Patikal Phakguy is the editor-in-chief of Salmon Books. Salmon Books focuses on Thailand’s arts, cultures and lifestyles. Patikal is also one of the founders of CONT., a website that is quite similar to Books Read By — it invites everyone to start reading books or broaden what they read.
Which three books would you recommend?
open diary Worapoj Panpong
I recommend it to people who want to create or work for a magazine, publisher or have their own books.
This book is a diary of the author while he worked for open magazine, a Thai socio-cultural magazine published in the 2000s. It's about how he worked, and covered all processes of creating, writing the content from many angles, to finally when he had to decide to continue or discontinue publishing this magazine.
Even if the conclusion of the magazine was not beautiful, this book inspires me to want to work in this field, and I always read it when I feel burned out and desperate.
Learning to Love You More Harrell Fletcher, Miranda July
People who don’t have any ideas about work or want to find something new for life will love this.
This book documents the project of 2 artists who gave assignments on a website, and the people who responded to them. It collects the photos or proof of completion from interested participants.
It’s a book that I often read when I don’t have any ideas because apart from seeing how people respond to the assignments, I can also think about how I might approach the assignments too. Sometimes, this way brings me a new idea for work.
Moreover, it's a book that makes me feel that storytelling can be any form, and it's very freestyle.
The Sad Part WasPrabda Yoon
He's one of my favorite authors. Let's say because of Prabda’s works, I want to work in this field. I was interested neither in pocketbooks nor liked reading literary works in the past. But when I read Prabda’s work, I like the way he does the storytelling, it's not serious like the typical and cliched literary works. It's funny, sarcastic and easy-to-understand. When I read his work, I felt like I met someone who shared the same interests as me. That's why I enjoy reading his works every time.
Most of the time, I read his work in Thai, so I'm not really sure if it has an English version or not. However, his work's uniqueness is its playfulness, creative storytelling and play on words. Sometimes it's unpredictable.
What is your favourite bookstore or library?
I go to Kinokuniya when I want to find a new book to relax myself. And I go to Vacilando Bookshop when I want to find a book that can inspire my idea for the publisher.