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We’re on, when you’re off. Lee Chwi Lynn, Kelvin Yee and Tasha Fusil restore sanity to your day even as you’re stuck in traffic trying to get home. And who isn’t? Tune in as they take on hot-potato issues to inform and entertain you, soundtracked by the thumping music that only BFM plays. EE runs the gamut, bringing you noteworthy pop culture, punchy interviews, and rocking call-in sessions.
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In his debut novel, speculative fiction writer Wole Talabi draws on Yoruba mythology to tell an adventure story that spans space and time. At the heart of the tale is Shigidi, a disgruntled nightmare god who partners up with Nneoma, a succubus with a mysterious past. Together, they find themselves tangled up in a heist at the British Museum, battling magical and mythical forces. We speak to Wole about his love for this genre, how the character of Shigidi came about, and why he enjoys drawing on his Nigerian roots for his stories. To close off, we review the book.Image Credit: GoodreadsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
15 years on from its first successful run, Kam Raslan's Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato Hamid Adventures has been reissued, with a brand new look, and a previously unpublished story. We speak to Kam about the appeal and delight of writing about Dato Hamid and in his unique voice and what it was like to revisit the book after more than a decade. And then in Footnotes, we ask him for some recommendations!Image Credit: GoodreadsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bringing together her love for writing with her love for travel and discovering new cultures, Dipika Mukherjee's Writer's Postcards is a collection of essays spanning decades that capture her observations of the world. Part travelogue and part memoir, the book brings the personal, the political, and the global together, while also making a case for travel writing through a specifically female and Asian lens. We speak with Dipika about the process of writing the book, what drew her to travel writing, and why she's a firm believer in claiming space for unheard voices and stories.Image Credit: Penguin.SGSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For our last Book Club of the year, we're both reading something we're very excited about: Shih-Li Kow's Bone Weight and Other Stories. This cross-genre collection of 25 short stories explore relationships and periods of transition, and is populated with complex characters. We discuss how the collection works together as a whole, as well as some of our favourites.Image Credit: GoodreadsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Salleh Ben Joned has been described in many ways - maverick poet, bad boy of Malaysian literature, innovator of language, and by some detractors, even anti-Malaysian. Since his passing in 2020, there have been a number of attempts to memorialise him and capture his legacy, and "Salleh Ben Joned - Truth, Beauty, Amok and Belonging" comes from a very personal place - written by his daughter Anna Salleh, a writer and musician herself, the book looks back at both Salleh's life and his works. We speak to Anna about the process of writing the book, and her own journey through her discovery of her father's legacy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
GTLF is back, and this year the theme is Terra Incognita! We speak to Pauline Fan and Adriana Nordin Manan about the curatorial process this year, how the festival has expanded beyond panels and conversations, and what unknown territories they're hoping to explore. And then in Footnotes, they each give their recommendations for 3 unmissable festival events.Image Credit: https://www.georgetownlitfest.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we explore Malaysian Tamil writing - both the rich tradition that exists here, but also the challenges in nurturing the scene and garnering a wider readership. We’re joined by Mannar Mannan Maruthai, who gives us an introduction to the scene, and shares recommendations, including works by Mydin Sultan, Re. Karthigesu, Pachai Balan, and S.P. Bama.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As Children's Day in Malaysia is traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're celebrating children's literature this entire month, by doing a Book Club with a different child every week. In this episode, we're joined by 14-year-old Lily Lau, whose choice is the Newbery Prize-winning classic, The Giver. A book that is simultaneously an adventure story, but also a meditation on memory and authoritarianism, The Giver has been recommended almost as often as it's made its way onto banned lists. We speak to Lily about what she enjoys about the book, and how it's affected her as a reader.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As Children's Day in Malaysia is traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're celebrating children's literature this entire month, by doing a Book Club with a different child every week. In this episode, we're joined by 8-year-old Declan Goh, whose pick is a perennial favourite of children worldwide: Enid Blyton's The Magic Faraway Tree. We talk about what Declan enjoys about the book, but also speculate about what the tree itself could be (a portal? A gateway to different dimensions?). Declan also shares some lands and creations that he'd like to see, in the Faraway Tree universe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As Children's Day in Malaysia is traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're celebrating children's literature this entire month, by doing a Book Club with a different child every week. In this episode, we're joined by 10-year-old Lana Sofia Pointon, who suggested we talk about the book that started a phenomenon: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Lana (who hasn't read the rest of the series!) talks to us about the magic and adventure in the story, and who her favourite characters are, as well as why she's looking forward to more from the Wizarding World.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With Children's Day in Malaysia traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're dedicating this entire month to what kids and young people are reading. Every week this October, we're doing a Book Club with a different child (or young person!) and asking them to share their current favourite read. This week, we're joined by 17-year-old Arif Iskandar Ridzuan, who's recommending the first book of the Mistborn trilogy, which blends magic, politics and killer storytelling, to tell the tale of a group of thieves and plotters (led by the charismatic Kelsier, but primarily told from the point of view of Vin, an orphan learning about her powers), who are trying to overthrow a government led by a ruler who may also be a god. If it sounds intriguing, that's because it is! Arif explains why this is a book he's enjoyed and how it's contributed to his reading habits.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With Children's Day in Malaysia traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're dedicating this entire month to what kids and young people are reading. Every week this October, we're doing a Book Club with a different child, asking them to share with us their current favourite read. Kicking things off, we're joined by 11-year-old Maya Anjali Manalan, whose pick is David Walliams' duology, Gangsta Granny and Gangsta Granny Strikes Again - a pair of wickedly funny books about Ben, who hates having to visit his granny until he discovers a totally unexpected secret about her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Set in a newly post-colonial Singapore, The Great Reclamation blends genres (historical fiction, fantastical elements) to tell the story of a country through the choices of one man - Ah Boon. Beginning with his life growing up in a fishing village, blessed with the gift (or curse) of finding islands rich with fish that aren't on the map, and eventually going into his desire to find order and progress, this is a hard novel to summarise. We speak with its author Rachel Heng, discussing the research and themes of the novel, before reviewing it in Footnotes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With the Booker Prize 2023 shortlist just around the corner, we took a spin on the quiz helpfully laid out on the official website, and were recommended a pair of books to explore from the longlist: Jonathan Escoffery's If I Survive You, a novel told through short vignettes, exploring a young man's questions and struggles through familial tensions and questions of identity, and Chetna Maroo's Western Lane, a quiet novel about how an 11 year old girl copes with grief through the punishing rhythms of squash. We review both these books, before getting into the larger value of book quizzes in Footnotes. Image Credit: GoodreadsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With 2023 marking the 60th year since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, its complex connection with Singapore over the decades feels ever more relevant to examine. The Second Link, an anthology featuring short stories by writers from both countries, engages with and unpacks this entwined relationship. We speak with three of the editors of the book. Image Credit: Lit BooksSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We continue our spotlight on local bookstores by looking at a crowd favourite this week - BookXcess, popular for their affordable books, unique store concepts, and of course the Big Bad Wolf book fair. We hear from them about why making books as widely accessible as possible is an integral part of their approach, and how they keep their approach to bookselling fresh. Image Credit: BookXcessSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For the last 18 years, Readings KL has been running (almost) every month - featuring 6 readers each time, and a dedicated community of literary enthusiasts. We speak to its long-time organiser Sharon Bakar, and current host Sumitra Selvaraj, about the joys and challenges of keeping it all running, and the value of having a space for readers and writers to come together. And then on Footnotes, we discuss our own experiences with reading events.Image Credit: Readings KL/ FacebookSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, the first in the Broken Earth series, created a sensation when it came out in 2015, including getting a Hugo Award. Set on a planet with a single supercontinent called the Stillness, the inhabitants face a "fifth season" of catastrophic climate change - amidst which, we are introduced to three female characters each undertaking a journey of their own. We discuss the book's absorbing worldbuilding, the social commentary it weaves in, and how much we loved the characters. We close off with Footnotes, where we discuss a proposed boycott by authors of the Edinburgh Book Festival as a way to protest against a sponsor who has links to fossil fuel companies. Image Credit: GoodreadsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A newly opened bookshop in Damansara Kim, Sunda Shelves is a cosy space that celebrates nature and conservation, and mixes fiction and non-fiction, as well as new and secondhand books. We discuss the inspiration for the bookshop, how it came to be, and the community it's building. Image Credit: Sunda Shelves / FacebookSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With AI-generated content and ChatGPT creating anxiety in various industries, we discuss how it might potentially change books - from the potential for books written entirely by AI to what this means for how people in the publishing field are paid for their work. We close off the conversation by discussing AI and robots in fiction, and how these themes have evolved. Image Credit: 123rf.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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