306 pp, RM29.90
Published by Pelanduk Publications, 2004
Book Description
A light, feel-good casserole of a book, bursting with engaging slices of Malaysiana that will keep you utterly gripped – either wincing with recognition or chuckling with glee.
New Straits Times, September 26, 2004
Teh writes with wit and an observant eye… It’s just the thing to perk you up on a rainy day.
Best seller lists :
Popular – No. 6 for non-fiction books in December 2007
Popular – No. 9 for non-fiction books in November 2007
Readers’ comments
Your stories were so funny that I actually laughed to myself … It was a joy reading your book. I’m proud to say that your book is the first non-studying book I’ve ever finished reading. Edwin.
U have a good sense of humour and sarcasm, and i found myself laughing aloud for the first time while reading a book! my brother thought i was nuts. Sue Ann.
I just finished your book and I think you are a great writer. I simply enjoy the way you describe us Malaysians and I told my wife, Kelly – a Singaporean that you brought out in words what Lat did in drawing. Victor.
I’m a Malay guy, 26 years old from Seremban. I just finished reading your book “Life’s Like That”. Two thumbs up! Well, many new things I can learn from your experience. And the most important thing is the exposure on the daily life of Chinese community, as I have limited relationship with Chinese friends. Keep up with your writing! Max C.
I’ve just finished your “Life’s Like That” and I got to hand it to you, it was exceptionally enjoyable and awe-inspiring . I brought back the book to my hometown in Kedah four days before Hari Raya and finished it five days later even with the Raya’s hectic preparations. The funny thing is, I’m a man and I can associate with all the subject matter that was portrayed. You were right. I can feel the connection and without a doubt, the book effortlessly transcends race and culture. Aslan
This e-mail is just a note of encouragement and also to say that your book is interesting and light-hearted. It kept me reading all the way from the beginning to the end. Grace Goh.
There are so many other wonderful comments from my readers for which I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate them for taking the effort to write in to me.
Where to get the book
From all major bookstores.
I would like to ask if there is any copy of ‘Life’s like that” available at the bookstore. I would like to buy that copy.
By: redluck on October 14, 2007
at 2:28 pm
Hi redluck, the book is available at bookstores. I’ve seen them in MPH and Popular. Thanks.
By: lydiateh on October 15, 2007
at 11:21 am
how much is the boook??
might buy it if i have enough money…hehe
im still a student…hehe
By: adeline on October 26, 2007
at 10:54 am
Hi Adeline, it’s RM29.90. Popular is giving a 15% discount at the moment
Good time to buy.
By: lydiateh on October 27, 2007
at 12:28 am
Hi, i have read your book last year. It was funny but I couldn’t understand some of the stories…. Haha….
By: Zeke Ng Tiong Sik on November 2, 2007
at 5:41 pm
Hi Zeke, thanks for coming by. Could you tell me which stories you don’t understand?
By: lydiateh on November 3, 2007
at 10:35 am
erm… i did not understand the morning sickness…
By: Zeke Ng Tiong Sik on November 14, 2007
at 1:22 pm
Hi Zeke, ohhh… no wonder lah, haha. I’m sure your mum will understand. You could ask her to explain to you.
By: lydiateh on November 14, 2007
at 11:39 pm
its okay… its not like i really need to know it…
By: Zeke Ng Tiong Sik on November 17, 2007
at 8:19 pm
Hey Lydia. I have just finished reading “Life’s like that” and i find it really really interesting and not to forget funny too! Although i bought it for Rm 31.50(a little more expensive than the original price), i think it is money well spend! Love your book! I am currently reading “honk! If you’re Malaysian” and enjoy every moment reading it.
By: Russell on January 5, 2008
at 11:40 pm
Hey Russell, thank you for the feedback. The only place I know that sells books at a higher price is the KLIA bookshop, may I know where you bought the book please? I’m glad you’re enjoying both the books. Happy new year.
By: lydiateh on January 7, 2008
at 4:16 pm
i was hunting books in MPH , and i saw Life’s Like That on the shelf , the title and cover design attracts me … and i looked again , i saw the name Lydia Teh and the bottom part of the book – Honk ! If You’re Malaysian ….
So , bought it in the end and i just unwrap it not long ago ~ Will read the book very very soon …..
By: tiensheng on January 18, 2008
at 5:48 pm
tiensheng, thanks for getting the book. Hope you enjoy it.
By: lydiateh on January 21, 2008
at 11:46 pm
Hi Lydia…I have not seen your books till yesterday in MPH Ipoh and I took a glance at Life’s Like That… never to think twice I took it and saw another..Honk! If You’re Malaysian.. bought both and found them funny and could consider as a light reading books with the same experience I had but you have put them in words which reminds me of the things I had before… well good luck to you and I’ll be waiting for your next book… cherio
By: Rohaya on May 18, 2008
at 6:12 pm
Rohaya, thanks very much for your kind words. Glad you like them. My next book should be out next year.
By: lydiateh on May 21, 2008
at 4:16 pm
is there synopsis here. sorry just found your site
By: exinco on May 27, 2008
at 6:27 pm
exinco, if you’re interested, let me know and I can email you a sample chapter.
By: lydiateh on May 28, 2008
at 12:27 am
Hi Lydia, i’ll take along time to finishing your book just like i read the book by Yvonne lee……to me every single words i’ve to understand.so that i can enjoythe story about..overall, u have written THE BEST MALAYSIAN BOOK ON EARTH……lydia,can u e-mail me when you’ve your new book launch…bcause i really want to meet you….I’m a fan of your books!!!! .I had borrow your stories-the savvy shopper-for my English oral test infront of the class….they really enjoy the stories even my english teacher borrow the book from me…and she had use the storries for the public speaking competiton…anyway ths is my e-mail= HuntedBabun_abu@yahoo.com
By: Abu Haziq on August 18, 2008
at 6:51 pm
Hi Abu, thanks for your compliment (but I don’t think my book deserves the tag of BEST MALAYSIAN BOOK ON EARTH
) and for sharing your stories with me. Glad to hear that your classmates and teacher enjoyed my book. I will let you know when the next book is out. Should be next year.
By: lydiateh on August 19, 2008
at 1:13 pm
I had read your book lately . It is very amazing . Besides that , it helps me a lot in my Enlgish paper in exam , the SPM exam . I hope you can publish more book .
By: C H I E W on October 23, 2008
at 6:09 pm
Hi Chiew, I’m glad you like my book. My next book is coming out next year, it’s a compilation of my eh poh nim stories in Star’s Mind our English section.
By: lydiateh on October 24, 2008
at 11:10 am
I finish reading your book finally . It is really nice . Five star *****
By: Chiew on October 30, 2008
at 10:34 pm
Really ? I can’t wait for it !!!
By: Chiew on October 31, 2008
at 12:02 am
Chiew, great!!!!!
By: lydiateh on October 31, 2008
at 11:13 am
Due to my compliment on your book . My mom start reading this . hak !!
By: Chiew on October 31, 2008
at 5:06 pm
Chiew, Lagi better!! Let me know if she likes or hates the book. Thanks.
By: Lydia Teh on October 31, 2008
at 6:00 pm
My mom did bought Honk If You’re Malaysian , but she left it in the book store while taking photos . >.<
By: Chiew on November 1, 2008
at 1:22 am
Hi again. I was thinking of buying Honk If You’re Malaysian but I would like to know the contents of the book. Is it aall about the road and traffic of Malaysia?
By: Zeke Ng TIong Sik on November 3, 2008
at 4:36 pm
Chiew, ‘My mum did buy Honk…” not “did bought”. Oh dear, did she try going back to look for the book?
Zeke, Honk is not just about Malaysian drivers. To give you an idea, here are some chapter headings :
We’re Malaysianslah
1. We’re Malaysians, we don’t kiss
2. Bangsa Malaysia
3. MRT
4. Hi, there!
It takes all kinds
9. The savvy shopper
10. Scraps of money
11. Blame it on the worms
Service counts
18. Power to the little grocer
19. NND Syndrome
Lingo tango
20. Manglish short short one
21. Get that job
The reel deal
25. Make that record
26. Open letter to movie directors
Malaysia Boleh!
28. Cheer for Malaysia
The young ones
32. The cellphone gap
33. Homework dilemma
IT savant
36. Confessions of a blog addict
37. Chatroom lingo
Food glorious food
38. Instant hit
39. Fast food contests
40. Obssessive Compulsive Disorder
Kitchen tales
41. All wokked up
42. Tarty about pineapple tarts
43. Can it
Getting around
44. Car decoration 101
48. Strange road scenes
Love your neighbour
49. When Indonesia lights up
50. Malek and Sing Poh
By: lydiateh on November 4, 2008
at 12:33 pm
that is why i ruined my exam this time …
I did something wrong … TERRIBLE !!
I wrote the essay about ‘The perfect wife in your future’
But what i wrote was dull , and i did not check my grammar , and many spelling mistakes due to my rush …
I should write story …
(T.T)
By: Chiew on November 16, 2008
at 12:14 am
I’m RUINED !!!!
I WANNA GET MY ‘A’ BACK !!!
arghhhh !!!!
By: Chiew on November 16, 2008
at 12:16 am
Hi Chiew, my daughter chose the same topic as you. I had a look at all the other options – they’re all quite simple and you have a lot of leeway to use your creativity.
You don’t know for sure how you’ll score – just hope for the best. It’s no use crying over spilt milk now. You should forget about the English paper and concentrate on the other subjects. All the best.
By: lydiateh on November 17, 2008
at 11:05 am
Okay, thanks for that.
By: Zeke Ng TIong Sik on November 18, 2008
at 9:29 pm
Hi, ive read the Honk If Youre Malaysian book.I found it quite interesting but i think the number of stories are lesser compared to lifes like that
By: Ng Tiong Sik on December 10, 2008
at 9:04 pm
Zeke, thanks for reading Honk! Yes, there are less stories than Life’s in Honk. What do you think is a good no. of chapters / pages?
By: lydiateh on December 11, 2008
at 10:15 am
Hmm… I think a good number of chapters and pages are maybe double of the book! Hahaha… That would certainly keep me occupied. By then I think you would have a headache because maybe you will run out of any idea.
By: Ng Tiong Sik on December 11, 2008
at 9:44 pm
Zeke, you want door-stopper of a book! Yes, I will have a big headache indeed.
By: lydiateh on December 12, 2008
at 11:40 am
Hahaha… That’s because I’m always so free and have nothing to do except daydreaming, eating and sleeping… Oh, and I would like to ask something: Is this the blog with the Aidyl Het name and so that you wrote on the Blog part?
By: Zeke Ng on December 13, 2008
at 8:17 pm
Zeke, reading is a good pastime. I encourage you to continue with your reading habit. You could also borrow books from a library near you or your school library. Yes, this is the blog Aidyl Het was referring to but as you’ve seen I’ve cooled down a lot since then.
By: lydiateh on December 14, 2008
at 3:15 pm
My very own christmas greeting !! Merry X’mas !!
By: C H I E W on December 23, 2008
at 10:05 pm
Hi Chiew, have a blessed christmas and a happy new year.
By: lydiateh on December 25, 2008
at 4:54 pm
Hi, Ma’am. I’m Knina from the beach state Terengganu. I’ve read your books; Honk if You’re Malaysian and Life’s Like That. Both are great! You’ve done a splendid job writing them. And seriously though you don’t have to write a kinda fantasy tale just like Harry Potter series to have a bee line of fans to get their copies signed, because you can go further! It’s about time! Hope to see more books coming from you soon.
Merry Christmas to you!
By: Knina on December 25, 2008
at 8:35 pm
Hi Knina, how sweet of you to say that but I don’t have a long line of fans lining up for my signature, haha. My next book will be out in Feb/Mar – Do you wear suspenders – the wordy tales of eh poh nim. Do watch out for it. It’s a compilation of my column in The Star’s MOE. BTW, I’ve been to the beaches in Terengganu, they’re beautiful!
By: Lydia Teh on December 25, 2008
at 9:12 pm
I will wait for it , Honk if you’re malaysian is currently in progress …. haha
By: C H I E W on December 25, 2008
at 11:45 pm
Chiew, I hope you enjoy Honk!
By: lydiateh on December 31, 2008
at 8:43 am
Hey sorry for the very late reply too lazy to check… Haha… Hey you said you like to see blogs right? Can see mine and comment? My blog dont have many visitors… Thanks haha
http://www.ulquiorra-espada-murcielago.blogspot.com
By: Zeke Ng on April 10, 2009
at 6:06 pm
Zeke, nice blog. Couldn’t help smiling as I read the entries. I tried to comment but got kicked out a few times.
By: lydiateh on April 11, 2009
at 10:18 pm
really? where did you comment?
By: Zeke Ng on April 15, 2009
at 1:54 pm