Two Book Nerds Talking

We are delving into a topic today and it's the 'M' word... yup marriage. Having read Sue Miller's Monogamy and Sarah Crossan's Here is the Beehive almost back to back we were taken aback by how many similar themes it touches. So join us as we peel back the layers of matrimony like the proverbial onion, it's pungent and there might be tears but cooked long and slow it might be still be a dish worth committing to.

After a month's break, our TBRs are bursting and though our heart's go to everyone who is putting out a book this year, our hearts rejoice that there are so many tasty, tasty books to sink our teeth into (even if we moan that it's impossible to read them all). We kick back with nerding out on Super Thursday and what it means for all the people involved in the publishing world and then sink into some book highlights in collaboration with Definitely Books as usual.

Zen Cho is back with a brand new novella called The Pure Order of the Moon Reflected on Water. She calls it a tropical wuxia, inspired by martial arts yarns and period C-dramas, follow her band of merry bandits as they careen around a fantasy take on Malaya's emergency with a kung-fu nun in tow. It's rip-roaring, tender in places and way... way... too short. We ask her all the questions!

We hung out on a thunderous afternoon with Julya Oui and talk campfire tales, the private life of Silobans and the fact that there's really nothing to be afraid of. Having exorcised her demons on her page she cheekily says, "it's someone else's problem now..."

As everyone knows, there are too many books being released atm. As a spillover from last week's episode since we could not fit everything in an hour this week we thought you might like to know the stuff we really liked reading lately plus more interesting books to sink your teeth into.

We chill out with each other, over some delicious beverages and talk about happenings in the book world. Everything from ConZealand to is Rothfuss going to finally finish his book to the Booker Longlist. Also listen to Honey trying to convince Diana to read Midnight Sun even though deep, deep down inside she secretly wants to. Heh.

Hanna Alkaf is back with her first middle grade novel The Girl and the Ghost. A little girl inherits and peleset (generational spirit) from her bomoh grandmother and makes it her friend. But Pink (what she named her peleset) is made of darker stuff. Can a friendship between a girl and a ghost survive the pains of adolescence? We talk supernatural, young betrayals and the creative life during MCO. You don't want to miss this episode. A longer version of the interview with some juicy bits can be found on our Patreon page. Do check out how to subscribe at Patreon.com/tbntpod

Kevin Kwan's romp-com has big stilettos to fill. After the Crazy Rich Asian trilogy, everyone is waiting with bated breath what the next glittery read would be. Well wonder no more! In Sex and Vanity we are back in the world of the super rich with an outlandish wedding (a Kwan specialty) and this time he's set it in Capri and New York. Listen to our episode this week and check out what we thought...

Bumper episode coming up folks! This week we have a whopper so sit back, relax and let Rutger pretty much take you through his book about a hopeful history of us. It's fascinating and his theories are backed by tons of research. If there is one non fiction book you should pick up this year, this might be it because God knows we need a bit of brightness with the year we've been having. There is much here to chew on and also some great bits where you can see how life can be treated differently and your relationship with the people around you.

We chatted with Yeoh Jo-Ann the author of Impractical Uses of Cake with Elaine from Lit Books. This was supposed to be a live event but well, that pesky little virus happened to we ended up doing a FB LIVE instead. Sigh... there would have been cake if there was an event. Still... it was a cool conversation about male protagonists vs female, Singapore as back drop, cake and how has it been writing during the pandemic. Enjoy!

It's been quite a while since we've done a Break your TBR so here's an entire episode dedicated to books that are out in May/June and some which are up-coming. There's no rhyme or reason really... these are just books that's been buzzing and those were ourselves are looking forward to. Loads of local stuff too folks! This episode is in collaboration with @definitelybooks

We have all been there. Awkward marital questions at family gatherings, trying to get ahead in your work place where everyone looks like an enemy, torn between two delectable men... (err... okay maybe that one is wishful thinking). Thank god for books like Last Tang Standing where it not only entertains but gives you useful urban survival tips. We finally got back to our physical studio (reunited... and it feels so goooood...) with debut author Lauren Ho and got stuck into everything from fielding off matchmaking attempts to coming of age in an age of noise and confusion.

Many know Emily St. John Mandel through her gentle dystopia novel Station Eleven. Now back with her 5th novel, The Glass Hotel feels at times dream-like and other times like you have stumbled upon a parallel universe to her novel before. And she acknowledges this, weaving a story out of time with characters you've met before but in a different life, this is a novel about counter-lives and consequences and letting go. Although there's a storyline that moves within the world of a Ponzi scheme (that alone such an interesting follow-up to Station Eleven) at the heart of this novel is a ghost story where all the characters are 'haunted' in their own way....

We came out from our little Ramadhan break to discuss the Nebula Awards nominees. Find out about the novels that is exciting the speculative fiction world from magical doorways to lesbian necromancers in space, there is even a novel that eerily mirrors the restricted movement world we are currently in at the moment. Life imitating art or art imitating life? It's four book nerds talking this week nerding over sci-fi and fantasy reads as we are joined by guests Tina Isaacs and Kok Sen Wai.

One of the most highly anticipated fantasy offerings this year, Sarah J. Mass' House of Earth and Blood is her first 'adult novel'. We chewed through angels, faes, shifters, merfolk and all sorts of other magical creatures in an urban fantasy setting. Why are her books so popular? ( There's over 22k reviews on Goodreads alone and the book is just newly launched ) and is the adult label correct? So many questions! Find out in this episode what we thought of the book and if this might be something you fancy picking up.

Intan Paramaditha joined us from her home in Sydney talk to us about her choose your own adventure book, The Wandering. A fable, an adventure, a commentary on mobility and boundaries this is a book you can pick up again and again to go on a different adventure. It's a choose your own adventure but at the end of the day, how much agency do you have in life when a lot of things are predetermined before you even get to your destination...

Most people have heard of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle but few outside of his native Japan know Seshi Yokomizo. The master of murder mysteries especially the locked door kind, his detective Kosuke Kindaichi has starred in over 70 books. Translated sporadically before by a US Independent press, now Pushkin Vertigo has released The Inugami Curse, one of his classic murder most horrid novels. We thought since most of us are stuck within our houses these days how apt it is to delve into one of Yokomizo's much loved locked door mysteries...

Rhik Samadder wrote one of our favourite memoirs of last year. Called I Never Said I Loved You, it's on life, death and things unsaid. It is laugh out loud funny but also painful in places, Samadder goes into his depression and mental health issues with such honesty and grace you can't help rooting for him even though, he paints himself unflinchingly as a self-sabotaging loser with issues up the wazoo. Recommended.

We've got an episode we recorded in Ubud for you this week. Since world poetry day was a few days ago on the 21st of March, this episode is in conversation with Lemn Sissay, poet, presenter, performer and speaker. It was after his festival session on his memoir, My Name is Why so the conversation will meander through his thoughts on poetry, festivals, what he thought of his session to name a few. There will be munching of some tosei too. Please enjoy this relaxed talk with one of Honey's favourite poets punctuated by excerpts from his session and some of his poetry.

We met the charming Jenny Zhang in Ubud and cornered her for an interview about her first book of short stories, Sour Heart. This collection is set in the 90s and told from the point of view of little girls on the cusp of adolescence. Alongside the loss of innocence, experimenting with the world and living with an immigrant identity, her stories also show the ugly side of the American Dream and the generational gaps between families. Enjoy!