Located in the heart of Chinatown, we are delighted to discoverThe Moonamid the restaurants. We were greeted by the familiar scent of new books and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee the moment we stepped in. But what really attracted us is that the serenityThe Moonexudes — it just makes you want to stay in to seek solace; get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life.
More than just a bookstore and cafe,The Moon's cosy and homely vibes create a sanctuary for everyone. Be it a group of friends to hang out over coffee and cakes, or book lovers who want to spend time devouring their favourite books, there is definitely a good spot for you here. The beautiful collection of books here is curated according to themes and changes every fortnightly. It was the Halloween theme during our visit, so you can imagine how excited we were with the books on fantasy and fairytales!
That's not all,The Moonalso opens up its second level, which is a reading space, to events too. Story-reading sessions for kids, poetry readings, new book launches and many other interactive events. Definitely a perfect place for inspiration and sharing of new ideas. We had a short but good chat with one of the co-owners,Sarah Naeem.Sarahshared with us that she noticed how the global publishing industry tends to favour male authors, hence she hopes that she can provide a more diversified reading experience atThe Moon.
Read on to find out more about her and this whimsical space.
Can you walk us through a typical work day as abookstoreowner?
Every day is a different journey! I come to The Moon every single day, and the day is usually a flurry of answering emails, messages, sorting through book deliveries, getting the upstairs ready for whatever events we've got going on, greeting customers and chatting with people who want to know more about the space. I try to have as many of my meetings at The Moon, so I can stay close in case I'm needed and when I'm not working on the customer-facing aspect of the business, I'm working on all the admin, HR, finance side of things. It's a lot of on the job learning, and I'm confronted with multiple challenges every day that I've never encountered before, but that's also part of what makes things exciting and keeps me on my toes.
It's been about 2 months since The Moon opened. What is the biggest challenge you have faced when starting or while running the business?
I think the biggest challenge has been learning how to remain calm despite setbacks and things not going according to plan. So often we have such a set picture of things in our minds, but life doesn't go that way most of the time. Learning how to be ok with that, and to roll with changes to the plan has been something I have to constantly pep talk myself into.
As an avid book lover, share with us tips on how you find time out of your busy schedule to read?
I think it's about making time, not finding time! There's always something to do, another email to answer, another idea to develop... but it's also equally as important to be able to stop and make time for things that bring you joy.
What book would you recommend that we should read?
There's a book I picked up from a market a few years back, called The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto, that quite honestly changed my perspective on life. It's about the impact of positive and negative thoughts and energies on water, and how that impacts the shape of our lives.
We have to agree with Sarah that making time for things that bring us joy is important, no matter how busy we can get. Drop by for a hot cup of chai latte (yes, it's our personal favourite!) and enjoy a book atThe Moontoday.
The Moon 37 Mosque Street Singapore 059515 Opening Hours: Sun - Thu, 11am - 8pm; Fri - Sat, 11am - 12am www.themoon.com.sg
