Two Book Nerds Talking

Here is an interview we did at the last Ubud Writer's Festival in 2019 (remember sitting in rooms, huddled together listening to an author?) What carefree days those were. Honey sat down with an Indonesian Emerging Writer Nurillah Achmad and talked to her about her macabre short story, myths and black magic. We finally got down to editing it. We left the Bahasa Indonesian interview but explain what was being said in between. You will also be able to listen to the sad and poetic story in both Bahasa Indonesia and English. Enjoy!

In keeping with our August 2021 Book Challenge, we are re-releasing one of our favourite cli-fi reads, The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. Being fantasy dorks, we dig deep into NK Jemisin's award-winning fantasy series, the Broken Earth trilogy. It is epic, nuanced and delves into really personal stuff with a backdrop of the world ending. We talk about reading everything from just one author and end the podcast with an excerpt of Jemisin's fierce Hugo acceptance speech.

Our August challenge is to read a book about climate change or a book set in the tropics. We decided to give you reads set near a beach (or sea or island) and as you can see we have interpreted it rather loosely. And well, that's the challenge; to just pick up a book on your TBR or something that you've always wanted to read to fit our #TBNTBookChallenge2021. And feel free to be creative. Here are our socials if you want to hook up with us:FB: Two Book Nerds TalkingIG: @tbntbooksTwitter: @TbnTpodEmail: booknerdstalking@gmail.comMusic credits:Bossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antiguaLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

We sat down for an interview with YA author Kalynn Bayron and talked about her new novel, This Poison Heart. It's got a gothic house, a secret garden, locked rooms and a girl who can control plants. 'Black Poison Ivy' is what she calls her heroine Briseis and there is plenty of blooming action when she arrives at her inheritance, a dark mansion over acres of land. Check it out.Music credits:Bossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antiguaLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseDecline by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300016Artist: http://incompetech.com/

In these strange and challenging times, books like Think Again can be useful in making you embrace the things that you think are keeping you back from making change and moving on. Imposter syndrome (apparently not that bad), constructive arguing (we can all learn it and trust it), changing your mind and being able to change another's (and still do it with compassion). So many things we like to nibble into in this accessible non-fic by one of the most interesting organisational psychologists in the world today.Music credits:Bossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antiguaLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

We had a little online LIVE event recently with Elaine from Lit Books and Singaporean author Suffian Hakim. We wished we were doing it at the bookstore and all of us felt a little bereft about it but well- the show must go on! The Keepers of Stories is his most intimate one yet, and in our opinion, his best. It follows siblings Hakeem and Zulaika as they are taken to Changi Beach (this is the 70s) to live with The Anak Bumi- a community of people who reject modernity in order to live free.

This is part 2 of our 30 Dirty this month. We wanted to really get stuck into these brilliant novellas hence divided the show into two. This week we dive into the world of mer-people, enchanted forests, a benign alien invasion and an island where people go to grieve - to name a few. We also cover cannibalism and gothic writings under a hot sun - all the good stuff.Credits:Excerpts were taken from soundcloud.comListen to the full song of The Deep by Clipping here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EnPFsk4lOoMusic credits:Bossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antiguaLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

We're a careening into the second half of 2021 and the July challenge is to read a book that has magical realism or a speculative fiction novella. As usual we narrowed it down and are bringing to you today Novellas that has a bit of a horror bent to it, some of it is gory, some disturbing and some makes you feel like you are going a little mad. Intrigued? Well we have two parts to this. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week!

We're doing book chasers this week and it's all on feminist retellings - and we're looking into 3 books that go into Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and a famous Ballad. These books are debuts and are so good we can only curl up in envy even as we are devouring them. We delve into feminine power, motherhood, consequences and gender among other things and peeled back why our myths punish women so much. Books we dived into are The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec, Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, and Sistersong by Lucy HollandExcerpt credits:Genevieve Gornichec in conversation with Jenny Lawson: https://youtu.be/unXlakWQQ2kInterview with Jennifer Saint: Author of Debut Novel Ariadne: https://youtu.be/og1d4_Uv3WYFolk Tale Retellings | Sistersong by Lucy Holland: https://youtu.be/SzcfMSJfhE8Music credits: Bossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antiguaLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseErrigal by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3715-

We sat down to discuss a wonderful translation of Genzaburo Yoshino's 1930's classic How Do You Live? This is one of Diana's best reads of 2021 so far, and once you've sat back and listened to this episode, you will understand why books like this are important and have stood the test of time. The story of Copper and his inquisitive mind has been a favourite of many Japanese people growing up through the decades and we daresay it might be one of yours too!

It's the first episode of Season 5. Hello friends and book lovers we are back and this is our 100th episode! That's pretty amazing eh? And have we got a treat for you. This is an interview we did with sci-fi author Andy Weir and we had a good time chatting with him about his latest book, Project Hail Mary. We both enjoyed this book and it's back on familiar 'The Martian' territory. One man, solo, stuck between planetary annihilation and deep space (you'll get what we mean when you read this book). Enjoy!Music credits:What Does Anybody Know About Anything by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/dtv/Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

Just to get you folks warmed up for Season 5. Yes! Season 5 is just around the corner and we are giving you our monthly 30 Dirty. June's #tbntbookchallenge2021 is to read a translated work OR a book written by a non-nativeEnglish speaker. We have decided to narrow the field by focusing on books translated and released this year. Let's get to it!Editor's note: We apologise for the audio quality in this episode - we're still trying to get the hang of virtual recordings. Thank you for sticking it out!Music credits:Bossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antiguaLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseLong Stroll by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3997-long-strollLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Notes: A few more sleeps till we kick off Seasons 5 (and it'll be our 100th episode too!). So till then, enjoy this throwback to our 7th episode on Murakami's Killing Commendatore. We thought it'd be a good one to indulge in, especially because his latest release, First Person Singular, has hit our shores. Enjoy! |..| In the first show of the new year, Honey and Diana peel back the layers of Murakami's Killing Commendatore. A meditation on art, music and fraught relationships just to name a few themes in this book. Or izit just a rehash of old obsessions. We talk abt book resolutions, getting reacquainted with your bookshelves and going for a more varied reading list for 2019.

Yes, we're on a break, but we couldn't let you go without another 30Dirty episode! So we roped in our interns to give you the low-down on coming-of-age and family drama recommendations… all as graphic novels - fun! Not to worry, we do have some novels too for those who aren't ready to brave full frontal illustrations. Please make our first-time podcasters Steph and Aly feel welcomed - they definitely had a blast! Oh to be young again… enjoy!

Notes: Just because Season 4 is over, does not mean you have to stop listening! We've got lots of exciting tid-bits coming your way. But, for now, here's an oldie but a goldie; a perfect read for our April #tbntbookchallenge too! |..| We are back with a killer new season of book nerdery. First up, Good Omens, we talk book, TV and, friendships- between an angel, Aziraphale and a demon, Crowley plus that of co-writers Pratchett and Gaiman. It's a heart-warming tale filled with answerphone messages and the antichrist. Also June's book picks for Break Your TBR. Ah... we missed filling up your shelves...

This has been a loooooong season folks, but in our final episode of Season 4 we discussed Klara and the Sun, quite possibly the book of the moment. Often we find ourselves quite agreeable on the books that we review but ever so often, we have different opinions. This is one such book. What we do agree upon is that there is much to talk about. Enjoy folks!Music credits:With a Stamp by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/Retro Dreamscape by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/283/retro-dreamscapeArtist: http://www.twinmusicom.orgBossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antiguaLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

This is an edited version of our LIVE stream discussion with Lauren Marino, author of Bookish Broads and Ain Aissa, host of podcast Seek to Speak. We had a gala time talking about forgotten women authors, inspirational trailblazers and of course recommend some empowering reads for you to nerd out on.Special thanks to our guests Ain Aissa (Seek To Speak Podcast) and Lauren Marino. Bossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antiguaLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseWholesome by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesomeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseSwimmey Texture by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4451-swimmey-textureLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseEnergizing by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5709-energizingLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Another 30 Dirty and we have to say we do enjoy putting these mini-shows together for you folks because it lets us look back on some of our favourite reads and discover a whole lot more other reads. Rest assure our TBRs grow ever longer too with each 30Dirty that we do each week. April's Challenge is to read a book with a non-human protagonist or a book with a picture of an animal on it. So we decided to give you robot and alien reads (Diana wants to throw in some other mythological creatures too). Enjoy!

We spent a delightful hour talking to Viji Krishnamoorthy and Shireen Zainuddin the editors of a collection of short stories called Lockdown Chronicles. After the first MCO ended they decided to record down the Malaysian experience of the pandemic in 19 fictional stories. The voices are varied, the POVs are from urban built up areas to longhouses, you get to see it from a child's perspective to a front-liner to even a river's experience. How important is it to record these peculiar times? Join us in this conversation.

Việt Thanh Nguyễn fans rejoice! The sequel to The Symphatiser, the spy thriller that goes deep into the Vietnam War that won the 2016 Putlizer Prize for fiction is sharper, more violent and just as absurd. This novel has layers like a kek lapis and set up like a gangster novel except now, Nguyen has his pen trained on colonialism and French imperialism. We follow our nameless narrator who now finds himself in Paris, dealing drugs, getting into trouble and trying his best to hold on to his humanity while philosophising on the nature of life, love, identity and politics (just to name a few)