95bFM: Loose Reads

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.

Jenna joins us with a controversial book this something, the 'creepy' book by Moby, Then It Fell Apart. Jenna was a big fan of Moby's first auto-biography but this one hasn't quite had the same effect, and after causing a stir with Natalie Portman, André 3000 and Lana Del Ray, is this worth a read?

In light of Auckland Writer's Festival, Kiran brings in a weighty one this week, Merchants of Truth - Inside the War for Control of the News by Jill Abramson. After Jill Abramson spoke in Auckland this month, Kiran reckons this is a good deep dive if you're interested in the media landscape and the changing world of current affairs and news. A good one for the news team, eh?

Jenna has just finished up at the Auckland Writer's Festival, and is still digesting it all, so today she's reviewing Ruby Porter's Attraction, which was launched on Saturday. Attraction tells the story of a road trip through Aotearoa, the significance of the land we live on and colonial history, and the shifting of relationships in the narrators life. As this story weaves through past, and present, Jenna reckons this is one very relatable novel that you don't wanna miss out on.

Kiran's been hyped about this one for months and it rocks her socks. Dead People I have Known by Shayne Carter has been highly anticipated, and lucky for us here in Tāmaki Makaurau Shayne is talking as a part of the Auckland Writers Festival, get your tickets here. 

Jenna joins Rachel to talk about the a book inspired the rise and fall story of bands, Daisy Jones and the Six is the fiction version of this narrative. A novel built out of interviews with the fictional bands and song lyrics, Jenna reckons this is something you'll pick up and won't put down.

Kiran's prepping for Auckland big Writer's Festival, and in theme with this upcoming celebration of novels, we're talking America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo. Kiran will be hosting this talk so grab yourself a copy, get reading and go check it out.