Monday, April 23, 2012

Pedalling around the Peninsula

First of its kind...
You don't find much books written by local authors on bicycle touring.
'Pedalling around the Peninsula' is one such attempt and I must commend the author Sandra Loh for doing so.


The book cover
The low-down
This is a day-by-day account of the author's ride around Peninsular Malaysia.
From Perlis to Tg Piai, Sungai Rengit to Kota Baru, Loh and fellow cyclist Mak Shiau Meng did this feat in 37 days covering more than 2,664km.
The book is well laid-out with detailed maps of the ride and a scrap-book feel to the photos published added a realistic feel to the journey.
Rather than a memoir, this is more like a journal style of writing.
And if you are familiar to crazyguyonabike.com's on-line journals, well, Pedalling Around The Peninsula certainly captured the mood.
From a writer's perspective, it could have been done differently.
This book, priced at RM39.90 - lacked that 'ooomph!' in capturing the essence of a long-duration bicycle touring. Nevertheless, it was a good attempt to chronicle a journey from start to end.

Summary
I ploughed through this book from start to the end and found that the day-to-day account was too boring. Mid-way through, I got bored..
Perhaps I was biased with some really brilliant journals that were coined in crazyguyonabike by more experienced touring cyclists.
I guess the approach of using personal a journal is a set formula in the production of this book that did not exude originality, but then again, the author did it in her best interest.
Perhaps the photos could be better planned in terms of angles and using too much shots that are redundant. The editing is decent, but again, its the usage of photos that made this read a bit mundane.
Since the event took place some three years ago, I guess it must have been a true challenge in piecing up the story together.
All that said and done, Pedalling Around The Penisula can be an inspiring piece for the beginner who is looking for some inspiration in bicycle touring. 
The least I can say is that I paid RM39.90 to support our local author...

4 comments:

Superstage said...

Bought the book 2 weeks ago and I immediately devoured it in just one sitting! Maybe you should turn yr blog entries into a book, albeit from the flexible perspective of a folding biker.

zaws

sanz said...

Hi Superstage,

Many thanks for your support and hoped my book wasn't too boring for you!

It is my first attempt and there are always room for improvement for my next book. Thanks Sam for featuring my book and giving your honest comments about it!

Happy pedalling , guys!

Cheers
Sandra

samo said...

Dear Sandra,

Thanks for dropping-in.

Good attempt on chronicling your travel and here's wishing you all the best in your next adventure..

Sam

sanz said...

Thanks Sam! :)

All the best in your adventures too!!

Cheers
Sandra