The 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist has been revealed. To celebrate, Jenna talks about one of the longlisted fiction titles, Backwaters, a debut novel set between Auckland & China by Emma Ling Sidnam. A gentle read about origins, identity and family?
Listen to Jenna’s chat with Rachel and Stella below!
Today on Nine to Noon, Jenna was in the studio to chat to Kathryn about some of her favourite 2023 reads.
Listen below for the full review.
Today, Jenna reviewed Patrick deWitt’s The Librarianist, a book that’s at risk of being too light or cheesy, but is actually very good.
Bob Comet, a retired librarian, finds himself volunteering at a retirement centre, when he realises he already knows a resident. deWitt’s expert dialogue leads us through a most heartwarming (and sometimes heartbreaking) and funny return to significant events from Bob’s life.
Listen to Jenna’s chat with Rachel and Stella below!
Suri reviews this beautiful, funny, clever, poignant novel - from the author of The Colour of Water & Deacon King Kong. Part mystery, part Dickensian tale, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store explores race, class & the American dream whilst revealing subtle universal messages through character,
One of Barak Obama’s top reads 2023.
Listen below to Suri’s in studio chat with Stella.
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Jenna brings in the recently minted 2023 Booker winner, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. A powerful, gut-punch of a book, set in modern day Ireland - following a mother of four as she desperately tries to keep her family together during a civil war.
Jenna, Rachel & Stella also some Christmas agony aunt questions!
Wafting 95bFM listener: The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez or Sonic Life by Thurston Moore.
Big reader aunt: The Postcard by Anne Berest
Tween read: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Also! Don’t forget to get tickets to the Save the B gig. This Wednesday, 20th December.
Suri is in the studio today with her picks for Christmas.
Pacific Arts Aotearoa ed. by Lana Lopesi
So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
Rapture: An Anthology of Performance Poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand ed. by Carrie Rudzinski & Grace Iwashita-Taylor
Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Rick Stein's Simple Suppers by Rick Stein
Listen to her kōrero with Rachel and Stella below for the hot tips.
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Bird Life is a lyrical, present novel set in Japan. Dinah, grieving the suicide of her twin brother, moves from Aotearoa to Japan to teach English. There, she meets Yasuko, a mother grieving her son leaving home. Together, the kinship between Dinah and Yasuko deepens as they navigate their own paths.
Listen to Jenna’s on studio chat with Rachel and Stella below.
Suri reviews two books on 95bFM’s Breakfast show today.
In A Thread of Violence, Mark O’Connell revisits a close to home in Dublin. A dramatic true crime featuring interviews with the killer.
Baumgartner by Paul Auster tells the story of Cy, a widower moving through domestic activities. Filled with human moments that are told with the ghost of his wife in mind.
You can listen below!
Hollie spoke to MasterChef winner Sam Low about his amazing new cookbook, Modern Chinese.
What does a typical day look like for you?
The great thing about being a freelancer and a food creative means I have the opportunity to dabble in so many different areas within food media. If i'm not doing my brand ambassador work (which includes recipe development, video shoots or workshops) I am either creating content for social media or working on a creative food project, an example of this was earlier this year I was a part of a team helping to develop a food theater show and hosting Sik Fan Lah a food adventure series on TVNZ. I’m currently brewing a new project so watch this space!
What was the process of getting your cookbook published?
Long, cathartic and thought provoking would be some of the words to describe the process. I looked into so many different aspects of food media exploring things like food masculinity, orientalism in food photography, queer food history, Chinese gastronomy, assimilated Chinese food (survival Chinese food), my relationship to food and family, these were just some of the topics I looked into. I thankfully had the best publishing team that helped me throughout, and because it is the first of its kind in NZ and the only Chinese cookbook to come out in the last decade we were all piecing it together and learning from the process. It starts with writing recipes that utilize a really accessible and approachable pantry which is a section in the book I spent a lot of time on. The recipes needed to be cohesive to a Chinese banquet meaning that there are options for protein or vegetable focused dishes including rice, noodles, broths and cold appetizers. Once the recipes were done, its recipe testing and food photography. From here, essays, stories, illustrations and personal touches. Once everything is designed then we think about the title and final checks before it goes off to print.
Why did you decide to do Modern Chinese as a cookbook?
I felt as though in NZ there aren’t many books focused around diasporic foods or speak to the history of food from ethnic minorities that help make up the beautifully diverse culinary scene here in Aotearoa. Modern Chinese is a documentation of something that is important to the food scene here and speaks to the contemporary audience of today, hoping to debunk any xenophobia people might have on Chinese cuisine. I wanted to create a cookbook that is easy, accessible, approachable and targeting a large audience potentially first time cookbook owners. Modern Chinese is about community and a simple introductory guide into Chinese food and culture, hoping to inspire young cooks, food creatives and other diasporic communities to embrace and celebrate their own cuisine and share their love of food.
Do you have a favourite recipe in the book?
Instead of my favourite recipe, my favourite part of the book is the building of the pantry. I have arranged this section into 3 tiers, tier one being super easy to access even from a western supermarket and with that alone you can create most of the dishes in the book. I wanted the book to be utilised throughout with a simple Chinese pantry so specialty ingredients that are not only used once and sit at the back of the pantry. Outside of ‘the building of the Chinese pantry’ my favourite recipes are the sauces in the book, they help make bland foods super tasty! Like the sweet fragrant soy sauce (make a batch and store in squeezy bottles) and the aromatic chilli oil (also make batches and store in jars). Use these on a simple protein like grilled chicken on rice, add it in a stir fry or dressing your dumplings, these homemade condiments are game changers.
What is one ingredient that you always have on hand?
Besides the homemade condiments, I might say ground white pepper. It's floral, warmingly spicy and can be used in every savoury dish. If this is new to you, start adding a little shake (or pinch) in your savoury foods to add a new level of flavour.
What food writers inspire you?
Fuchsia Dunlop is a big one for me, a Chinese food gastronomist, a wealth of knowledge matched with an infectious love and appreciation for the people, culture and food of China. Soliel Ho, they were the head food critic at San Francisco’s The Chronicle now critic at large. I fell in love with Soleil’s work when they did the podcast Racist Sandwich and Extra Spicy, having different narratives and conversations in food media about class, race and gender. Brandon Jew, owner of Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco's Chinatown, a Michelin star modern Chinese restaurant. Brandon really pushed the boundaries of what it means to be Chinese American where you don’t need to be more or less Chinese to feel enough as a Chinese person in diaspora. Harold McGee, an American author who writes about science and food but his latest work on smell has really changed the way I think about our human senses. His book ‘Nose Dive’ a field guide to the world of smells is so incredible it goes beyond food but more so on how we navigate life.
What author or book is a recent discovery for you?
Emily Contois is an incredible author whom I discovered last year. She’s an associate Professor of Media Studies at The University of Tulsa, author of Diners, Dudes & Diets: How Gender & Power Collide in Food Media & Culture, and co-editor of Food Instagram: Identity, Influence & Negotiation. Her work revolves around food media and how it has come to be in today’s climate. I am especially interested in her exploration of the ways we consume food media and how this reflects on our day to day food behaviors in society.
What was your favourite snack to eat while putting together Modern Chinese?
Soft egg (slightly scrambled and folded) sandwiches with Japanese mayonnaise. The soft white loaf bread and delicate sweet egg is so comforting and has been a favourite of mine growing up since a little kid.
It’s almost Christmas, therefore it’s time for our end of year round-ups. Today, Jenna chose three nice novels, just because it feels like we need them.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Good Material by Dolly Alderton (audiobook on Libro.fm)
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
Listen to Jenna’s on studio chat with Rachel and Stella below.
Today on Nine to Noon, Jenna chatted to Susie about The Bee Sting. This has been shortlisted for the Booker, which will be announced in just over a week!
A supremely Irish tragi-comedy, this is Jenna’s favourite novel of 2023.
Listen below for the full review.
Rapture - a brand new Auckland University Press anthology, edited by Carrie Rudzinski and Grace Iwashita-Taylor, is one for the home library.
Listen to Suri wax lyrical about this collection to Rachel, as well as read out a poem by our very own staff member, Abby Irwin-Jones.
Hollie spoke to best-selling author and store favourite, Mona Awad about her latest novel, Rouge.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Usually my own fixations and obsessions. In the case of Rouge, it was skincare and beauty, and an addiction to beauty videos on YouTube. I couldn't help but see the great potential for horror there. I'd also always wanted to work with the fairy tale of Snow White, which is the ultimate fairy tale about beauty and its shadow side.
So….Tom Cruise?
Or is he? Appearances can be deceiving, Bunny :)
Has your skincare routine changed since writing Rouge?
It was really byzantine when I first became obsessed with skincare and I experimented quite a bit with different products. I was also very easily enchanted and seduced. Now I have some trusted products I rely on and I'm slightly more dubious of claims. But I'll always love a mist and to be honest, I'm still a bit of a sucker.
What’s next in skincare?
God knows. But I'll probably be trying it.
How do you structure the layout of a story? Do you write with an outcome in mind?
Usually I'll do a kind of rough blueprint of the first part of the book and then I'll start writing. The ending usually comes to me as I'm writing the beginning. I don't hold myself to it, I tend to just follow the story, but in each case it's where the book has wanted to land.
There are aspects of your novels that read like a dream. Are any parts of your books inspired from a dream you’ve had?
I'm glad to hear that. I think that's often the feel that I'm going for and the subject matter or the character's mental state is what dictates it. Beauty is, after all, a kind of dream. I also really like to immerse the reader in the character's mind, and in our minds we're always dreaming.
What author or book is a recent discovery for you?
Not terribly recent, but I really loved Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I thought the narration was so wonderful--this heady mix of enchantment and dread.
What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing?
Usually it's just coffee or green tea for me but I have a friend who sends me little knick knacks that are in conversation with whatever book I'm working on, sort of to cheer me on. For Rouge, she bought me these beautiful rose gummies. I did enjoy those during breaks.
It’s Britney, bitch!
Jenna thoroughly enjoyed Britney’s highly anticipated and bestselling memoir. With the perfect mix of shock, sadness, humour and plenty of villains., The Woman in Me gives a lot of insight and context into the dark side of fame.
This was listened to on Libro.fm, where your chosen indie bookshop gets a portion of the sale.
Listen to Jenna’s on studio chat with Rachel and Stella below.
Click on the covers to shop!
TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
In anticipation of Claire Keegan’s new novella, Suri delved into Foster.
Purposefully told, this is a tale of beauty with an underlying dark backstory. Touching, beautiful and a great distraction from studying for exams.
So Late in the Day is due next month.
Suri called into the studio to chat to Rachel.
Hollie spoke to award-winning poet and playwright Dominic Hoey about his latest novel, Poor People With Money. This is a pacy, heart-twisting, punch-in-the-guts, darkly comic novel that captures life on the poverty line in Aotearoa now.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I normally wake up around 10 or 11, argue with Chilli (my dog), go to work at Atawhai and look after teenagers, come home, more arguing with Chilli. Around 10ish I start writing then when that becomes hopeless I read or watch a film. There's also drinking and talking shit with friends mixed in there.
Where did the inspiration for Poor People with Money come from?
I wanted to write about the shit people have to do just to get a pinch of dignity when you're broke. Also I used to train Muay Thai before I got sick and I always thought that combat sports in general is such an interesting community.
What is one thing you would like readers to take away from Poor People With Money?
I don't know if there was a moral I wanted people to get. Just hopefully it inspired people to write. Like if a dyslexic with no education can do it so can you.
How did your writing workshops come about?
When I was 18 I was in the dole office and they were like "what do you want to do?" and I kept on saying I wanted to be a writer. Which they must have thought was crazy. but I had a case worker who actually tried to find me short courses but there wasn't really anything. So once I learnt some stuff I really wanted to share this knowledge with people. especially people who wouldn't normally have access to it.
Do you have a different approach when it comes to writing a poem versus a novel?
Yeah its a real different part of the brain. I feel like poetry is squinting and looking at a photo and then describing it, where's a novel is a pile of photos you're trying to arrange into a story.
What can you tell us about your next novel?
I'm currently writing two. One is set over a month starting the day after the rainbow warrior bombing in 1985. It's about a thieving fat kid who's really good at video games. The other one is a paranormal mystery thriller set in Port Chalmers.
What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing?
I don't really eat when I write. I smoke lots of weed when I write poetry. It doesn't help with novels though unfortunately
What author or book is a recent discovery for you?
I've recently got into Dan Chaon who writes quite dark kind of mysteries I guess. But they are more about families and breakdown of relationships. Also Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry. One of the best books I've ever read
Can we expect Prince Chilli’s memoir anytime soon?
Yes, in fact the final draft of "Biting My Way To Happiness" is with Penguin as we speak
