With rain and thunder in the background, Jenna reviews Last Resort, a debut novel by Andrew Lipstein.
Caleb’s dream is to be a novelist and after some ethically dubious inspiration, it looks like his dream is to be realised. This book is not serious, sharp & funny and is recommend for fans of grifter stories - especially the infamous Who is the Bad Art Friend?
Listen to Jenna and Rachel discuss below.
Jenna reviews this epic novel from renowned poet, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers.
Ailey Pearl Garfield, her immediate family and ancestors tackle racism, trauma, colourism, black feminism, academia and history over 800 sweeping and effortless pages. This book is highly recommended!
Listen to Jenna’s review with Lynne Freeman on RNZ’s Nine to Noon below.
Suri reviews a vivid, evocative and compelling novel set in the early 21st century, by a multi disciplinary author, Keeping the House by Tice Cin.
Following a multi generational family in South London, Keeping the House studies the rich inner lives of women and immigrant communities.
There is a soundtrack for this book! You can listen to it here.
You can listen to Suri’s review with Rachel below.
Translated from Italian, Claudia Durastanti’s novel Strangers I Know explores the mythology of family, language, form and fiction. An incredibly smart read and highly recommended.
Listen to Jenna and Rachel discuss below.
Short, clear and concise. If you’re going to read any non-fiction title about America, this is it. National Book Award winner George Packer presents how politics, economics and culture has evolved into the America we know today.
You can listen to Suri’s review with Rachel below.
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Danya Kukafka’s Notes on an Execution is crime fiction fit for true crime lovers. Set in the twelve hours before he is to be executed, Ansel Packer’s story is told by three women who have been affected by his crimes. A pacy and thought provoking read.
Listen to Jenna, Rachel and Zoe discuss below.
A sprawling history of human civilization, The Dawn of Everything rivals its predecessors by asking 'Are both Hobbes and Rousseau wrong about the state of human nature?'. Drawing on carefully chronicled indigenous histories and posing a challenge to existing understandings of the development of civilization, The Dawn of Everything is a must read for fans of Sapiens and Humankind.
You can listen to Suri’s review below.
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
The growth of tech, social media and personal devices has evolved the way our society interacts with the world today. Stolen Focus is an investigation into how this has happened, what it means and offers tools in how to get our focus back. A hot topic told in an engaging and thorough way, this a great non fiction read to start off the new year.
Read this excerpt from The Guardian and listen to Jenna, Rachel and Zoe discuss below.
As seen in Metro Magazine
Jenna
Times Like These by Michelle Langstone
Uprising by Nic Low
A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
Cait
Lolita in the Afterlife by Jenny Minton Quigley
Three Summers by Margarita Liberaki
Night Bus by Zuo Ma
Roman
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Second Place by Rachel Cusk
A Country for Dying by Annie Ernaux
Wendy
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The Echo Chamber by John Boyne
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Manon
A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova
The Right to Sex by Amia Srini
Sophie
Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney
No One is Talking about This by Patricia Lockwood
Slave Play by Jeremy O Harris
Suri
No One is Talking about This by Patricia Lockwood
The Hard Crowd by Rachel Kushner
Please, Call Me Jesus by Sam Te Kani
Amanda
Rangikura by Tayi Tibble
The Hard Crowd by Rachel Kushner
Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados
Saraid
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
Luster by Raven Leilani
Winter in Sokcho by Elsa Shua Dusapin
Katie
Women of Troy by Pat Barker
Roxy by Neal Shusterman
The House in the Cerulean Sea
T. J. Klune
Elijah
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
No One is Talking about This by Patricia Lockwood
Fragments of an Infinite Memory by Mael Renouard
Lauren
Matrix by Lauren Groff
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novak
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
Click on the covers to shop!
TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Our top 10 bestselling books of the year.
Click on the covers to shop!
Click on the covers to shop!
TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Jenna is Rachel and Zoe’s first guest in the studio since August! Today, she reviews Lauren Groff’s Matrix. An imagining of the life medieval poet, Marie de France, who is sent away from the royal court to live as a nun. Never has a story set in the twelfth century felt so contemporary!
Jenna reviews Orwell’s Roses, the brand new book by prolific non-fiction writer, Rebecca Solnit. Starting amongst George Orwell’s (still living) roses, Solnit weaves together connections of war and beauty. Highly recommended!
Listen to Jenna’s review with Kathryn below.
Richard Power's latest novel, Bewilderment, is a tender exploration of loss, climate anxiety and the binding love between father son. In the wake of his wife's death, scientist Theo tries to rescue his sensitive son from the noise and cruelty of the modern world. A rich mixture of philosophy, science and spirituality, Bewilderment is a powerful ode to the natural world.
This is another lockdown review! You can listen to Suri chat with Rachel below.
The prolific David Sedaris is back with his second volume of diaries, A Carnival of Snackery (2003-2020.)
With the usual ingredients of travels stories, languages, bad jokes, the Sea Section, taxidermy, rubbish, Hugh & the infamous Sedaris family, this is a must read for Sedaris fans. It’s the type of book that can sit over the coffee table over Christmas and have multiple readers at once.
Listen to Jenna’s lockdown review with Rachel and Zoe below:
Samuel Te Kani's debut erotic short fiction collection, Please, Call Me Jesus is an electric, moreish journey through suburbia and its dark pleasures.
From gaming housewives, to teenage werewolves and suburban fathers with secrets, Sam Te Kani's psychologically piercing and playful vignettes of suburban desire make for addictive reading.
Samuel Te Kani is a contributor to Metro NZ, The Spinoff, Pantograph Punch and formerly Vice NZ.
This is another lockdown review! You can listen to Suri chat with Rachel below.
This little book follows The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan and she follows, like a friendly(ish) ghost, The Woman in the Purple Skirt.
This is a portrait of single women in Japan, women who work in service and the hierarchy within those industries. It’s also a portrait of loneliness.
This is perfect Christmas present for fans of Sayaka Murata and also Korean authors such as Han Kang and Bae Suah. It’s completely bonkers but funny, creepy but innocent, compelling and mysterious.
Listen to Jenna’s lockdown review with Rachel and Zoe below:
