95bFM's Loose Reads: If We Burn by Vincent Bevins

If We Burn by Vincent Bevins (author of The Jakarta Method) explores a decade of the largest mass protests in modern history- from the Arab Spring to the Hong Kong uprisings. Combing through academic research and conducting interviews and with organisers, politicians and protesting participants, Bevins unearths the reasons why an era of mass mobilisation failed to materialise into political change. A sweeping look at the history of mass protests and its successes and failures, If We Burn is a sharp and fascinating analysis of a phenomena forgotten in a post-COVID era. 

Listen below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: Sheep's Clothing by Celia Dale

Suri visited the 95bFM Breakfast crew to chat about the late Celia Dale’s Sheep’s Clothing. Originally published in 1988, this book is a black comedy crime, following two women schemers in Thatcher’s England.

Listen below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft

The debut novel by Olga Tokarczuk’s translator, Jennifer Croft.

Eight translators are brought to Polish forest to translate a beloved author’s latest work and the translators’ love of the them, becomes almost cultish. However when the author goes missing, all goes awry.

Surreal, absurd and clever, The Extinction of Irena Rey asks questions of authorship. role and credit of a translator. This is great read for language lovers.

Listen to Suri’s review with guest host, Aneeka and producer, Stella.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Clarice Lispector & Sarah Bernstein

On the first day back at Uni, Suri slipped into the bFM studio to talk about two books that she’s been reading lately.

Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein was shortlised for the Booker in 2023. When a woman returns to her ancestral land to become a housekeeper for her newly separated brother,
Allusive, observational and atmospheric.

Auto-fiction Argentinian queen, Clarice Lispector is here with her complete publicatoin of her essays (Too Much of Life), which she started writing when she was 7 years old. A great mix of writing - the relationship between humanity and technology, the domestic, philosophy and literary critique.

Listen below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Suri reviews this beautiful, funny, clever, poignant novel - from the author of The Colour of Water & Deacon King Kong. Part mystery, part Dickensian tale, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store explores race, class & the American dream whilst revealing subtle universal messages through character,

One of Barak Obama’s top reads 2023.

Listen below to Suri’s in studio chat with Stella.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Suri's Christmas picks!

Suri is in the studio today with her picks for Christmas.

• Pacific Arts Aotearoa ed. by Lana Lopesi

• So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan

• Rapture: An Anthology of Performance Poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand ed. by Carrie Rudzinski & Grace Iwashita-Taylor

• Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgaard

• Rick Stein's Simple Suppers by Rick Stein

Listen to her kōrero with Rachel and Stella below for the hot tips.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Baumgartner & A Thread of Violence

Suri reviews two books on 95bFM’s Breakfast show today.

In A Thread of Violence, Mark O’Connell revisits a close to home in Dublin. A dramatic true crime featuring interviews with the killer.
Baumgartner by Paul Auster tells the story of Cy, a widower moving through domestic activities. Filled with human moments that are told with the ghost of his wife in mind.

You can listen below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: Rapture: An Anthology of Performance Poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand

Rapture - a brand new Auckland University Press anthology, edited by Carrie Rudzinski and Grace Iwashita-Taylor, is one for the home library.

Listen to Suri wax lyrical about this collection to Rachel, as well as read out a poem by our very own staff member, Abby Irwin-Jones.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Foster by Claire Keegan

In anticipation of Claire Keegan’s new novella, Suri delved into Foster.

Purposefully told, this is a tale of beauty with an underlying dark backstory. Touching, beautiful and a great distraction from studying for exams.

So Late in the Day is due next month.

Suri called into the studio to chat to Rachel.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Doppelganger by Naomi Klein

Professor, commentator and activist, Naomi Klein’s latest book analyses the mirroring of truth online.

Underpinning this cultural exploration with her Klein’s own experience of being constantly misidentified as author and conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf, this is a critique of existing on the internet that is unlined with hope.

Suri does often say this, but declares Doppelganger one of the best books she has read in a long time.

Listen to Suri, Rachel & Stella chat below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: Strangers at the Port by Lauren Aimee Curtis

From the one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2023, Strangers at the Port depicts what happens when foreign arrivals shake up an archipelago community who live a quiet and repetitious existence.

Suri describes this book as gothic cottage-core, that is reflective of late nineteen century events.

Listen to Suri and Rachel chat below!

95bFM's Loose Reads: Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris

On this week’s Loose Read’s review, Suri deep dives into the weighty tome that is Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris. (Not to be confused with James Franco’s novel of the same name).

Connecting the explosion of the gold rush to what is now the epicentre of Silicon Valley, Harris presents an emotive, interesting and clear-eyed history of California.

Suri also recommends If Then by Jill Lepore.

Listen Suri’s chat with Frances and Stella below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck

Suri is in the 95bFM studio this week to review Jenny Erpenbeck’s fourth translated novel, Kairos. Set in Berlin, a 19 year woman starts an affair with an older, married man. An observational love story & psycho-drama that mirrors the tension of East and West Germany and the fall of the Berlin wall.

One of the most interesting fiction novels Suri has read this year!

Listen Suri’s chat with Rachel and Stella below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Gospel of Orla by Eoghan Walls

Suri was in the studio this morning to talk about the coming-of-age tale, The Gospel of Orla, written by Northern Irish poet Eoghan Walls. Young Orla travels on her bike from England to Ireland to seek her Mother’s gravesite and meets a mysterious man named Jesus along the way.

Fable-like, filled with magic realism and reminiscent of the Booker longlisted, Treacle Walker, Suri recommends this strongly.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Bibliolepsy by Gina Apostol

One of Suri’s favourite books for 2023 (so far!) A found classic from the 80’s, this book that explores the life of a teenager and her love of books in the time of political change in the Philippines.

Sexy, clever and surprising, listen to Suri’s great review with Rachel below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore

This morning, Suri reviewed the highly anticipated novel by Lorrie Moore. I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home is a tender and playful little novel about the hauntings of ghosts of the past - imaginary and literal.

Exploring the philosophies of love and joy and how people cope with grief, this is strange, clever and
highly recommended.

Listen to Suri’s review with Annabel below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

Suri reviews the new novel from Brandon Taylor, who was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize for his novel Real Life.

A fun take on a campus novel, that explores class, sex, race and the moralities of fiction.

Want to know more? Listen to Suri’s review with Rachel below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

A camp, satirical page-tuner that is the perfect post-exam read. Yellowface is a book about lies and identity, capturing the conversation of own voices and the sometimes brutal publishing machine.

Listen to Suri’s review with Rachel below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: The Artist by Ruby Solly

Ruby Solly’s The Artist is already Suri’s favourite poetry book of the year. A kōrero between iwi, whānau & whenua, this collection’s whakaaro is that artist is ever and has always been present.

Listen to Suri’s fantastic review with Rachel below.

95bFM's Loose Reads: Heart Sutra by Yan Lianke

Suri is back with a new review on 95bFM’s Loose Reads.

Prolific Chinese author, Yan Lianke explores secularism, money and faith in his new novel. This is a book to read if you want to take the pulse of what’s happening in China.

Listen to Suri and Rachel’s chat about Heart Sutra below