Reading

[Mapguy]

Well, what have you read lately or ever that is worth mentioning? Not popular thrillers or tomes on macroeconomics, but books on Chiang Mai and Thailand? And, no, although I am sure most people have read them because they are displayed in all bookstores I've ever visited in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, not guides to Patpong or Nana nightlife or self-help books on understanding and marrying bar girls, as helpful and instructive as they might be. (Chiang Mai wouldn't even make a worthwhile chapter in one of these books!)

This is not to be totally restrictive of "self-help" books. I have in various threads recommended some, such as Thai Law for Foreigners, Becker and Thongkaew, Paiboon Publishing. However, in the interest of preserving interest in TV's restaurant threads, as neglected as they are, I wonder if cookbooks would be welcome!

One caveat. Do not include any books with comments with more than very incidental and complimentary words on Thai royalty. It is not that all such books might be considered guilty of lèse-majesté, but TV definitely does not want to go there.

I think UG could do a great service here. In his endless searching to stock his shelves, I imagine he has come across many titles not of the popular carry on tourist genre. He might actually stock them.

I'll start out with A Child of the Northeast by Kampoon Boontawee (and translated by Susan Fulop Kepner. Published by Pouyzian Publisher (Nonthaburi). It is a novel about Isan in the 1930s. But, I'd like to hear from some one else what they got from the book.

So (as best you can):

What's the book?

Who wrote it?

Who published it?

Where can you get it?

Why is it worth reading?

Edited May 25, 2009 by Mapguy

[Ulysses G.]

One of my favorites is Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal by Karen Connelly.

She came to Thailand as a 17 year old exchange student from Canada and lived in a small town called Denchai with no other foreigners (if I remember correctly). The book is an adaptation of the journal that she kept that year and it won the Governor General's Award in Canada. It shows both positive and negative aspects about Thailand and I have to admit that I shed a few tears while reading it.

By the way, she has a new novel called The Lizard Cage about the experiences of an imprisoned political prisoner in Burma that I just started and it seems excellent so far.

I'll leave it to someone else to do Mapguy's homework assignment. Alice Cooper said it best, "School's out for the summer. School's out FOREVER!"

Edited May 25, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[BlackArtemis]

Thailand: A Short History

by David K. Wyatt

Published by Yale University Press

Maybe UG can help track down a copy for you.

This book will give you quite the knowledgeable background on the history of Thailand. I had to read it for my Thai culture class when I did a study abroad program at CMU.

[Ulysses G.]

I had a copy a few days ago, but anything like this - Thai or SEA related - goes quickly. I don't remember selling it though.

Edited May 25, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[Mapguy]

One of my favorites is Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal by Karen Connelly.

She came to Thailand as a 17 year old exchange student from Canada and lived in a small town called Denchai with no other foreigners (if I remember correctly). The book is an adaptation of the journal that she kept that year and it won the Governor General's Award in Canada. It shows both positive and negative aspects about Thailand and I have to admit that I shed a few tears while reading it.

By the way, she has a new novel called The Lizard Cage about the experiences of an imprisoned political prisoner in Burma that I just started and it seems excellent so far.

I'll leave it to someone else to do Mapguy's homework assignment. Alice Cooper said it best, "School's out for the summer. School's out FOREVER!"

Thanks, UG, but...

aw, come on! You've done the big bit; you've let us know which books. Do you have these on your own shelves?! Seems to me that in collecting libraries left in Chiang Mai, you might have come across some titles! Why not see if Amazon.com or another bookseller has them. What about the AUA library? The exercise will do you good after all those scruptuous ribs at The Duke's!

P.S. Since you brought up Burma, you should read The Piano Tuner. But I hope this thread doesn't turn into a broad collection of favorite reads. Can we just focus on Thailand?

[harrry]

You could try:

Four Reigns

Kukrit Pramoj translated by Tulachandra.

A rather light to read coverage of one families view of thailand over 4 generation of Kings.

Written by an Ex Prime Minister originally as a serial.

I got mine from UG but he wont remember it either he was probably eating at Dukes or something.

[Mapguy]

Here's another one. Not a light read. Serious but very, very insightful. It sounds frightful to read, if you just go by the title. Don't be scared off! The author really is readable although this book must spin off his PhD dissertation.

Spend time reading it, and you will understand a lot about "Thainess."

Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-body of a Nation, Thongchai Winichakul, Silkworm Books (Chiang Mai). Try their web site.

Edited May 25, 2009 by Mapguy

[Mapguy]

You could try:

Four Reigns

Kukrit Pramoj translated by Tulachandra.

A rather light to read coverage of one families view of thailand over 4 generation of Kings.

Written by an Ex Prime Minister originally as a serial.

I got mine from UG but he wont remember it either he was probably eating at Dukes or something.

Kukrit was important in modern Thai history.

[harrry]

You could try:

Four Reigns

Kukrit Pramoj translated by Tulachandra.

A rather light to read coverage of one families view of thailand over 4 generation of Kings.

Written by an Ex Prime Minister originally as a serial.

I got mine from UG but he wont remember it either he was probably eating at Dukes or something.

Kukrit was important in modern Thai history.

Yes if I remember right he is the one who saw the Americans out of Thailand after the Vietnam monstrosity.

[harrry]

Two that complement each other are

A History of Thailand

Chris Baker and Pasuk Pongpaichit

Thailand's Political History From the fall of Ayutthaya to RecentTimes

B J Terwiel.

Each on its own left me rather unsatisfied, but the two blended well.

Bet UG was eating again with these.

[Mapguy]

It just occurred to me that there are enough serious readers that we might take a look at the AUA library collection. At least, that is the only library collection that I am aware of that might be appropriate. Maybe nice folks could donate books they have found important? It is a bit much to expect UG to start a lending library, although someone else might. The good stuff might leave his shelves in a hurry.

Thoughts on this? Any regulars who go to AUA to check the stacks?

Edited May 25, 2009 by Mapguy

[Ulysses G.]

aw, come on! You've done the big bit; you've let us know which books. Do you have these on your own shelves?!

I almost always have new paperback versions of Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal by Karen Connelly and Four Reigns as they are both recommended in the guidebooks and people ask for them every day.

By the way, I read Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal by Karen Connelly in about 1992 and I have read a lot of books about Thailand since. It is not easy to remember every single detail of every single book when one enjoys reading as a hobby. Of course, I'm sure that none of the Thai Visa wunderkind have that problem.

[ThaiPauly]

When I saw the title of the thread I thought you meant my favourite Soccer team!!!!

However now that I have got over it...........I read everything John Burdett writes.(Thai related) then everything Andy McNab & John Grisham write and one of my new favourites is Stephen Leather.

Sorry to fail the class Mapguy, NOTHING to do with Chiang Mai, but I know enough about the place and it's history to get by.

Edited May 25, 2009 by ThaiPauly

[Ulysses G.]

ThaiPauly is right. Why should the thread be limited to books that most people find painful to read? Some of these these dry histories are written by academics who don't have any talent at all in the writing department. They are a painfully slow and boring and more like having to take medicine than anything you would read because you actually want to. Sometimes you have to force-feed yourself books that you do not really want to read, but we are not in school anymore - mostly reading should be enjoyable.

There are excellent books about Thailand's sex trade like Patpong Sisters: An American Woman's View of the Bangkok Sex World by Cleo Odzer. She did her anthropology dissertation on the prostitution industry, centered in the Patpong district of Bangkok from the point of view of a woman and it is fun and facinating.

Private Dancer by Stephen Leather has loads of fans, and it certainly has a message - if one is receptive to it - but it also is an very enjoyable read. Why should books like this be ruled out of our discussion?

Why limit the subject matter? Why not let Thai Visa menbers decide what books are worth talking about?

Edited May 26, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[wedders]

UG, there's one book I want to get hold of: "Sex Talk", by Kaewmala, Heaven Lake Press, came out last December. Non-fiction - makes a change to have a book on this subject (Thai sexual culture) from a Thai female's point of view. The author was Chiang Mai educated, before going to the US to work for the UN for the past 10 years. The blurb says "Kaewmala reveals from a Thai-female perspective the vocabulary of love, romance and sexual relations with well-researched explanations, wit and a wealth of humorous and culturally insightful examples. Covering over 900 words, idioms and slang terms, this debut is a must-have reference book for anyone who are in or seeking a Thai-foreign romantic relationship, or curious about how Thais think and talk about love and sex.

SEX TALK offers a unique cross-cultural insight into Thai mindset, covering Thai animal sexual metaphors and the broad scope of romance including attraction at first sight and flirtation to courtship and marriage, and break-ups. It explains traditional romantic rituals as well as modern dating culture. The rich cultural details and anecdotes will also surprise and delight Thai readers who will find something new and the right English phrases to learn."

Anyone else read this yet?

[Ulysses G.]

Sex Talk

by Kaewmala

ISBN 978-974-94788-3-7

Published by Heaven Lake Press,

327 pages

Release date: 8 December 2008

Price: Baht 495

I have had a USED copy before and it looks excellent, but it sold within a couple of hours. I try not to read anything new until I get a really beat up copy - I rather have them on the shelves - but I made a mental notation to read this when I get the chance. I LOVE the girl on the cover!

I do have a few NEW copies for 495, if anyone is looking for it.

[wedders]

I'm away at the moment, fly back to CM June 23rd. If you can keep me a new copy until then, I'll pick it up on the 24th?...

(She's a stunner )

[Ulysses G.]

Just do me a favor and call before you come pick it up: 053 874 066

I can stick a copy on the side, but one month gives us a lot of time to lose track of it.

[Gonzo the Face]

Sex Talk

by Kaewmala

ISBN 978-974-94788-3-7

Published by Heaven Lake Press,

327 pages

Release date: 8 December 2008

Price: Baht 495

I have had a USED copy before and it looks excellent, but it sold within a couple of hours. I try not to read anything new until I get a really beat up copy - I rather have them on the shelves - but I made a mental notation to read this when I get the chance. I LOVE the girl on the cover!

I do have a few NEW copies for 495, if anyone is looking for it.

Careful

remember gender re alignment

you can always see by the left nostril

[Mapguy]

I'd like to report thread theft!

Well, nothing wrong if you like the books about sex or Grisham, just not about Chiang Mai and Thailand. Thought that would be more appropriate here. UG is right, some of these are not easy or fun reads per se, but neither are all potboilers great to read either.

[Ulysses G.]

The Piano Tuner is excellent, by the way. (It is not about Thailand however).

Does anyone know the name of the book that Pim Shaw - of Citylife Magazine fame - wrote when she was a little girl about life in Chiang Mai as a luk-krung? It is really a cute little gem, if you can find it.

Edited May 26, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[WaiWai]

Does anyone know the name of the book that Pim Shaw - of Citylife Magazine fame - wrote when she was a little girl about life in Chiang Mai as a luk-krung? It is really a cute little gem, if you can find it.

Don't know and would love to read it.

Pim would probably have enough fans to justify a limited reprinting?

[Ulysses G.]

I found it on Amazon:

My Diary by Pim Shaw (Hardcover - 1991)2 Used & new from $29.65Books: See all 5 items

I thought that it was called Chiang Mai Girl, so I Googled it. If you are someone that gets upset about Chiang Mai's International reputation, please don't try it!

[Gonzo the Face]

I found it on Amazon:

My Diary by Pim Shaw (Hardcover - 1991)2 Used & new from $29.65Books: See all 5 items

I thought that it was called Chiang Mai Girl, so I Googled it. If you are someone that gets upset about Chiang Mai's International reputation, please don't try it!

Come on UG..... Look at Pim, why she hardly looks old enough to have been writing in 1991. You must mean some other Pim Shaw...

[Ulysses G.]

That is why it is so cute. She is only a little girl and Chiang Mai was quite dfferent then.

[BlackArtemis]

Can't find sex talk stateside it seems, and UG Touch of the dragon is going for $60+ used here!

[Ulysses G.]

Try looking for Dream Of A Thousand Lives in America, That is what it is called there. Maybe it will be cheaper!

[Thakkar]

It just occurred to me that there are enough serious readers that we might take a look at the AUA library collection. At least, that is the only library collection that I am aware of that might be appropriate. Maybe nice folks could donate books they have found important? It is a bit much to expect UG to start a lending library, although someone else might. The good stuff might leave his shelves in a hurry.

Thoughts on this? Any regulars who go to AUA to check the stacks?

That's a great thought, although I'd think that the really good books, people prefer to keep. With that in mind it's occurred to me that we could organize regular get-togethers where we could lend to each other from our personal collections. Of course that involves changing out of my PJ's, taking a shower and leaving home, but it might be worth it. Alternatively, we could set up a google-group each of us listing some of the books we have that we are prepared to lend out. It would be especially great for my kids because good children's books are difficult to get hold of.

PM me.

[anonymouse]

I recommend two fictional novels set in Thailand by the author John Ralston Saul. The Next Best Thing (1986) &

The Paradise Eater (1988]. The next Big Thing is set in Chiang Mai and Burma and is about an Art Dealer smuggling artifacts from Burma into Thailand. The Paradise Eater is set in Bangkok. I read them years ago and I imagine they are pretty hard to find. I did see a copy of The Next Big Thing in Hobo a year or so back, but Hobo has since shut down.

I also go along with UG's choice of Touch the Dragon an excellent book, buy it from Gecko Books.

[Andrew Mac]

Hi everyone

Sorry, I haven't had time to read through all the posts, so someone might already have mentioned this ...

But have you tried Silkworm Books?

They are an independent publisher based in Chiang Mai. Their offices are in Sukkasem Road, off Nimmanhaemin Road.

Website: http://www.silkwormbooks.com

They also have an imprint, Mekong Press: http://www.mekongpress.com

They publish a lot of stuff about Thailand and Southeast Asia, and redistribute books from overseas for sale in Thailand. Many of the books I saw mentioned when I flicked through the posts above are indeed published by or sold through them.

Cheers

Andrew Mac