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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
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!
Jenna dialed into the bFM studio today from her tent at the Camp A Low Hum festival, in Wainuiomata.
Lord Jim at Home is a fantastically strange found classic from 1973. With an introduction by Ottessa Moshfegh, Lord Jim is based on the true story of the ill-fated Miles Giffard, this book explores class and violence - all with a very black sense of humour.
The 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist has been revealed. To celebrate, Jenna talks about one of the longlisted fiction titles, Backwaters, a debut novel set between Auckland & China by Emma Ling Sidnam. A gentle read about origins, identity and family?
Listen to Jenna’s chat with Rachel and Stella below!
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Today on Nine to Noon, Jenna was in the studio to chat to Kathryn about some of her favourite 2023 reads.
Listen below for the full review.
Today, Jenna reviewed Patrick deWitt’s The Librarianist, a book that’s at risk of being too light or cheesy, but is actually very good.
Bob Comet, a retired librarian, finds himself volunteering at a retirement centre, when he realises he already knows a resident. deWitt’s expert dialogue leads us through a most heartwarming (and sometimes heartbreaking) and funny return to significant events from Bob’s life.
Listen to Jenna’s chat with Rachel and Stella below!
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.
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Jenna brings in the recently minted 2023 Booker winner, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. A powerful, gut-punch of a book, set in modern day Ireland - following a mother of four as she desperately tries to keep her family together during a civil war.
Jenna, Rachel & Stella also some Christmas agony aunt questions!
Wafting 95bFM listener: The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez or Sonic Life by Thurston Moore.
Big reader aunt: The Postcard by Anne Berest
Tween read: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Also! Don’t forget to get tickets to the Save the B gig. This Wednesday, 20th December.
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.
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Bird Life is a lyrical, present novel set in Japan. Dinah, grieving the suicide of her twin brother, moves from Aotearoa to Japan to teach English. There, she meets Yasuko, a mother grieving her son leaving home. Together, the kinship between Dinah and Yasuko deepens as they navigate their own paths.
Listen to Jenna’s on studio chat with Rachel and Stella below.
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!
Hollie spoke to MasterChef winner Sam Low about his amazing new cookbook, Modern Chinese.
What does a typical day look like for you?
The great thing about being a freelancer and a food creative means I have the opportunity to dabble in so many different areas within food media. If i'm not doing my brand ambassador work (which includes recipe development, video shoots or workshops) I am either creating content for social media or working on a creative food project, an example of this was earlier this year I was a part of a team helping to develop a food theater show and hosting Sik Fan Lah a food adventure series on TVNZ. I’m currently brewing a new project so watch this space!
What was the process of getting your cookbook published?
Long, cathartic and thought provoking would be some of the words to describe the process. I looked into so many different aspects of food media exploring things like food masculinity, orientalism in food photography, queer food history, Chinese gastronomy, assimilated Chinese food (survival Chinese food), my relationship to food and family, these were just some of the topics I looked into. I thankfully had the best publishing team that helped me throughout, and because it is the first of its kind in NZ and the only Chinese cookbook to come out in the last decade we were all piecing it together and learning from the process. It starts with writing recipes that utilize a really accessible and approachable pantry which is a section in the book I spent a lot of time on. The recipes needed to be cohesive to a Chinese banquet meaning that there are options for protein or vegetable focused dishes including rice, noodles, broths and cold appetizers. Once the recipes were done, its recipe testing and food photography. From here, essays, stories, illustrations and personal touches. Once everything is designed then we think about the title and final checks before it goes off to print.
Why did you decide to do Modern Chinese as a cookbook?
I felt as though in NZ there aren’t many books focused around diasporic foods or speak to the history of food from ethnic minorities that help make up the beautifully diverse culinary scene here in Aotearoa. Modern Chinese is a documentation of something that is important to the food scene here and speaks to the contemporary audience of today, hoping to debunk any xenophobia people might have on Chinese cuisine. I wanted to create a cookbook that is easy, accessible, approachable and targeting a large audience potentially first time cookbook owners. Modern Chinese is about community and a simple introductory guide into Chinese food and culture, hoping to inspire young cooks, food creatives and other diasporic communities to embrace and celebrate their own cuisine and share their love of food.
Do you have a favourite recipe in the book?
Instead of my favourite recipe, my favourite part of the book is the building of the pantry. I have arranged this section into 3 tiers, tier one being super easy to access even from a western supermarket and with that alone you can create most of the dishes in the book. I wanted the book to be utilised throughout with a simple Chinese pantry so specialty ingredients that are not only used once and sit at the back of the pantry. Outside of ‘the building of the Chinese pantry’ my favourite recipes are the sauces in the book, they help make bland foods super tasty! Like the sweet fragrant soy sauce (make a batch and store in squeezy bottles) and the aromatic chilli oil (also make batches and store in jars). Use these on a simple protein like grilled chicken on rice, add it in a stir fry or dressing your dumplings, these homemade condiments are game changers.
What is one ingredient that you always have on hand?
Besides the homemade condiments, I might say ground white pepper. It's floral, warmingly spicy and can be used in every savoury dish. If this is new to you, start adding a little shake (or pinch) in your savoury foods to add a new level of flavour.
What food writers inspire you?
Fuchsia Dunlop is a big one for me, a Chinese food gastronomist, a wealth of knowledge matched with an infectious love and appreciation for the people, culture and food of China. Soliel Ho, they were the head food critic at San Francisco’s The Chronicle now critic at large. I fell in love with Soleil’s work when they did the podcast Racist Sandwich and Extra Spicy, having different narratives and conversations in food media about class, race and gender. Brandon Jew, owner of Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco's Chinatown, a Michelin star modern Chinese restaurant. Brandon really pushed the boundaries of what it means to be Chinese American where you don’t need to be more or less Chinese to feel enough as a Chinese person in diaspora. Harold McGee, an American author who writes about science and food but his latest work on smell has really changed the way I think about our human senses. His book ‘Nose Dive’ a field guide to the world of smells is so incredible it goes beyond food but more so on how we navigate life.
What author or book is a recent discovery for you?
Emily Contois is an incredible author whom I discovered last year. She’s an associate Professor of Media Studies at The University of Tulsa, author of Diners, Dudes & Diets: How Gender & Power Collide in Food Media & Culture, and co-editor of Food Instagram: Identity, Influence & Negotiation. Her work revolves around food media and how it has come to be in today’s climate. I am especially interested in her exploration of the ways we consume food media and how this reflects on our day to day food behaviors in society.
What was your favourite snack to eat while putting together Modern Chinese?
Soft egg (slightly scrambled and folded) sandwiches with Japanese mayonnaise. The soft white loaf bread and delicate sweet egg is so comforting and has been a favourite of mine growing up since a little kid.
It’s almost Christmas, therefore it’s time for our end of year round-ups. Today, Jenna chose three nice novels, just because it feels like we need them.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Good Material by Dolly Alderton (audiobook on Libro.fm)
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
Listen to Jenna’s on studio chat with Rachel and Stella below.
Today on Nine to Noon, Jenna chatted to Susie about The Bee Sting. This has been shortlisted for the Booker, which will be announced in just over a week!
A supremely Irish tragi-comedy, this is Jenna’s favourite novel of 2023.
Listen below for the full review.
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.
Hollie spoke to best-selling author and store favourite, Mona Awad about her latest novel, Rouge.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Usually my own fixations and obsessions. In the case of Rouge, it was skincare and beauty, and an addiction to beauty videos on YouTube. I couldn't help but see the great potential for horror there. I'd also always wanted to work with the fairy tale of Snow White, which is the ultimate fairy tale about beauty and its shadow side.
So….Tom Cruise?
Or is he? Appearances can be deceiving, Bunny :)
Has your skincare routine changed since writing Rouge?
It was really byzantine when I first became obsessed with skincare and I experimented quite a bit with different products. I was also very easily enchanted and seduced. Now I have some trusted products I rely on and I'm slightly more dubious of claims. But I'll always love a mist and to be honest, I'm still a bit of a sucker.
What’s next in skincare?
God knows. But I'll probably be trying it.
How do you structure the layout of a story? Do you write with an outcome in mind?
Usually I'll do a kind of rough blueprint of the first part of the book and then I'll start writing. The ending usually comes to me as I'm writing the beginning. I don't hold myself to it, I tend to just follow the story, but in each case it's where the book has wanted to land.
There are aspects of your novels that read like a dream. Are any parts of your books inspired from a dream you’ve had?
I'm glad to hear that. I think that's often the feel that I'm going for and the subject matter or the character's mental state is what dictates it. Beauty is, after all, a kind of dream. I also really like to immerse the reader in the character's mind, and in our minds we're always dreaming.
What author or book is a recent discovery for you?
Not terribly recent, but I really loved Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I thought the narration was so wonderful--this heady mix of enchantment and dread.
What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing?
Usually it's just coffee or green tea for me but I have a friend who sends me little knick knacks that are in conversation with whatever book I'm working on, sort of to cheer me on. For Rouge, she bought me these beautiful rose gummies. I did enjoy those during breaks.
