For the average birdwatcher visiting or working in Borneo, Phillipps Guide is much the best book to get. For the expert, Susan Myers Bird of Borneo (publ. New Holland) will be needed as well! This is because it is more detailed [...]]]>

For the average birdwatcher visiting or working in Borneo, Phillipps Guide is much the best book to get. For the expert,  Susan Myers Bird of Borneo (publ. New Holland) will be needed as well!  This is because it is more detailed as an identification guide, with descriptions of juvenile and female plumages, and graphic analyses of songs. Myer’s is the favourite among professional bird guides, Phillipps amongst most of their customers.  Quentin Phillipps gives a whole range of well researched ecological and behavioural information, contained in smart little yellow boxes. There is lots of other detail, such as what kinds of birds to expect to see on Mt Kinabalu, or the coast, or in the high forest, migration routes, maps, best birding locations, vegetation, climate, rainfall (with monthly bar charts for different locations) and bird breeding seasons. A real mine of information. And then there is the unmistakeable sense of the enthusiasm and commitment of the author. Writing this book was clearly Quentin’s life long passion. Susan Myers book you might say is thoroughly competent, Quentin’s inspired.

This 2nd edition follows quickly on the first, but as it says on the cover, is fully revised. The Introduction is well worth reading for its detail.  An exciting but taxonomically very dubious inclusion is the 2 page feature on ‘Species novum’, Spectacled Flowerpecker, with a fine portrait. Photographed in the canopy at Danum Valley in 2009 feeding (as flowerpeckers do) on mistletoe fruits and possibly also seen in the Mesilau area of Mt Kinabalu.  [BBooks comment, 17 Jan 2013]

…This picture led to claims that this was a record breaking python in length In fact it is no more than 7m, about average for a really old and well fed reticulated python. Look at these two pictures. They are contrasts in perspective. In the station scene, the length of the train in the [...]]]>

…This picture led to claims that this was a record breaking python in length In fact it is no more than 7m, about average for a really old and well fed reticulated python. Look at these two pictures. They are contrasts in perspective. In the station scene, the length of the train in the distance is obvious, because the tracks indicate the distance it is away from the observer. In the 2nd picture, of a very large Python reticulatus, the bucket of the excavator is far too large for the machine – it is in fact extended a long way directly towards the observer, so making the snake appear much larger than it actually is.¬† Nevertheless, this is a very big snake. Reticulated pythons have been recorded up to 10m in length, with a dead as large as a humans and a formidable capacity for swallowing things.

23rd December Stock sold out, sorry!

10% discount for our exciting hot titles such as Danum Valley, Agnes Keith’s trilogy, Blood Brothers and many more.

There are also selected novels ranging from RM15.00 only. Home hand crafted necklaces, T-Shirts, soft toys are all at very attractive prices

The island if Borneo comprises the Malaysian states of Sabah & Sarawak, the tiny but independent Sultanate of Brunei and the huge Indonesian Province of Kalimantan. Although much deforested with large oil palm estates, it is so large that it is still a treasure house of natural beauty and diversity, particularly in the mountains, [...]]]>

The island if Borneo comprises the Malaysian states of Sabah & Sarawak, the tiny but  independent Sultanate of  Brunei and the huge Indonesian Province of Kalimantan. Although much deforested with large oil palm estates, it is so large that it is still a treasure house of natural beauty and diversity, particularly in the mountains, some of which are still hardly explored. Described by Charles Darwin as ‘one great luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself’, Borneo is home to a rich profusion of flora and fauna, including 669 bird species, a diversity of mammals including the Proboscis Monkey, the Bornean Pygmy Elephant and the Orang-utan, and an immense variety of marine life, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles.

From the spectacular peak of Mt Kinabalu, the tallest mountain in S.E. Asia, to the depths of the world’s largest cave in Sarawak’s Mulu National Park and encompassing some of the world’s most exotic wildlife watching locations along the Kinabatangan river and at Danum Valley, Borneo is an unrivalled destination for adventurous eco travellers. [Adapted by BBooks from the book summary]

John Beaufoy Publishing produces high quality books and John B himself has exceptional experience of the Borneo publishing market. As he intends, this 80 page large format introductory will whet the appetite of many for a visit, or help relatives and friends back home understand why you came here and what you saw. Actually rather more than what you saw, because it covers the whole of Borneo, including parts where hardly anyone can get into.Fancy a trip into the vast Kayan Mentarang National Park in N.E. Kalimantan? You’ll be lucky, it is barely accessible. You might just about penetrate the edge, but not the interior plateau.

The inside front cover has a really good, clear map showing where the reserves and rivers are, getting the book off to a good start.

The text is subsidiary to the photographs, so this is really a pictorial guide. The text is accurate and the photos are a riot of colour. It must have been a sunny day.

The Hawksley Pearls, Eva Telenius-Lowe’s first novel, is a mystery, adventure and love story starting in 1670 and taking you to the present day. Above all it is a ‘feel good’ story, where you are transported to beautiful locations around the world whilst the mystery is being solved.

The main characters are [...]]]>  

 The Hawksley Pearls, Eva Telenius-Lowe’s first novel, is a mystery, adventure and love story starting in 1670 and taking you to the present day. Above all it is a ‘feel good’ story, where you are transported to beautiful locations around the world whilst the mystery is being solved.

The main characters are in their late twenties and early thirties and while the book will appeal especially to women, most men will enjoy the story too. To say more than that would spoil your enjoyment of the book!

The pearls of the title are a ‘tool’ to bring together the characters Eva has created. She says, ‘I hope that by the time you have finished reading it you will want to know what happens next. The sequel, The Scent of Success, continues the story of my characters after “The End”, with some new characters also making an appearance.’ The Scent of Success is due to be published in 2013.

This is a new novel by Eva Telenius-Lowe, a local author living in Kota Kinabalu but originally from Sweden and the UK

Let BBooks do it for you! We are ordering books for institutions, businesses and private individuals on the internet all the time, and know the ins and outs of where to source, how to pack for international transit and get the cheapest (or sometimes [...]]]> Not comfortable about using your own credit card on the internet?

Let BBooks do it for you!   We are ordering books for institutions, businesses and private individuals on the internet all the time, and know the ins and outs of where to source, how to pack for international transit and get the cheapest (or sometimes the least expensive!) postage. You need to say if you want a new or 2nd hand copy, where it is to be sent to, and whether quickly or in the fullness of time (aka ‘sea mail’  – a marvellously slow process). Contact Rosalind Tsang <bbookskk@gmail.com>