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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
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:
Time Out Bookstore's All Tomorrow's Poets come together in audio,
giving you a incredible dose of poetry for #NZPoetryDay.
Divyaa Kumar
Frances Libeau
Elizabeth Welsh
Sam Te Kani
Lily Holloway
Hosted by Manon Revuelta.
Thank you to our poets, National Poetry Day & Phantom.
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!
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:
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.
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!
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
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!
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:
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.
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:
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
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.
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:
‘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.
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:
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Jenna fully endorses Greta & Valdin - a queer/Māori/Russian/Auckland rom-com debut by Rebecca K Reilly. With loveable ensemble cast and incredibly funny dialogue - this is truly a feel good story. Listen to Jenna’s review below:
Patricia Lockwood explores the chaos and absurdity of the internet in her autofiction novel, No One is Talking About This. Told through the eyes of a writer who becomes popularized on the internet for tweeting 'Can dogs be twins?', the novel looks at the second life we inhabit on the internet and the chasm between it and the real world.
When a familial tragedy hits the writer, she is left to wonder if the jokes and declarations of the internet offer comfort or meaning in the face of loss.
No One is Talking About This is an extraordinary internet novel which peers into the gap between ourselves and our second skins on the internet.
Have a listen to Suri’s review below:
