To task of promoting the joy of reading on a global scale is too heavy for the Monk to bear alone.  Contributors have now come aboard to join in this endeavour, reviewing their latest reads on the Readingmonk.com and welcoming your comments and critique. If you are interested to share your thoughts on books that you’ve read, just drop us a line at thereadingmonk[at]gmail.com.

Joanna T writes under the pseudonym JoV (short for Jovenus Smart). A Malaysian who lives in the UK, Jo started her reading blog about the same time as the Monk, but reads and blogs more frequently than him! In the difficult months of the 2008 world financial crisis, Jo took up reading fiction and became more absorbed in reading her novels than looking for a job. On normal days, Jo’s mind vacillates between the joy of breathing fresher English air, drinking cleaner water, improving the prospects of driving a better car (not now, in the very near future), reading abundant library books for free and buying used books for less than £1, talking in refined English with a haughty accent, indulging in premium chocolates, coffees, Hagen Daaz ice creams, beauty products and oh yeah, cheaper grocery bills;

And missing the warmth of friends and family in Malaysia, the nasi lemak, the assam laksa, char kuey teow and jiew hu char, every salivating cuisine available, the extended night business, the vibrancy of local TV programmes, late night shopping and pasar malam, the less world-weary attitude of her fellow Malaysians. There is just more soul and so much going on back home … making death by suffocation on the Klang Valley’s polluted air and water a rather happy affair!

Jo continues to find joy in reading despite a full time job in the office and at home. She reads and reviews books on her site – Bibliojunkie.

 
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