A local clichés goes: 'If you want to ruin someone, ask him to open a bookstore or publish a magazine.' The waning star of the Book can be glimpsed in the subway where the majority abandon the printed pages in favour of their smartphone screens. But the founders of Timing Bookstore are not afraid of going against the grain. Two months in business, the bookstore is a beacon to bibliophiles and aspiring scholars and literati on campus.

The gloom of most bookstores in Hong Kong is due to the bloom of local rental values. With a median multiple of 14.9 (the average land price being 14.9 times the average yearly income) by one survey, home ownership in Hong Kong has almost become an impossibility. Prof. Edward Yiu will tell you how this came about and what can be done about it.

This issue also introduces the reader to two arts practised on campus, one pedagogic and the other gastronomic. Equally slow-cooked and richly marinated, the Quality Manual and the Egg Foo Yong fill the appetites of their respective clients. Dear Reader, get nurtured and nourished!