
OK, just to make sure that our book Dental Phobia was indeed displayed at Kinokuniya, we paid a visit to Ngee Ann City and after having failed to find the book again, we decided to ask the staff for help.
The good news? We found it. The bad news? 5 copies of Dental Phobia tucked away at the bottom shelf of the Children’s Reference cabinet! Yao mo gao chor ah? A children’s book?
A visit to Liang Court proved that the folks there are equally misguided. Also in the children’s section. Also on a bottom shelf. Just 2 copies.
But that’s not the worst. Popular has decided not to stock Dental Phobia at all! Why? Because they think it’s too “specialised”. Huh? Do they seriously think that this book is written for dentists?
One stores think that Dental Phobia is a children’s book and another store thinks that it’s a dentists’ book. How hopeless can things. Another nail on the coffin for the book industry in Singapore – book people who don’t understand books. This is the last time I publish something so “Singlish”. I guess from now on, all future publications should target the international market and not be so uniquely Singaporean.
© Chan Joon Yee
Model: Sheryl Chia (Arts undergrad, NUS)
Photographer: Chan Joon Yee
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