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Susie Lingham: A true book believer
Courtesy of Singapore Art MuseumSince becoming the Singapore Art Museumâs (SAM) director over a year ago, Susie Lingham has found it hard to finish her favorite kinds of books in a single sitting
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Courtesy of Singapore Art Museum
Since becoming the Singapore Art Museum's (SAM) director over a year ago, Susie Lingham has found it hard to finish her favorite kinds of books in a single sitting.
'I read anything, different things, not just research and studies but much more. Now I have no time to really read,' she says. 'When I read, it's just a snatch here and there.'
And reading is her passion, just like the vast collection of artwork under her care at the museum.
'I always believe in books. I do read articles online but just for quick reading. But for me, it's the book, not just fiction. Any book,' said Lingham, who also loves to read science books, from astronomy to quantum theory.
She said that when she went to London several years ago, she bought an antique book in a secondhand bookstore. 'It's antique and the story is about highwaymen, pirates. It's not cheap, and small, but you can feel the printing. It's a precious thing for me,' said the holder of a PhD in literature, religion and philosophy from the University of Sussex in the UK.
Her reading habit started when she was young. When she was little, she would go to secondhand book stores. Once, she found a poetry book that was out of print and had yellowish pages.
'I brought it home and mended it and changed the cover. I still have it until today. I have all my books that I've collected over the years. They're very precious to me.'
At Swim-Two-Birds
by Flann O'Brien
The book makes me laugh and shiver at the same time. At Swim-Two-Birds was so deeply funny. Years ago, when sitting in bed alone reading, I just laughed so hard. How often do you get a book like that? I also love his other book, The Third Policeman. It also makes me laugh and shiver. It's a very boring title but the book is fantastic. It really looks at the subconscious and depth.
Watchmen
by Alan Moore
I don't read all graphic novels. Alan Moore thinks on many levels. You've got the visual. You've got the literary. They are combined altogether. It's classic. If you look at a Watchmen page, you'd be stunned. The page is an experience and the story is very complex.
Beowulf
translated by Seamus Heaney
I do like poetry, like the new translation of a very old English poem Beowulf, done by Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, who just passed away last year. Heaney also made audio with his own voice, making it come to life. I have both the audio and the book. I also love the works of American poet Emily Dickinson, Italian writer Italo Calvino, Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges and, of course, Shakespeare.
