going to do, blow my life up to be like, 'Yo, your man's cheating on you?' She probably already knew.' Sometimes, as the title of the book suggests, passengers got intimated in flight. She and her crew knew the drill: retreat to the front, let the guests go at it, and deal with the cleanup later. 'It's usually in the bathroom, galley, or right there on the sofa,' she writes. 'It's their house, right? Private jets are like flying living rooms.' Despite the uncomfortable situations and challenging passengers, the jobs also entailed plenty of good times and perks. She partied in Las Vegas with pilots and jetted off to Costa Rica, Aspen and St. Barts. One time in LA, the plane broke down on the tarmac, a typical mechanical delay. Danielle was tasked with keeping the charter guests fed and entertained while the pilots tried to fix the plane. The lead passenger was none other than actor and comedian Jamie Foxx. Unlike most high-profile clients, he took the delay in stride. He was 'the most delightful celebrity,' she said. 'He was cracking jokes and telling stories. He was pure light. [After three hours on the ground,] we were out of food, the mimosas were gone, people were losing patience, but not Jamie. He was still smiling. Still gracious. It restored my faith in humanity.' Misery, however, seemed to be more the norm. 'You think these people have it all,' she said. 'But I saw the opposite. They're really insecure. Their friends are all about one-upmanship. One man owned several planes, had a beautiful wife, everything in the world, and he was obsessing about his hair plugs. Like who cares?' Styron ultimately retired from aviation and went back to doing what she'd done before, working as an aesthetician. She now owns Fluff NYC, a brow and skincare studio on the Upper East Side, where she tends to people's faces — not their egos. 'It's less glamorous,' she said with a laugh, 'but way more peaceful.' Solve the daily Crossword

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