Get your bookworm on with a rotating roster of, um, bookworms. Including Jenna Todd & Kiran Dass from Time Out Bookstore, bringing us a different book to talk about each week.
Jenna brings in her favourite book of the year. And with a review like that, what else is there to say? The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, is a fictional novel based on the history of a real reform school in Florida that warped and destroyed the lives of thousands of children. Although devastating, Jenna says this is one that you must read.
Kiran brings in Wild Honey, basically the book that houses some of New Zealand's women poets. Edited by Paula Green, the structure of the novel showcases a poem while giving context and biographies of the author. A super special book that you've got to get your hands on to dive deep into the world of Aotearoa's beautiful poetry.
Jenna remembers Ben Folds Five, and their iconic single, 'Brick' and reckons A Dream About Lightning Bugs, Ben Folds memoir is worth a read. Whether you know the song or not, Jenna says it's a great read, that's sure to get you hooked.
Kiran brings in the Best Illustrated Book, Best Typography, Best Book as well as the People’s Choice, Tatau: A Cultural History of Samoan Tattooing by Sean Mallon and Sebastien Galliot. A truely beautiful book.
Jenna is beaming over one of the books shortlisted for the Man Booker International 2019 prize, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. The book has been translated from Polish and mixes your classic crime novel with thought-provoking ideas, injustice against marginalised people, animal rights, the hypocrisy of traditional religion, belief in predestination, getting away with murder and a few laughs, Jenna reckons.
Kiran's absolutely raving about a new collection of short stories, Sweet Home by Wendy Erskine. Nothing like a good written dialogue and some in depth character studies to get you stuck into a book. Highly recommeneded by Kiran.
Jenna's got a weird one (in a very great way), Bunny by Mona Awad, a novel that's very relatable for the high-school-female-friendship model. Jenna didn't read the back before she dived into this one, and she was very pleasantly surprised. A black-comedy, that takes a dark twist and apparently will hook you from the beginning. Nice one.
Kiran pops up to the studio to talk about the winner of the 2019 International Booker Prize, Celestial Bodies, by Jokha Alharthi. The novel is set in the village of al-Awafi in Oman, where it follows the narratives of three sisters, Mayya, Asma and Khawla. These women and their families witness Oman evolve from a traditional, slave-owning society slowly redefining itself after the colonial era. This book is the first of it's kind to be transalated out of it's original language to English and Kiran adores it.
In light of the new series of Handmaid's Tale, Jenna thought The Farm was a fitting match. The novel tells the story of Mae Yu, the woman who runs Golden Oaks - a luxury retreat transforming the fertility industry. That's right, a dystopian social commentary about surrogacy. Yikes.
Kiran's talking short stories this week, and reckons they are on the rise. After reading Being Various, edited by Lucy Caldwell, she's got some top picks and new authors to look out for. Including stories from Sally Rooney, Eimear McBride, and Belinda McKeon.
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