By The Book

For this month’s book club, we go on a literary journey both real and existential with Tania De Rozario’s genre-defying book inspired by both the multiverse theory and Pick Your Own Path novels. It broadly tells the story of a person facing the end of a relationship, while also contending with larger events happening around them - and each time the reader makes a choice, the story splits and takes you on a different path. We discuss the book both in terms of its format as well as its larger narratives. In Footnotes, we close things off by talking about break-ups in books, and why they make for such compelling reading

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In his debut novel Tinhead City, KL, Malaysian writer Stuart Danker sets a cyberpunk thriller in a futuristic Kuala Lumpur with cyborg police officers and an authoritarian corporate government. We speak with Stuart about coming up with this world, and the process of writing a “Malaysian story”. We wrap up the show with a review of Tinhead City, KL.

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In conjunction with International Joke Day, we're highlighting and celebrating the books and writers that make us laugh - something much needed as we find ourselves right in the heart of the doldrums. We also discuss how tricky it can be to write funny stories, as opposed to telling them aloud, and why comics continue to be a great bridge when it comes to humour. And then in Footnotes, we discuss the specific joys of reading accompanied by images, and not just words.

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Psychotherapist and writer Lori Gottlieb’s memoir begins at a difficult point in her life, a time when she herself seeks out therapy to cope with her challenges. Thus, the book juxtaposes her own journey with therapy against her experiences with five different patients - and uses simple, accessible language and storytelling to make a case for therapy and mental health care. We review the book, and in Footnotes, extend the conversation to vulnerability as a theme in books.

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Pearl S. Buck was many things: daughter of missionary parents; a white woman writing primarily about the people and struggles of her adopted home, China; Nobel and Pulitzer prize winner; humanitarian. In this Bibliography episode, we dive into her life, work and legacy.

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Short stories often get short shrift - but far from being the novel’s lesser cousin, short stories bring joys that are entirely their own, and require a rather different approach to write as well. So, we’re dedicating this show to the short stories, and joining us for the conversation is Ling Low, who was recently shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2021. We wrap up the conversation by recommending some short stories and writers to check out.

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Despite our best intentions, some books are harder to get through than others - and sometimes they even get set aside and abandoned entirely. In this episode, we explore all the reasons why this happens, and how modern life might be contributing to them. We also talk about the experience of returning to abandoned books and how that can be a rewarding experience. And then in Footnotes, we discuss an unpublished John Steinbeck novel, 'Murder at Full Moon', focusing on werewolves, murder and small town America, which has been rediscovered in his archives.

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Monique Truong’s latest novel, The Sweetest Fruits, takes a unique approach to telling the story of Lafcadio Hearn, celebrated Japanese writer of Greek-Irish descent: the book is narrated by three different women in his life, from three different times and places. We speak with Monique about her process of researching and writing this story, and more generally, on the question of, who gets to tell a story? We wrap up the show with a review of the book, and our experiences reading it.

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Elementary, my dear Watson. The game's afoot! The popularity of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character, Sherlock Holmes, continues to endure and echo until today. But the lesser known parts of the story are how Doyle grew to despise his creation; his interest in spiritualism and fairyfolk; his other historical writings. In this episode of Bibliography, we dive into his life and work, and then in Footnotes, talk about the many adaptations and versions of Holmes over the years.

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Bestselling science fiction author Andy Weir, best known for writing The Martian, has just released his third novel, Project Hail Mary: an interstellar adventure about a sole survivor who wakes up in a spaceship with no memory of how he got there or what his mission is. We speak with Andy about the novel, its compelling plot and characters, and his love for infusing science into his storytelling.

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