By The Book

Alternatively titled 'The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death', Slaughterhouse Five has often been called Kurt Vonnegut's masterpiece. In this book club episode, we discuss what some have called the definitive anti-war novel, in honour of what would have been Vonnegut's 100th birthday.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Widely considered one of the most celebrated writers of our generation, Margaret Atwood’s body of work spans a dizzying variety of genres and themes, from speculative fiction, poetry, environmentalism, feminism, and identity. She has amassed numerous awards, including two Booker Prizes and the Arthur C. Clarke Award. Over the years, her writing, and The Handmaid’s Tale in particular, has also come...

With the theme, 'Taming The Wild', aiming to explore the 'complex relationship between Wilderness and Human Nature', the George Town Literary Festival 2022 is back in person for the first time since the pandemic began. We speak with the festival curator, Pauline Fan, about what's in store at GTLF and what she's looking forward to.  Image source: George Town Literary Festival website See...

Located in the heart of Chinatown, Riwayat is the latest independent bookstore to open its doors in Kuala Lumpur. We catch up with one of its founders, Engku Roestam Alias, on what we can expect from the store, and what they hope to contribute to the Malaysian culture scene. We close off the conversation with a discussion on the different experiences offered by independent bookshops versus big cha...

Written by Stephen King during the pandemic, Fairy Tale tells the story of 17-year-old Charlie Reade, who befriends a lonely, elderly man, Mr. Bowditch, and his lovely, elderly dog, Radar - and the lengths Charlie will go to help them, and the other world that he's introduced to on his quest. In this book club, two Constant Readers join Charlie and Radar on their adventure and discuss whether we e...

Oscar Wilde is as known for his sparkling wit and love for aestheticism, as he is for his tragic persecution and eventual demise. For this month's Bibliography, we pay tribute to the acclaimed author and playwright - known for, among others, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest - by celebrating his works and discussing his complicated legacy. We wrap up by discussing both...

Ahead of the Booker Prize for this year being announced on October 17, we're looking back at some of the titles that have both won and been shortlisted for the prize over the years, and recommend our favourites. We also talk more broadly about the relevance of the prize itself, and its place in the literary (and colonial) landscape.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters revolves around the evolving relationships between Reese, Ames, and Katrina. Reese and Ames were in a loving relationship until Ames detransitioned. When Katrina tells Ames she's pregnant with his baby, all three of them are forced to re-examine their ideas of family and womanhood. We discuss the pleasures of reading the book, and how it blends the personal and...

Best known for his incredibly well-loved children's books - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, just to name a few - Roald Dahl also lived a rich, interesting life. He was a fighter pilot, intelligence agent/spy, and screenwriter, and he also wrote some very dark, unexpected adult short stories. In this episode of Bibliography, we try to go through as much of his...

In anticipation of Malaysia Day, we discuss how English fiction in Malaysia has evolved, and what our literature says about the country, culture, and our aspirations. We close off the conversation with recommendations of local fiction to check out.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From selling books online, to offering book rentals and trade-ins, Bookurve offers a number of different services, and they're all driven by the notion of giving modern readers what they want. In this episode, we speak to Ryan Teoh, the founder of Bookurve, about their business and how it's changed over the years. And then in Footnotes, we discuss what we look for when buying online.  See omn...

For this month's Book Club, we review 2022 Epigram Books Fiction Prize winner The Accidental Malay, by Karina Robles Bahrin - a novel centred upon Jasmine Leong, the heir apparent of a billion-ringgit bak kwa company, until she discovers that she is a Malay Muslim. We discuss how the book uses a deceptively light touch to explore much heavier themes around religion and freedom of choice in Ma...

The winner of the 2nd Fixi Novo Malaysian Novel Contest, Not A Monster is a crime thriller, focusing on a mysterious serial killer, Shadowman, and the investigators intent on hunting him down. But alongside this, it also asks questions about the nature of good and evil, and what it means to be, well, not a monster. We speak with author Chua Kok Yee about where this story came from, the process of...

Book clubs can be a great way to be introduced to new books, and to get comfortable with discussing them - and when they're for children, they have the added benefit of encouraging a love for reading. We speak with Li Hsian Choo, a parent and founder of a book club for children, about the joys of reading together as a group. We then close off the conversation with recommendations of children's boo...

The power of a well-designed book cover shouldn't be underestimated - just think about all the iconic covers that have become inextricably linked with the stories they contain: The Godfather, Catcher in the Rye, Jaws, Twilight. We discuss what makes some book covers so memorable, and share our favourites. And then in Footnotes, we close off with the uproar caused on social media by Joyce Carol Oat...

While she was best known for Frankenstein, Mary Shelley lived a deeply fascinating life - she was raised with a radical, intellectual education, engaged in feminist activism throughout her life, and pushed through tragedy, with the loss of her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley at a young age (and three of their children). And she was also a prolific writer and editor to boot. We dive into her life and...

With What Do Men Want: Masculinity and its Discontents, author Nina Power seeks to explore and understand how the role of men has evolved and changed in our current times, with the larger aim of reaching a mutual understanding between the genders. We review the book, discuss where it succeeds and stumbles, and talk about whether it actually answers the big questions it puts forth. Then in Footnote...

A number of great books are marking some major anniversaries and centennaries, including The Diary of Anne Frank, Invisible Cities, and Ulysses. We look back at these books and their impact - and then on Footnotes, we dive into a study that found that there are 4 times more male characters in books than female, and how that impacts us as readers. Image Source: Goodreads See omnystudio.com/listener...

Do you consider yourself a reader, and yet sometimes find yourself struggling to actually read a book? You're not alone. In this week's show, we share our own challenges with occasionally falling out of love with the act of reading, and the kinds of books that have helped us rediscover that joy. We close off our conversation with lessons public libraries could learn from coffee shops. Image Source...

Generations of people have loved the adventures (both fantastical and otherwise) of Calvin, the rambunctious, curious six year old, and Hobbes, his wise, sardonic best friend, who just happens to be a tiger who is either alive or a stuffed toy depending who's in the panel with him. In this episode, we talk about the work of their creator Bill Watterson, why Calvin and Hobbes have resonated with so...

Hanna Alkaf's latest young adult novel takes place in the high-pressure world of Scrabble tournaments, where teenager Najwa Bakri is trying to win the title of Queen of the Tiles while also coming to terms with the mysterious death of her best friend a year ago. As Najwa struggles to cope with her grief while also focusing on the competition, her dead friend's Instagram account starts po...

Organised by MIDP and MY Poetry School, the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Youth Literary Arts Festival will be running from 24th to 26th June 2022, with the aim of promoting literary arts education, highlighting young, emerging writers, and building youth writing communities. We speak to organisers Emellia Shariff and Elaine Foster as well as Teoh Nuan Ning, a young poet who is also one of the mento...

All bookstores are not created equal, and the secondhand bookstore holds a special place in the hearts of most bibliophiles - not only do they offer books at an affordable price, but they also provide a place to browse and discover unexpected titles free from the confines of the bestseller list. We speak with the owner of Chaplang Store, a local secondhand bookstore that had its start in the onlin...

A hugely influential poet both during his time and after - William Butler Yeats also lived a very interesting life, as a proud Irish nationalist, occultist, and later in life, even senator. In this Bibliography episode, we discuss his life and career, and of course his writing and its significance. And then in Footnotes, we talk about the ways in which his work has influenced other writers, films...

Project Future Malaysia is an online project where 10 Malaysian creatives reimagine an equitable, fair and sustainable Malaysia through fiction and art. We speak to its founder, Kevin Bathman, and one of the featured writers, Jaymee Goh, about imagining an optimistic future for the nation, and the potential of speculative fiction and futurism in creating a space to do so. We close off the conversa...