Singer selects her best books
By Sukrit Khaepimpan
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb
Did you know
Ten of Nicholas Sparks' novels have been made into movies.
After taking a two-year hiatus from the music business, 23-year-old singer Pornwara Sithiprasasaha (Poi) is back with a sexy new look and a romantic pop single called "Rak Mod Jai (All of Me)."
When she's not singing, Poi likes to spend some of her spare time reading. She first got into reading in junior high school, where she was a student at the female boarding school Wattana Wittaya Academy.
Poi started out reading books published by Oxford Bookworms, a publisher that adapts famous novels into easy language for teenagers. Poi also borrowed so many books from her school library that she got a certificate for being an outstanding reader.
While Poi particularly likes fantasy novels, she believes that reading any type of book is time well spent.
“Reading anything provides general knowledge, even a predictable romance novel," she said. "To write any kind of story, an author has to do some research for details about places and characters."
Student Weekly recently asked Poi to tell us about five if her favourite books.
Title: 1Q84: The Complete Trilogy
Author: Haruki Murakami
Publisher: Vintage
Poi read an English language translation of this trilogy, which was originally written in Japanese. It's a romantic story set in 1984 about a man and a woman who live in different worlds.
“The plot of this trilogy is mysterious and awesome," Poi said. "Though the language is quite difficult, once I started reading it, I couldn't stop!”
Title: Why Men Love Bitches
Author: Sherry Argov
Publisher: Adams Media
This English language book explains why some men are attracted to women who can stand up for themselves more than women who just try to please them. Poi, who got the book from her best friend, said that it's entertaining and easy to read because it contains charts, tips, and lists of "dos and don’ts."
“One tip in the book said that a girl shouldn’t go the extra mile because a guy will feel that she's too desperate," Poi said. "And another was that a girl shouldn’t confess her feelings too frankly. I think those tips might work with some guys, but not for everybody."
Title: Nine Lives
Author: Songsin Tiewsomboon
Publisher: A Book
Nine Lives is an illustrated book featuring four short stories with cats as main characters. This award-winning book has also been published in China and Taiwan. Since Songsin is one of Poi's favourite illustrators, she was very happy to get his autograph at a book fair.
"This book has several things that I like, including the author, the illustrations and the easy-to-read language," Poi said. "The illustrations express emotions really well with colour.”
Title: Khwam Sook Doi Sang Gate(Observe Happiness)
Author: New Klom
Publisher: Matichon publishing
This book presents the optimistic views of prominent travel writer New Klom, who makes readers realise that happiness is always close by. Poi enjoys New Klow’s creativity, and this book inspires her to think more deeply.
“I really like where he says in the book that we are all looking for our favourite hat our whole lives without realising that we're already wearing it," Poi said. "We should be aware of the happiness that is already with is."
Title: Li Khit Fha Cha Ta Rak (The Lucky One)
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Translator: Chiranan Pitpreecha
Publisher: Matichon Publishing
The Lucky One is a novel about a US marine named Logan Thibault, who finds a photo of a young woman during the Iraq War. He believes that the photo is his good luck charm and eventually tries to search for the girl.
"I like this story because although the characters are flat, the author creates an interesting story," Poi said. "The story is full of mystery as well as romance."
Vocabulary
- hiatus (n): a break in an activity when nothing happens
boarding school (n): a school where students can live during the term
predictable (adj): happening in a way that you would expect and therefore boring
trilogy (n): a group of three books, films, etc. that have the same subject or characters
desperate (adj): needing or wanting something very much
frankly (adv): in an honest and direct way that people might not like
charm (n): a small object that is believed to bring good luck
flat (adj): dull; lacking interest or enthusiasm
Idioms
dos and don'ts: a list of things that you should and shouldn't do in a particular situation
go the extra mile: to make a special effort to achieve something
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