From under my shiny rock to your inbox

I hear this a lot from friends and family: "Are you living under a rock?!"

Well...yes. And it's a beautiful, shiny rock glistening in the sun. Sometimes, depending on who's asking, I'll say it's beside the pineapple under the sea.

For my own sanity, I rarely read the news. I skim headlines from news channels on social media and only dive deeper after something important eventually swims its way toward me.

So if you're also living under your own version of a beautiful rock, thank you for letting this newsletter wash up on your shore. And today, from one semi-aquatic hermit to another, I want to tell you about our latest bestseller—a book I did not expect to take off the way it has:

The Albatross File: Inside Separation Sometime in 1964, Dr Goh Keng Swee created a file code-named "Albatross" on Singapore's increasingly fraught relations with Kuala Lumpur. In that file, he collected Cabinet papers as well as his own handwritten notes of his conversations with Malaysian leaders, leading to Singapore's separation from the federation. Almost all the material in the Albatross file is being published here for the first time, together with the oral history recollections of Singapore's founding leaders. Singaporeans can read the thoughts, fears and hopes of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his comrades as they led the island-city to unexpected independence on 9 August 1965. Refusing to be intimidated and heedless of the personal risks they faced, they insisted on either a Malaysian Malaysia or negotiated constitutional rearrangements. As unexpected as it was—and for many of Singapore's leaders then, an outcome they did not wish—Separation turned out to be "the best thing that ever happened to Singapore". Get the book

If the synopsis above doesn't convince you, you can read this, this, and this article.

And honestly? I'm on the side of the people who don't get the hype...but this book is flying. Every time I take a sip of my tea (and I drink a lot of tea), another order comes in. Everyone in the office is baffled. We want to flip through a copy to find out why, but every single book is shrink-wrapped. We probably need to open a company copy just to satisfy our curiosity.

There's also an exhibition going on, and I've heard it's completely sold out.

Christmas Shopping Note

If you still need gifts in time for Christmas, the safest option is to visit our showroom to shop. We're open Monday–Friday, 10 am to 6 pm and on Christmas Eve morning (we have a half-day). Come by, browse and say hi—I'll be at the counter as your resident bookseller.

I suspect many of you are already feasting and celebrating with friends and family this weekend. So have a Merry Christmas and enjoy your celebrations!

Warmly,
Chloe