In Conversation with Seet Siew Ling of Wormhole: A Bookseller’s Picks and What Goes Behind the Hype of Books

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8 min readOct 26, 2023

Seet Siew Ling is one half of the team behind local online bookstore, Wormhole. You might have seen their colourful and attention-grabbing illustrations across social media or know them as the book account that talks about TV shows just as much as books. But most followers and customers of Wormhole recognise them as a kindred reader and friend.

Each book recommendation is accompanied by effusive mini-essays in an Instagram story. Despite the gravitational pull of social media to see (or skip) to the next thing, fans of Wormhole invariably pause and let their thumb linger longer on the screen. There can never be enough book recommendations for a bookworm, and Wormhole’s picks prove to be an eclectic mix of contemporary fiction, hidden gems, and non-fiction titles in conversation with the social issues of today.

Wormhole’s firm finger on the pulse of pop culture and contemporary fiction makes them the perfect fit for NLB’s returning Worth the Hype? series in October and November. The series reviews the literary trends of the year and attempts to answer the titular question: Are they worth the hype?

Siew Ling will be moderating four panel discussions dissecting the appeal of celebrity memoirs like Prince Harry’s Spare, translated stories from the Korean and Japanese, Greek retellings and a special title focus on Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (minor spoilers abound).

Read on for Siew Ling’s reflections on bookselling, what builds a book’s hype and some titles that deserve more buzz!

1. Congratulations are due as Wormhole turned two this year! Bookselling is no easy business; what have you and Charmaine He (co-founder of Wormhole) learned in your entrepreneurial journey so far?

Thank you! It’s funny you say “journey” because that’s precisely what I’ve learnt. Starting out, I struggled a lot with feeling like our numbers have to always be increasing and any drop felt like a sign that we weren’t doing well. It took almost all of these two years for me to understand that if I’m in something for the long haul, I have to accept that there will be both peaks and valleys.

I also have a deeper appreciation of how important it is for us to check in on our individual capacities, both mentally and physically. I think it’s inevitable for a lot of entrepreneurs to wear many hats, and that can really take a toll. So Charmaine and I have learnt to be more attuned to each other, and check in to see if either of us needs to take things slower.

*Wormhole founders Seet Siew Ling (left) and Charmaine He (right) take things offline in their pop-ups with collaborators such as Ethos Books and Singapore Night Festival. Photo credit: Seet Siew Ling*

2. What are some things that surprised you about the local book community?

How nice they are! It’s not even like I assumed they weren’t going to be nice, but I was not prepared for the extent of their kindness and support. We’ve had customers contact us when we’ve been quiet for a bit to check if we’re okay. Once, a customer ended up buying a book she didn’t need after all, and insisted on returning it to us without a refund or exchange. It’s so clear to us that everyone’s rooting very hard for the bookselling scene here. As the new kid on the block, it was such a welcome surprise.

I’ve also been personally very moved by the friendships I’ve witnessed in the local book community. We had a pop-up event recently and a bunch of them (people in the community) showed up. I remember there was this incredible warmth and camaraderie they shared, and I was shocked to find out that was literally the first time they were seeing each other in person. You’d never have guessed it from just observing them, and I love that a common passion for reading was what brought them all together.

*The Wormhole team embraces more than just bookish interests; customers get to engage with the booksellers through PowerPoint parties and plant swaps as well. Photo credit: Seet Siew Ling*

3. Describe a day-in-a-life of an online bookseller.

Not to burst the bubble here, but it’s quite mundane and unromantic! It’s mostly checking e-mails in the morning, posting on social media in the afternoon, and then at night, I catch up on my reading and prepare orders to send out. And in between, a whole lot of procrastinating.

4. Wormhole is also an endearing “fan account” of many TV shows. What is a book that best encapsulates a show you are watching right now?

I’ve been rewatching Derry Girls, which is a sitcom about a group of teenagers living in Derry, Northern Ireland. It’s really wacky and laugh-out-loud funny. This isn’t exactly a book that encapsulates the show but in my opinion, the perfect book to accompany it is Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe — a brilliant, meticulously researched non-fiction read about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. It’s really heartbreaking and serious, and the complete opposite of Derry Girls in tone and vibe. But it really gives so much context to what’s happening in the show, and adds an interesting layer to see the petty, fleeting worries and concerns of a few teenage girls, set against a backdrop of so much tension and violence.

5. What do you think builds up a book’s hype? How much of it do you trust as a reader and as a bookseller?

I feel like as with most of these things, it’s about who you know — and in this case, whose hands you manage to get the book into. I have friends and acquaintances telling me about upcoming book releases that seem promising, and I’m often sent links to an influencer or a celebrity giving the book a shout out. Either that, or it’s one of those New York Times’ 10 Books To Look Out For This Summer type of lists. R.F Kuang’s latest book Yellowface does a great job examining the mechanics of the public relations machine. I’d like to think getting into the bookselling industry has made me more discerning. Even then, I’m not gonna lie — as a reader, it can be hard to not give in to the hype.

6. Share with us a teaser of the upcoming Worth the Hype? topics. What surprised you in your readings while preparing for the series?

I’m so excited for this season of Worth The Hype?, because we’ll be asking really interesting questions about some trending sub-genres. Modern retellings of Greek mythology have been leaning hard into the feminism angle, but is this really as groundbreaking as it seems? What is our fascination with Japanese literature and the almost banal lives of its characters?

It’s been an eye-opener to also read a whole slew of celebrity memoirs, which is not typically a genre I read. But preparing for it has raised a whole bunch of questions I’d love to explore in the panel, such as whether celebrity memoirs have any literary value and how we feel about ghostwriters. I was also particularly surprised to learn which celeb memoirs were ghostwritten, and which ones weren’t. For me, it really showed how my personal opinions and bias about the authors influence the way I read these memoirs, and that’s also something we’ll be discussing.

7. Lastly, what are some underrated titles that you wish more people knew about?

This one’s easy! I can’t shut up about The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade. It was expanded from a short story Quade wrote about a deadbeat alcoholic’s misguided attempt at redemption by playing the part of Jesus in his town’s Good Friday procession. The author basically turned it into this sprawling novel about three generations of a family in New Mexico, written with so much empathy. The character development is so stunning, you’ll feel for everyone, even when they make choices you don’t agree with. Truly a must-read.

Other titles are Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood — super offbeat dark comedy about a terrifying matriarch and what goes on in her household, told from the perspective of her great-granddaughter — and Audrey Schulman’s Theory of Bastards, which impressively blends bonobos, sexual desire, and post-apocalyptic survival into a very cohesive sci-fi tale.

Join Siew Ling and our speakers as they discuss the hyped titles and literary trends of the year from celebrity memoirs to Greek retellings. Find out more and register here: https://go.gov.sg/worththehype

You may also check out some of the titles featured in the “Worth the Hype?” series: