Surprise Your Shelf

Every two months, Wormhole invites a different person to curate a mystery book. Our curators all come from different backgrounds and walks of life, so you'll never quite know what to expect.

Take a chance, explore someone else's perspective, and surprise yourself. Find out more here.

NOTE
All Surprise Your Shelf (SYS) books come with free normal mail. SYS orders are open till 25 August, 23:59. We expect to send them out in October.

If you're making other purchases together with your SYS order, they will be shipped out first.

SURPRISE YOUR SHELF #12: IBRAHIM
Genre: Memoir

The Book: If not for a chance discovery, this book was almost lost to the world and may never have seen the light of day. A chronicle of one woman's journey to evade capture and almost certain death, this memoir is an underrated addition to our understanding of a historical period that's been widely documented from many other angles. Her narrow escape is the result of her determination, good luck, and the kind souls she meets along the way - a powerful true story of how amidst senseless human cruelty, there remains space for hope and compassion.

Read if you: are feeling particularly exhausted and disillusioned with the world. 

The Curator: Ibrahim Tahir is the principal bookseller at Wardah Books. Books and reading have been life-long passions for him, and he began his career in the book business as a junior editor for science textbooks. Over the years, his editorial repertoire expanded to include books on culture, arts, and Singapore heritage. Some twenty years ago, he transitioned to bookselling with the founding of Wardah Books.