11 Books I recommend to newcomers in Singapore

#1:

Obvious but inevitable choice: Lonely Planet Singapore City Guide.

Handy for tourists and expats alike and good for exploring the city.

The one and only bible;-)

#2:
DK-Eyewitness Travel - Top 10 Singapore.
More compact and therefor also more limited then the Lonely Planet, but usefull too. Some overlap, some different info.

I started with the above two books. They are my basics. 


Then I bought a book with walks.
#3:
Discover Singapore on foot. So far I have done three or four walks from the book and I like it very much. Both the look and the content are well done: appealing, interesting, clear instructions, nice pictures. Up close and personal. On but also off the beaten track. Highly recommended!

Love this book!

The Geylang walk was so cool!

#4:
Singapore. Also from Lonely Planet. This book is more of an appetizer. A small-sized, glossy coffeetablebook. Attractive little lookbook. Nice to show to your friends and family back home. And still giving info here and there.

So far I missed Thaipusam, the festival that you see a picture of here. Hope to catch it in 2012. Looks so special and spectacular to me.

#5:
Singapore Chic. Also more of a coffeetable book, but this one is bigger, heavier and thicker then #4. And focussed on the high end segment. Still a nice book, I find.

#6:
This is a book I bought recently: Surprising Singapore. Compact, attractive layout, lots of info. Glossy look, yet quite informative too. One of my favourites.

#7:
I bought this guide some months ago at the Red Dot Design Museum shop. Wanderlust.
Young, funky, arty. Very up-to-date and focussed on all the latest hot spots. Nice design and layout. Only those small, tiny letters!!!! Dear people from Wanderlust: next year would you please, please, please make those letters a bit bigger, so we can read it without a magnifying glass;-)???

#8:
A book that I bought in my first month in Singapore: Fun Singapore.
I don't know if there are more recent versions, cause mine is quite old and therefor not always up-to-date. And it is definitely not the prettiest book in this Top 10. 
I still like it and use it regularly too, because it gives different info then most of the other books. Nature parks and park connectors are extensively covered, as are fruit and animal farms. Ofcourse the obvious tourist attractions are in it as well. As are activities for children.
Recommended to complement the other guidebooks of Singapore.

#9:
Another book that I bought when I moved to Singapore: Getting into Singapore. Written by an expat, married to a local. Quite hilarious and entertaining.
I guess I should read it again, after having been here for over two years now, to see what I recognise and what I think of it now;-).

#10:
While doing some voluntary work at Food#03, I ran into this book: One Room Flat. It is a book by a photographer, portraying poor elderly, living in the old one-room-HDB-appartments. 
The Food#03 project provides warm meals for people like that in one such an old estate. I was quite surprised and shocked to see how those people live. That's why this book touched me right away.

An old man in his one room flat.

#11:
At the same place where we prepared the meals for the poor people, I saw this book about Singapore's cats. I love cats and would love to do some voluntary work with animals. But I am too weakhearted for that;-). So I bought the book and the money goes to catwelfare.
Did you know that Singaporean cats have short, stumpy tails? One of the things this book shows and teaches you;-).

Unofficial #12:
I made several books about Singapore with my own pictures. Ofcourse just for private use. I am especially content with this one (Singapore Architectour) and like to look it every once in a while;-).

What are your favourite books about Singapore? Which reads would you recommend to expats, locals, newcomers? Do share your tips with my readers!