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!

Two Book Nerds Talking

TBNT S03E17 | Impractical Uses of Cake Facebook Live Interview

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

TBNT S03E16 | Break Your TBR: Book Highlights

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.

TBNT S03E15 | Last Tang Standing with debut author Lauren Ho

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....

TBNT S03E14 | Is The Glass Hotel the Perfect Pandemic Read?

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.

TBNT | Nebula Awards Special

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.

TBNT S03E13 | Sarah J. Mass' Crescent City with Avery Khuan

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...

TBNT S03E12 | The Wandering with author Intan Paramaditha

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...

TBNT S03E11 | Murder Most Horrid: Sushi Yokomizu's Inugami Curse

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.

TBNT S03E10 | Fancy reading a Hilarious Depression Memoir?

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.

TBNT S03E09 | Poet Lemn Sissay on Poetry and His Memoir

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!

TBNT S03E08 | Little Girls Tell Tales: Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell was just long-listed for the Women's Prize for fiction. What makes people over five hundred years later still speculate on Shakespeare's life? How much did the death of his son Hamnet influenced his tragedy Hamlet? Was the name coincidental or deliberate? Was it a way to process his grief? Surprisingly we found the main character in this novel is his wife, called Agnes and her inner life and sacrifices...

TBNT S03E07 | Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell: Shakespeare's Domestic Life and Tragedy

Our minisode this time brings you a young poet that hails from Sumatera. Ilham was the only emerging poet to be in the Ubud Indonesian writing anthology and we caught up with him during the festival last year. His poem was political and does hit home even though it was an observation on Indonesian politics. The interview was done in Bahasa Indonesian but we have punctuated this episode with explanations and our discussion on it.

TBNT Minisode 006 | Indonesian Emerging Poet: Ilhamdi Putra

Zoiks! We have a special crossover episode for all you geeks and nerds out there. In the studio with us this week are the gregarious Amelia Chen and Nick Dorian from the pop culture podcast Geeks in Malaysia. We chewed through Joe Hill's graphic novels and the Netflix series. First part is all about the printed matter of course while the second part which will be out on Geeks in Malaysia will be on the series. Enjoy!

TBNT S03E06 | Locke and Key with Geeks in Malaysia Part 1

When Jeanine Cummins' highly anticipated book American Dirt hit the shelves readers were beside themselves recommending it. The mother and son story of being pursued by a drug kingpin fired everyone's imaginations. And then controversy hit, Mexican and Latinx writers came down hard on it citing the fact that it fetishisize their culture and that Cummins wrote at best a summer pot-boiler and not a book that puts forward issues of migrants and social justice. Learn about the controversy surrounding this book in our latest episode.

TBNT S03E05 | Going Through the Controversy of American Dirt

We are Honey and Diana, two Malaysian gals who really love diving into books of all kinds. Welcome to 2 Book Nerds Talking where we discuss books we love or those hot on the read list. We get to share reading insights, bookish topics, pick the minds of occasional bookworm guests and other general book nerdery. If you love books as much as we do, this is the podcast for you!

hubhopper

Two Book Nerds Talking

hubhopper