Booktique by StarHub – Makes Reading as Social as You Are

Maureen
Maureen
April 09, 2013

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When I was still schooling, the thing we would always do is to sit in a café, open up my ten-year-series and started working on my homework. But after I graduated, I no longer have to bring assessment books to cafes. Instead, I would bring my iPad or favourite story book.

Cafes not only serve great food but they are the perfect place to read. It allows me to read a long novel while having a cup of coffee leisurely. Especially during weekends, I would usually spend one of my afternoons hiding in a café and start reading.

How we read books has been changing over the years since the advent of the computer and other gadgets. Now, I don’t bring thick paperback books with me because they are simply too heavy. When I download ebooks on my iPad, everything becomes more convenient.

If you are holding on to your favourite story books, it is time to change to ebooks! Firstly it saves paper (trees!). It is also weightless and you can carry 1000 ebooks with a reader, iPad, desktop, phone etc. Most ebook readers have bookmarks which you can set to return to your last read page easily and they are available immediately after you buy it!

And now with Booktique, the new ebook store by StarHub, reading ebook has become a social affair!

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The first book I bought from Booktique is “EAT MY GLOBE” by Simon Majumdar. The book is about this author who just turned forty and realized there had to be more to life than his stable but uninspiring desk job.

As he wondered how to escape his career, he rediscovered a list of goals he had scrawled out years before, the last of which said: Go everywhere, eat everything. With that, he had found his mission — a yearlong search for the delicious, and curious, and the curiously delicious, which he names Eat My Globe and memorably chronicles in these pages.

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It is especially entertaining to read about the author’s food adventures especially when he orders cod sperm in Tokyo, crunches crickets in Manila, and is disgusted by cane rat in China.

I brought my iPad to the café near my house, and spent the rest of my afternoon eating croissants, drinking soya milk while reading the ebook. It is so convenient because you can read your books anywhere, everywhere on multiple devices.

The good thing about Booktique is, you can highlight the quotes you like, write some notes and share it with your friends!

Here is something which I really like from the book: “Food was not just fuel to feed the plump bodies of the Majumdar clan. It was the very essence of who we were and indeed are, and that passion has remained the focus of our every waking moment and every conversation.

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Booktique has a large catalogue ranging from international bestsellers to local literature. There are over 400,000 titles from major and independent publishers with a wealth of genres such as fiction, bios, cookbooks, business guides etc.

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Logging on or signing up for Booktique is really easy. If you have a Hub iD or Gee! iD, you can log on to Booktique.sg and start on your Booktique journey. Fret not if you do not have a Hub iD/ Gee! iD. Just click on “Register for an iD” and follow the steps to sign up for an iD.

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This is how my page on Booktique looks like. It is just like Facebook where it will document your activities. You can synchronise your library and bookmarks across devices. You can also “socialise” with the rest of the like-minded readers, form discussion groups and share your notes, highlights, bookmarks and more.

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Everything in Booktique is very organised. Purchases are categorised and populated into your library and popular titles are highlighted to you frequently.

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After you are done with the book selection, you will be directed to the payment page. If you are a StarHub Mobile customer, you can use your mobile bill to make the payment. If not, don’t worry, you can just pay using credit cards. After which, you can download the Booktique Reader app on your phone, or tablet to start reading immediately!

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Here’s something for you! For a limited time only, readers of Miss Tam Chiak will get a FREE* book from Booktique!

All you have to do is to sms in “TAMCHIAK <space> Book number <space> Name <space> Email” to 9024 5851.

Log in to Booktique, to enter the coupon code you received to have the book added to your library!

Refer to the image above to select your Free books and their corresponding book number. The promotion will end by 24 April. *WHILE STOCK LASTS!