LATEST:
Ministries Plan Online Book Fair Late this Week
AKP Phnom Penh, December 11, 2020 --

The Ministry of Information in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports will host an online event Week of Books from Dec. 12 to 19.

The Week of Books will include a broad range of virtual activities including poetry book and video promotions, book sales, and others to promote reading.

There will also be live interaction with prominent speakers through Zoom, a common online meeting platform.

The book fair is an annual event held regularly at the National Library in order to raise public awareness of books in Khmer and foreign languages, and to promote the publishing industry in Cambodia.

It also aims to support Cambodian writers and illustrators, as well as to cultivate a love of reading habits among Cambodians of all ages and to foster a passion for writing for the younger generation.

By Phal Sophanith
AKP

More Cambodians Developing Reading Habit during Pandemic
Sao Sokeng 17/12/2020 12:48 PM
With ever-changing restrictions and levels of danger, a year of uncertainty has pushed more Cambodians into books as an escape. Whether for education, development or pleasure, books have taken a more central role in the lives of young Cambodians.

PHNOM PENH--As the COVID-19 pandemic persists​, creating much stress and uncertainty for many people, young Cambodians have become more interested in reading books than before. Along with the increase in reading, it has also driven an increase in the publication of books among Cambodian authors.

Reading habits are not well-rooted in Cambodian society and it has long been suggested that this needs to be cultivated among today’s youth and children.

But due to COVID-19, in which many have adapted to working from home or studying online, young Cambodians also find themselves spending more time reading books.

A university student in Phnom Penh, Chan Sokunthy described that she has been able to alter her habits of using her phone before sleeping, choosing to read more during the pandemic.

“Before, whenever I held a book, I felt sleepy,” she Sokunthy. “For a long while, I spent much time on my phone because keeping it with us was not very good. I think if I had no reading habit, it would not be productive from day to day—especially, I would not know myself, but when I read a book, I have a lot of things to think about.”

Sokunthy normally spends time reading and borrowing books from the Scholar Library, a library which provides all levels of books for the public in Phnom Penh. Here she cultivated a reading habit, not just reading out of boredom, but as a way to calm her mind.

“Every day when I don't have a book with me to read, I feel like I lack something,” she stressed, book in hand. “When I have free time from work, I take the book and read it.”
Full article: https://cambodianess.com/article/more-c ... g-pandemic

Reading is definitely a savior during these times! Glad to hear that it’s becoming more popular with the locals.
You can’t lockdown the imagination!

If any of you have a kindle, there’s a 3 month free promotion on Kindle Unlimited. Worth a go. I’m currently flying through a Terry Goodkind series, revisiting some characters from The Sword of Truth saga I started when I was a teenager.

What are you lot reading?

Looking for books? Headsup for book lovers. Online sales available now.
Good news for book lovers – Big Bad Wolf Sale is coming back to Singapore later this month (Feb).
Big Bad Wolf Sale Online 2021

Normally a physical event and dubbed the world’s biggest book sale, Big Bad Wolf Book Sale has toured all over Asia including Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and more and has recently switched to online sale due to the ongoing pandemic.
https://www.greatdeals.com.sg/2021/02/1 ... b-mar-2021

Just came across this. It's not a new book list, but thought it was worth sharing. There are a couple of books in the list that are recommended for teenagers or younger readers, many tried-and true non-fiction works, and also a collection of Cambodian folktales.

Cambodia: Book Reviews and Recommended Reading

While there is a wealth of information about Cambodia available online, print is still king: The most detailed studies are found in books.

An excellent source for titles related to Cambodia is Monument Books. Their website, at www.monument-books.com, includes an unparalled selection of obscure and hard-to-find books on Asia. If you are looking for older, out-of-print books, another excellent resource is Bookfinder.

The list below highlights several of the best books on the subject of Cambodia and Cambodian history. In no particular order:
http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/reading.htm

Thanks AM ^^ a fab list.

I will take the opportunity to highlight one of my alltime faves from the list - one which was a crucial key on my road to understanding the mysterious ways of this mystical kingdom.

Cambodian Folk Stories from the Gatiloke retold by Muriel Paskin Carrison from a translation by Kong Chhean (Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1987.)
A collection of 15 traditional Cambodian folk tales, divided into three categories: "Scoundrels and Rascals," "Kings and Lords," and "Foolishness and Fun." The Gatiloke, from which the tales are drawn, is a comprehensive collection of these stories. As the author notes in the introduction, "The folktales of the Gatiloke were used by Cambodian Buddhist monks as 'speech-teach' sermons - examples of right and wrong, good and bad. The word 'Gatiloke' reflects this: Gati means 'the way," and loke means "the world." Freely translated, 'Gatiloke' means 'the right way for the people of the world to live.'" The appendix on Cambodian history at the end of the book is oversimplified and not entirely accurate (the Vietcong are referred to as the Vietminh, for example), but that is probably nitpicking: this is still an enjoyable, educational little book.

nb, but not sure if i agree with the "enjoyable" bit
it is actually quite disturbing to see how adherence to the status quo, ie "the right way for the people of the world to live", is reinforced so heartlessly in these chronicles.

These tales may be a good guide to survival under a rigid King or Ruler - but God knows, they explain so much about Khmers "helplessness" and lack of initiative today.

I'm waiting for your book, JB