Penguin Advertistments

This is a reply to Sharon's blog post on READ Singapore.

I saw these 2 advertistments for Penguin Classics in the latest issue of Navigator (available free at the ZoCard stands). I immediately took a copy back because I loved the advert so much!

If you can't recognize the people there, its Einstein (1st pic) and Shakespeare (2nd pic) on the left... Not sure if you can read the tag line on the book, but it says "There's no better company than a book."

Yes.

To have the opportunity to engage the greatest thinkers of the centuries in their prime, to laugh with them, cry with them, to feel their thoughts as if they were mine, to understand through their minds.. That is the reason I read.

Of course I tend to yell at them once in a while..like this afternoon, going through some Andrew Marvell poetry, I was muttering - "you sweet-talker you" (..he really is. All his poetry are about trying to praise women enough so they'll go to bed with him.) and by the way, I cannot stand Salman Rushdie, I will end up shouting at the book - "what the hell are you talking about?! This is ridiculous! Come on, stop trying to pretend you know what you're writing about. etc etc.." And also, Edgar Allen Poe's quite the drunkard and the jerk..I was reading some of his letters...can't help but say "My god..you're an utter jerk..."

....

AHem. okay. Back to the point. Yes, literature is very exciting and scandalous. And I don't know why its so hard to get people to read scandalous stuff. Like Donne's The Flea which is trying to persuade this girl to sleep with him. If I have a dirty mind I swear its all Literature's fault.

Okay, I'll put a stop to this rambling, this post is really just about the effectiveness of the two adverts. By reminding readers why they like reading and persuading non-readers that reading allows you to benefit from the great thinkers of their generation, I think its a successful ad.

p.s. This isn't my official post on what I think of Read Singapore and how I think it can be improved..I need some time to think about it.

p.p.s. more on my love of books here if anyone's interested.