95bFM's Loose Reads: She's a Killer by Kirsten McDougall

Alice is ‘the person nobody cares about in the movie if they die’. She’s in her late thirties and lives with her mother (whom she only communicates with by morse code), she has an extraordinary IQ and low empathy for others.

Aotearoa is in a state of political and social change. A chance encounter with one of Aotearoa’s new weathugees,Pablo, leaves Alice living with his 15 year old daughter, Erika - who also happens to be a genius.

Set in a bleak future that we can almost touch with our fingertips, She’s a Killer has a perfectly formed plot, funny & considered dialogue and a thrilling twist. Not a single character is wasted.

Listen to Jenna’s lockdown review with Rachel and Zoe below:

95bFM's Loose Reads: My Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgaard

After a brief hiatus, Karl Ove Knausgaard returns to fiction with The Morning Star, a rich 666-page exploration of human existence told through the lives of nine interconnected characters. In The Morning Star, the spectre of the unreal and imagined hovers over the prosaic rituals of daily life, as Knausgaard's characters try to find meaning in the modern world. A stunning novel for turbulent times.

This is another lockdown review! You can listen to Suri chat with Rachel below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

An epic tale that spans the past, present and future from the author of All the Light We Cannot See. Jenna reviews this highly anticipated read from the shop floor, which was delivered by the courier during the review.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Nostalgia has Ruined My Life by Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle

Auckland writer Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle’s devastating little novella ‘Nostalgia Has Ruined My Life’ explores the emptiness of dating and work in the modern world. Told through darkly funny and painful little vignettes, ‘Nostalgia Has Ruined My Life’ is a deliciously twisted and intoxicating work. For fans of Ottessa Moshfegh and Sakaya Murata!

Listen to Suri’s lockdown review with Rachel below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: I Laugh Me Broken by Bridget Van der Zijpp

A gentle and funny love story, great for a lockdown read.

Listen to Jenna’s review with Rachel and Zoe below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

Twice-Pulitzer Winning author Colson Whitehead’s latest novel ‘Harlem Shuffle’ follows the life of fictional Ray Carney, a black furniture salesman whose middle-class aspirations lead him to a criminal underworld of heists, blackmail and corruption. A punchy, zinging noir, Harlem Shuffle looks at the hypocrisy of the American Dream with a sharp sense of humour.

Due at the end of September, you can pre-order this book now.

Listen to Suri’s lockdown review with Rachel below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Things I Learned at Art School by Megan Dunn

From the home office, Jenna reviews Megan Dunn’s essay collection, Things I Learned at Art School.

An eighties childhood, a nineties art school education and a stint as a brothel barmaid on Karangahape Road. This is a collection of bite-sized, infectious essays where Dunn displays her trademark deadpan humour and observation.

Listen to Jenna’s review with Rachel and Zoë & pre-order below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

Omar El Akkad's latest novel, What Strange Paradise tells the story of nine year old Amir, a lone survivor of a storm-wrecked ship carrying refugees to Greece. Aided by the ordinary kindness of Greek teenager Vanna, Amir navigates the unfamiliarity of a new country and the bureaucratic systems he's ensnared by, never forgetting the ghosts of his past. Subtly written and powerfully rendered, What Strange Paradise explores the sheer urgency and existential dread of those escaping conflict.A great read for fans of Ali Smith and Colson Whitehead.

Listen to Suri’s chat with Rachel and Zoe below:

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Ghost of Frédéric Chopin by Éric Faye

Jenna presents some Level 4 cosy crime goodness for you in today’s Loose Reads review. The Ghost of Frédéric Chopin is the newest title in the Pushkin Press’ Walter Presents imprint.
Prague, 1995: Vera Foltynova claims that the ghost of Chopin is visiting her with new compositions and journalist Ludvík Slany is sent to expose the truth.

This book is inspired by and dedicated to Rosemary Brown.

Listen to Jenna, Rachel and Zoë chatting below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Sorrowland tells the story of Verne, a pregnant teenager escaping the confines her strict religious community. Confronted with monsters both physical and metaphorical, Sorrowland is a masterful Southern Gothic that explores the ways in which surviving the institutions that rule us can change us irrevocably.

Listen to Suri’s chat with Amelia and Zoe below:

95bFM's Loose Reads: Going West and The Commercial Hotel by John Summers

Today Jenna chats about the upcoming Going West Festival and then gives a quick review of The Commercial Hotel - a thoughtful and curious collection of essays about small town New Zealand.

95bFM's Loose Reads: At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop

Winner of the 2021 International Booker Prize, At Night All Blood is Black is a brutal, intelligent insight into the mythologies and psychologies of war. Telling the story of Alfa, a soldier who loses his close comrade on the battlefield and finds purpose as ‘the collector of souls’, this is a novel that examines the ungluing of humanity and sanity in the fields of war. Listen to Suri and Rachel’s chat below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

A Swim in the Pond in the Rain is one of Jenna’s favourite books for 2021. Saunders presents seven short stories from four Russian masters and in doing so, teaches the us about trusting one’s creative voice.

This is a book that you can give any one and is a must have for one’s home library. Listen to Jenna and Rachel’s chat below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: Real Estate by Deborah Levy

Deborah Levy's third memoir in her 'living-autobiography' collection is a meditation on home, female desire and art. Real Estate takes place during a time of change in the author's life. Divorcing her husband, leaving her London apartment for a residency in Paris and facing the departure of her youngest daughter for university, Levy explores these transient spaces in her life and asks what it takes to make a life of her own.

Have a listen to Suri’s review with Rachel below:

95bFM's Loose Reads: Uprising by Nic Low

Kāi Tahu author Nic Low traverses and immerses himself across Ka Tiritiri-o-te-Moana (Southern Alps) and Te Wai Pounamu (South Island) following the footsteps of his tīpuna.

Low has created a vital document that explores whakapapa, pūrākau, tikanga, navigation and adventure, whilst being an engaging and lively read.

Listen to Jenna & Rachel chat below, then take a listen to Marlon Williams’ Arahua.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Sea State by Tabitha Lasley

In Sea State, author and magazine writer Tabitha Lasley leaves her London job and a toxic relationship for the isolated shores of Aberdeen.

Interviewing oil rig workers and life on the precipice of danger, Tabitha Lasley sets out to understand the lives of men who spend months in the company of only other men. A fascinating look at masculinity, longing and the search for home.

Have a listen to Suri’s review with Rachel below:

95bFM's Loose Reads: My Rock 'n' Roll Friend by Tracey Thorn

Tracey Thorn (Everything But the Girl) writes a love letter to her rock ‘n’ roll friend, Lindy Morrison (The Go-Betweens) in this music memoir.

Capturing the “imprint one person leaves on another”, but also to female friendship and a record of the blatant sexism of the music industry, how women musicians are interviewed, reviewed and talked about.

This is a book to read and then pass on to your own rock ‘n’ roll friend.

Listen to Jenna’s review with Rachel and Zoe below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: We Own This City by Justin Fenton

Baltimore Sun crime reporter Justin Fenton's latest book is an investigation into Baltimore PD's corrupt Gun Task Force. In 2017, three officers, including leader Wayne Jenkins, were indicted for corruption. Looking at court testimony, victim and witness accounts and a history of policing policy, Justin Fenton builds a full picture of corrupt policing in Baltimore.

The perfect book for fans of true crime- it's being optioned for Television rights with The Wire writer, David Simon at the helm!

Have a listen to Suri’s review with Rachel and Zoe below:

95bFM's Loose Reads: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

‘Sobbing near the dry goods, asking myself, Am I even Korean anymore if there’s no one left to call and ask what brand of seaweed we used to buy?’

Jenna reviews Michelle Zauner’s beautiful autobiography Crying in H Mart, documenting a period that inspired the first album of her band, Japanese Breakfast.

When Zauner was 25, she dropped everything to care for her terminally ill mother in rural Oregon. This forces her to confront her identity as a Korean American, the cultural divide between herself and her mother, their difficult relationship when she was a teenager and the food that brought them together.

This beautiful book will make you feel sad and hungry - and leave you wanting more.

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Hard Crowd by Rachel Kushner

The Hard Crowd spans 20 years of essays by Booker-shortlisted novelist Rachel Kushner. From riding motorbikes in the American midwest to analysing anti-facist imagery in Italian cinema and prison abolition, this collection of narrative essays shifts the inward gaze towards the collective and celebrates a history of global working-class culture.

Have a listen to Suri’s review below: