95bFM: Loose Reads

Suri's in the studio this morning with a book review, a very topical book review. We're talking On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein, where we find essays on varying stages of ecological crisis to current calls for policy reform, in hope of saving our planet. A necessary read.

Jenna's talking about Patti Smith's new memoir, Year of the Monkey, and describes it as similar to snuggling into a warm blanket of Patti. A glorious read but Jenna reckons you've gotta read M Train and Just Kids first, so there's your reading list for the week, enjoy.

This week Jenna has brought in the hotly anticipated- and heavily embargoed (thanks for nothing, Amazon)- sequel to Margaret Atwood's 'Handmaid's Tale': 'The Testaments'. Does it live up to the hype? Jenna reckons so- check it out!  

Kiran pops up to talk about Deborah Levy's latest book, The Man Who Saw Everything, which also happens to be Time Out's Book of the Month. An abstract novel with a touch of politics, coincidence, carelessness, and history. Get your hands on this one. 

Jenna comes pops into the studio this morning with not one, but two books to chat about this morning. Firstly Lanny by Max Porter, longlisted for the Manbooker Prize, tells a story about magical creatures, crime, friendship and family, Jenna suspects a few people might be sleeping on this book but it's not to be missed. And secondly, Margaret Atwood's The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale #2), is almost out and we couldn't be more excited. But with a strict embargo, we have no idea what to expect. 

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.