Tembusu Reading Pods AY2015/16 Sem 1

July 30, 2015

Tembusu College is opening the new academic year with the largest number of teacher and student-led reading pods ever! This semester we are introducing 9 books lovingly selected by members of the college. Choose one to read and discuss with your peers (only 5 students to a reading pod) and facilitator.

Those interested may register at the reception counter and pay only S$10 for a brand new book. Deadline for registration is 21st August 2015 (Friday).


(1) David E. Goldberg and Mark Somerville (with Catherine Whitney). A Whole New Engineer: The Coming Revolution in Engineering Education led by Dr. Catelijne Coopmans


(2) Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities led Dr. Tyson Vaughan


(3) Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchman led by Dr. Connor Graham


(4) Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison led by Dr. Jerome Whitington


(5) Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind led by Dr. John van Wyhe


(6) Marguerite Duras’ The Malady of Death led by Dr. Jeremy Fernando


(7) Fernando Pessoa’s The Book of Disquiet led by Dr. Adam Groves


(8) Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon led by Navin Vijay Wadhwani


(9) Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go led by Shawn Lim You Hao

The Tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) is a large evergreen tree in the family Gentianaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia. Its trunk is dark brown, with deeply fissured bark, looking somewhat like a bittergourd. It grows in an irregular shape from 10 to 25m high. Its leaves are light green and oval in shape. Its yellowish flowers have a distinct fragrance and the fruits of the tree are bitter tasting red berries, which are eaten by birds and fruit bats.