By The Book

In his debut novel, speculative fiction writer Wole Talabi draws on Yoruba mythology to tell an adventure story that spans space and time. At the heart of the tale is Shigidi, a disgruntled nightmare god who partners up with Nneoma, a succubus with a mysterious past. Together, they find themselves tangled up in a heist at the British Museum, battling magical and mythical forces. We speak to Wole a...

15 years on from its first successful run, Kam Raslan's Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato Hamid Adventures has been reissued, with a brand new look, and a previously unpublished story. We speak to Kam about the appeal and delight of writing about Dato Hamid and in his unique voice and what it was like to revisit the book after more than a decade. And then in Footnotes, we ask him for some recomm...

Bringing together her love for writing with her love for travel and discovering new cultures, Dipika Mukherjee's Writer's Postcards is a collection of essays spanning decades that capture her observations of the world. Part travelogue and part memoir, the book brings the personal, the political, and the global together, while also making a case for travel writing through a specifically female...

For our last Book Club of the year, we're both reading something we're very excited about: Shih-Li Kow's Bone Weight and Other Stories. This cross-genre collection of 25 short stories explore relationships and periods of transition, and is populated with complex characters. We discuss how the collection works together as a whole, as well as some of our favourites. Image Credit: Goodreads...

Salleh Ben Joned has been described in many ways - maverick poet, bad boy of Malaysian literature, innovator of language, and by some detractors, even anti-Malaysian. Since his passing in 2020, there have been a number of attempts to memorialise him and capture his legacy, and "Salleh Ben Joned - Truth, Beauty, Amok and Belonging" comes from a very personal place - written by his daughter Anna Sal...

GTLF is back, and this year the theme is Terra Incognita! We speak to Pauline Fan and Adriana Nordin Manan about the curatorial process this year, how the festival has expanded beyond panels and conversations, and what unknown territories they're hoping to explore. And then in Footnotes, they each give their recommendations for 3 unmissable festival events. Image Credit: https://www.georgetownlitf...

In this episode, we explore Malaysian Tamil writing - both the rich tradition that exists here, but also the challenges in nurturing the scene and garnering a wider readership. We’re joined by Mannar Mannan Maruthai, who gives us an introduction to the scene, and shares recommendations, including works by Mydin Sultan, Re. Karthigesu, Pachai Balan, and S.P. Bama. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

As Children's Day in Malaysia is traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're celebrating children's literature this entire month, by doing a Book Club with a different child every week. In this episode, we're joined by 14-year-old Lily Lau, whose choice is the Newbery Prize-winning classic, The Giver. A book that is simultaneously an adventure story, but also a meditation o...

As Children's Day in Malaysia is traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're celebrating children's literature this entire month, by doing a Book Club with a different child every week. In this episode, we're joined by 8-year-old Declan Goh, whose pick is a perennial favourite of children worldwide: Enid Blyton's The Magic Faraway Tree. We talk about what Declan enjoys abou...

As Children's Day in Malaysia is traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're celebrating children's literature this entire month, by doing a Book Club with a different child every week. In this episode, we're joined by 10-year-old Lana Sofia Pointon, who suggested we talk about the book that started a phenomenon: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Lan...

With Children's Day in Malaysia traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're dedicating this entire month to what kids and young people are reading. Every week this October, we're doing a Book Club with a different child (or young person!) and asking them to share their current favourite read. This week, we're joined by 17-year-old Arif Iskandar Ridzuan, who's recommending the fi...

With Children's Day in Malaysia traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're dedicating this entire month to what kids and young people are reading. Every week this October, we're doing a Book Club with a different child, asking them to share with us their current favourite read. Kicking things off, we're joined by 11-year-old Maya Anjali Manalan, whose pick is David Walliams' du...

Set in a newly post-colonial Singapore, The Great Reclamation blends genres (historical fiction, fantastical elements) to tell the story of a country through the choices of one man - Ah Boon. Beginning with his life growing up in a fishing village, blessed with the gift (or curse) of finding islands rich with fish that aren't on the map, and eventually going into his desire to find order and progr...

With the Booker Prize 2023 shortlist just around the corner, we took a spin on the quiz helpfully laid out on the official website, and were recommended a pair of books to explore from the longlist: Jonathan Escoffery's If I Survive You, a novel told through short vignettes, exploring a young man's questions and struggles through familial tensions and questions of identity, and Chetna Maroo's West...

With 2023 marking the 60th year since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, its complex connection with Singapore over the decades feels ever more relevant to examine. The Second Link, an anthology featuring short stories by writers from both countries, engages with and unpacks this entwined relationship. We speak with three of the editors of the book.   Image Credit: Lit Books Se...

We continue our spotlight on local bookstores by looking at a crowd favourite this week - BookXcess, popular for their affordable books, unique store concepts, and of course the Big Bad Wolf book fair. We hear from them about why making books as widely accessible as possible is an integral part of their approach, and how they keep their approach to bookselling fresh.  Image Credit: BookXcess...

For the last 18 years, Readings KL has been running (almost) every month - featuring 6 readers each time, and a dedicated community of literary enthusiasts. We speak to its long-time organiser Sharon Bakar, and current host Sumitra Selvaraj, about the joys and challenges of keeping it all running, and the value of having a space for readers and writers to come together. And then on Footnotes, we d...

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, the first in the Broken Earth series, created a sensation when it came out in 2015, including getting a Hugo Award. Set on a planet with a single supercontinent called the Stillness, the inhabitants face a "fifth season" of catastrophic climate change - amidst which, we are introduced to three female characters each undertaking a journey of their own. We discuss t...

A newly opened bookshop in Damansara Kim, Sunda Shelves is a cosy space that celebrates nature and conservation, and mixes fiction and non-fiction, as well as new and secondhand books. We discuss the inspiration for the bookshop, how it came to be, and the community it's building.  Image Credit: Sunda Shelves / Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With AI-generated content and ChatGPT creating anxiety in various industries, we discuss how it might potentially change books - from the potential for books written entirely by AI to what this means for how people in the publishing field are paid for their work. We close off the conversation by discussing AI and robots in fiction, and how these themes have evolved. Image Credit: 123rf.com See omn...

If you're wondering what the podcast Two Book Nerds Talking (TBNT) is about, well, it really is all in the title. Born out of a mutual love for reading, the Malaysian literary podcast was started by Diana Yeong and Honey Ahmad, and has since grown to have a loyal following. Meanwhile, we're always delighted to find fellow book-lovers, so we speak with Diana and Honey about their shows, how they de...

A family story that's also the tale in some ways of newly independent Bengal, and a pre-independence Malaya, A Flutter in the Colony is the debut novel of Sandeep Ray, whose short story 'Eggs' won the Hanif Kureishi Writing Competition in 2023. We discuss our impressions of the novel, and its contribution to the landscape of historical fiction in Malaysia, in this month's Book Club.  Image Cr...

Award-winning Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng's third novel has just arrived on the shelves amidst a lot of anticipation, and it certainly takes on a lofty task: The House of Doors fictionalises, among others, renowned author William Somerset Maugham and revolutionary Chinese statesman Sun Yat Sen, in a story set in colonial Penang. We speak with Twan Eng about why he was drawn to these personalitie...

Joy of Books is a platform that allows folks to rent books online, while Bookaholics Anonymous is a shop that began life as a bookcrossing initiative, before morphing into an affordable secondhand bookstore. We speak with Carol Low, who runs both platforms, about her drive to get more Malaysians reading!  Image Credit: Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In conjunction with the 4th of July, we're diving deep into American literature, to discuss what makes it unique, and the writers (both classic and contemporary) that have shaped it. We also talk about some of the themes and preoccupations that American authors have explored, and how that has shifted over time - and of course, make recommendations about what to read to get started!  Image Cre...