Ithaca Books

❖ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐆𝐄 & 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐑

“𝘐𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘷𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘨𝘦.
𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
— C P Cavafy, “𝘐𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘢”

In Homer’s poem, Odysseus’s ultimate goal is to reach and reclaim his beloved home on Ithaca. But he is not destined to stay there happily ever after—no sooner has he found home than he must leave it again, oar on shoulder, called to another voyage and another land.

Ithaca lies at the journey’s end and its beginning: the harbor that every wanderer longs for is at the same time the port from which every adventure sets sail.

Here’s to endings and beginnings, to Ithacas still on the horizon.

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❖ 𝐀 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇

Some of the ever-rotating words and quotations and fragments and aphorisms scattered around Ithaca Books since the beginning—which ones have you spotted in person?

We are open as usual today (Dec 30) and tomorrow (Dec 31). Thank you for all the outpourings of generosity and encouragement as we turn the page on this chapter.

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❖ 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆

“Imagine it—a humble secondhand bookshop in a preserved historic building, old books given new life echoing an old building given new life…”

It was January 8, 2022, opening day of Think & Tink. We met the team behind its transformation from beloved old grocery to art-slash-community space and pitched the idea of a pop-up bookshop for curated secondhand books.

That was, in a sense, the moment Ithaca Books crossed the threshold from concept to something almost tangible.

With little business experience or acumen, we set out on the open sea, borne on the waves of enthusiasm for local-grown art markets across Kuching. Later that year, we were offered a permanent—well, somewhat more permanent—mooring here at Think & Tink. Our space opened on December 8, 2022.

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥, the poet said, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦.

Needless to say that inhabiting a historic building is something more romantic and quaint on paper than in practice (as anyone who’s read Penelope Fitzgerald’s masterfully elegant THE BOOKSHOP knows). Heat, insects, floods, wildlife, electrical problems, break-ins, more floods—most of which the bookshop survived surprisingly unscathed. Little by little its quirks and faults have grown familiar, its continued existence taken for granted.

As Ithaca Books’ tenancy at Think & Tink comes to an end, we would like to thank—at risk of rehashing the same sentiments from the anniversary post—every reader and every person who has supported us during the three years here. We would especially like to thank Wendy and the Borneo Laboratory team for taking a chance on us.

December 31 (Wed) will be our last day of operation at Think & Tink. Until then, we are open 12 – 6PM every day, including on December 29 (Mon) and 30 (Tue).

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❖ 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐒

Telling somebody to “go where the pepper grows” is a German expression meaning, more or less, “get lost”. But in Sarawak we don’t have to look far for this once-exotic spice—or for sago, or dabai, or the sweet sap of the apong palm.

Sarawak’s foodstuffs have been enriched and disrupted by dynasties and wars, migration and trade. In her latest book, Heidi Munan draws upon testimonies of 14th century Chinese travelers, memories of war veterans and personal encounters (of the culinary kind) to serve up a story of Sarawak’s many-hued, many-flavored food culture.

To mark the book’s launch today, a very limited number of signed copies are now available at Ithaca Books.

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❖ 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄.

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.”
— Jeanette Winterson, 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘉𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭?

Three years: time enough to pick up a skill, to change your mind on a book, to grow into a habit, to grow weary of a habit, to make a home and leave it.

Tomorrow marks three years since we anchored at Think & Tink. Thank you for the encouragement, for the conversations, for the many forms that support can take. Thank you to those who have continued to root for us even not in person.

The coming year will bring its turbulence and tribulation, but ’til then—enjoy a small 10% off all our secondhand books as a token of our gratitude.

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❖ 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐄

“𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”
— Alberto Manguel

Christmas is a time of repetition: familiar decorations, familiar platitudes, familiar rituals. Is it still possible to write something fresh about the season, see beyond the sentiments repeated on card after card and advertisement after advertisement?

Each of the twenty-three tales by twenty-three writers gathered here takes up the challenge in its own way. For some Christmas is a time of nostalgia, unearthing comforting or bittersweet childhood memories (a kitchenful of pecan fruitcakes, a faithful family dog); for others it’s a time of tension, a clash of cultures (a Venezuelan immigrant working as santa-for-hire in Berlin, a Jewish girl playing the part of infant Jesus in a school play). For still others it’s the stage of courage and resistance, grief and solace, hardship and whimsy, faith and the impossibility of faith.

The anthology brings together celebrated storytellers such as Alice Munro, Graham Greene and Vladimir Nabokov, as well as writers whose works are rarely or for the first time available in English.

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❖ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄́𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐔𝐗, 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐄́𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄, 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐄́𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄

𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘪𝘭, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦,
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘴.
— Rosamund Marriott Watson, “To My Cat”

Across history, cats have been the companions of witches and saints, artists and abbots (and, some say, the Prophet himself). They have deigned to lend their names to cities and their affection to frail and erring humans. Today we’re featuring a trio of books that pay homage to—as Baudelaire puts it—the mysterious cat, seraphic cat, singular cat.

ᗢ Since the beginning of picture-making, cats have been as captivating and uncooperative a subject as they still are today. In THE CAT IN PHOTOGRAPHY, Sally Eauclaire curates over a hundred photographs of cats ranging from 1850s daguerreotypes to postmodern art photography. Accompanying essays shed light on the compli𝚌𝚊𝚝ed relationship between cats and photographers—both opportunistic hunters, watchful and endlessly curious.

ᗢ Taking a broader view of history, Bryan Holme’s A CLOWDER OF CATS (“clowder” being the proper collective noun for cats along with “kindle” and “wauling”, according to one authority) looks at the way felines have been venerated in Egypt, witch-hunted in medieval Europe, allegorized in fables and edu𝚌𝚊𝚝ional tales, adored by French novelists and poets, coddled by Victorians and firmly reenthroned in the cartoons and musicals of popular culture. Lavishly illustrated with cats across the ages.

ᗢ Lastly, WHY CATS PAINT advo𝚌𝚊𝚝es for a groundbreaking perspective of cats not as the subject but as the creator of artworks. This brilliant, erudite s̶a̶t̶i̶r̶e̶ survey by Heather Busch and Burton Silver presents the major movements and artists of feline art (which naturally includes sculpture, found object, performance art etc), and further argues that a broad spectrum of cat behavior—the clawing of venetian blinds, the application of litter—can be understood in the context of feline self-expression.

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Friends,

Ithaca Books will be closed for a small break during October 1–16. We’re taking the time to fix up the place a little, as well as recharge for the road ahead.

In the meantime, enjoy Sarawak Book Fair and WAK happening across Kuching. See you back here soon.

⬥ 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬

Balancing out our recent addition of literary classics is an assemblage of modern and contemporary fiction: stirring historical novels, mesmerizing metafictional mindbenders, societal satires and tender retellings of old fables.

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⬥ 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬

Gracing our shelves today are some excellent works by English, Irish, Scottish, American and French writers: adventures into distant lands and times or within the twisting labyrinths of the mind, stories that capture the snapshot of a city or the portrait of a decadent soul, plays about conscience and resistance and poems that celebrate pelicans and quangle-wangles.

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