On 95bFM’s Loose Reads, Kiran spoke about Wellington writer and comic Eamonn Marra’s debut novel 2000ft Above Worry Level. An episodic series of connected pieces, this novel is written in a spare, laconic style and deals with anxiety, depression, awkward cam sex, and unemployment - but with the most brilliant sense of comic timing and a lightness of touch. It’s remarkably laugh-out-loud funny and touching, too.
95bFM's Loose Reads
95bFM's Loose Reads: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado /
‘If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.’
ZORA NEALE HURSTON
After making multiple ‘Best of 2019’ lists in the USA, Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House has finally made it to New Zealand.
Machado describes a year long, psychologically abusive relationship with her ex-girlfriend through vignettes headed with narrative genres.
She contextualises her experience as she looks outwards into writing on abusive relationships in the queer community, folklore and pop culture.
This book is intense, helpless and visceral but as Machado says, this is an act of resurrection for herself. Incredibly smart, powerful and compelling - this may be my memoir of the year already!
Listen to Jenna’s review below:
95bFM's Loose Reads: Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride /
On 95bFM’s Loose Reads Kiran reviewed the eagerly anticipated new novel Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half Formed Thing and The Lesser Bohemians. A slim novel at only 149 pages, Strange Hotel calls to be read in one feverish siting with a cold white wine which is what our unnamed narrator orders by the bottle from room service as she moves between a series of hotels in France, Prague, Oslo, Auckland and Austin. A searing meditation of the mind, body and loss, this radical novel is perfect for fans of Edna O’Brien and Rachel Cusk.
95bFM's Loose Reads: Braised Pork by An Yu /
An Yu’s debut novel tells the story of Jia Jia who after discovering her husband dead in the bath, finds a curious drawing from his dream.
From Beijing to Tibet - Braised Pork weaves together domesticity, Chinese traditions and myth - resulting in a gentle exploration of grief.
Braised Pork is also our March Lit Reads pick! Listen to Jenna’s review with Rachel below:
95bFM's Loose Reads: All Who Live on Islands by Rose Lu /
Kiran reviewed All Who Live on Islands by Rose Lu on 95bFM’s Loose Reads. In this collection of nine essays which move between China, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Whanganui, Lu writes with a lightness of touch about food, friendship, relationships, casual and internalised racism, sex, working in the tech industry, and what it’s like to grow up as a Chinese migrant in a multicultural society that has a monocultural focus. Kiran says, “we need more writing like this and I think it’s coming, which is exciting.”
95bFM's Loose Reads: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid /
Are you looking for a great summer read that’s so compelling that you can’t put it down?
Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age is a topical page-turner that’s funny and sharp. Brilliant dialogue gives depth to her complex characters as they navigate race, privilege and wokeness.
This book has been bought by Lena Waithe’s production company and will soon be a TV series.
Listen to Jenna’s review with Rachel and Tess below!
95bFM's Loose Reads: Jenna's Christmas Picks /
Alright, it's the end of the year and wowee, Jenna has a full list of reckons for the last Loose Reads of 2019.
NOVEL OF THE YEAR The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
ADVENTURE STORY OF THE YEAR The Burning River by Lawrence Patchett
EPIC SUMMER READ Ducks Newburyport by Lucy Ellman
BEST BOOK FOR KIDS The Adventures of Tupaia by Courtney Sina Meredith
BEST BOOK FOR BABIES My First Words In Māori by Stacey Morrison
BEST FANCY BOOK Private Gardens of Aotearoa by Suzanne Turley
BEST CLIMATE SCIENCE BOOK Fifteen MIllion Years in Antarctica by Rebecca Priestley
BEST BOOK FOR A 2020 RESOLUTION Tales from a Hot Financial Mess by Frances Cook.
95bFM's Loose Reads: Great Music Books for Summer! /
For Kiran’s final 95bFM’s Loose Reads slot for 2019, she raved about three great new music books for the music nut in your life, or maybe to go on your own Chrimbo wishlist. Acid for the Children by Flea, Face It by Debbie Harry and Bowie’s Books: The Hundred Literary Heroes that Changed His Life by John McConnell.
95bFM's Loose Reads: Me by Elton John /
Jenna reviews this bloody excellent memoir by Elton John. Filled with incredible tales of celebrity, drugs and music - you will find yourself repeating these anecdotes around the dinner table.
This is the perfect Christmas present for any music lover in your life. Listen to Jenna’s review with Rachel and Tess below:
95bFM's Loose Reads: It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track by Ian Penman /
This beautiful collection brings together music criticism, history, social commentary and biography in eight intelligent and elegantly written long-form pieces by music journalist Ian Penman who has contributed to the NME (when it was still a class act!), Guardian and London Review of Books (from which some of these essays originated). Penman eloquently covers the mod revival, James Brown, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, John Fahey, Steely Dan, Elvis Presley and Prince.
95bFM's Loose Reads: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo /
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo is the ‘other’ winner of the 2019 Booker prize, alongside Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments.
Perhaps deserving of being the only winner, Evaristo’s novel takes us into a deep character study of 12 mostly black, mostly women.
Investigating the complexity and variety of gender, class, feminism, politics and sexuality - Girl, Woman, Other explores form with whip smart observation. Listen to Jenna’s review with Rachel and Tess on 95bFM’s Loose Reads below:
95bFM's Loose Reads: Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock & Roll by Nick Tosches /
Think you know about country music? Think again! To celebrate the wild, gutsy and pioneering music journalist Nick Tosches who just passed away, Kiran reviewed Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock & Roll on 95bFM’s Loose Reads. Looking at the history of country music from honky tonk hell to rockabilly heaven, Tosches goes way beyond Hank Williams and excavates the true dark heart of country music, activating the colourful personalities behind it. A super juicy book, filled with tales of brawling, murder and intrigue, it will appeal to any music lover - whether you like country music or not!
95bFM's Loose Reads: A Sharp Left Turn by Mike Chunn /
Mike Chunn’s new autobiography is the NZ rock bio that everyone is going to want this Christmas.
A founding member of Split Enz, Chunn suffered from debilitating panic attacks that caused him to quit the band two albums in. This didn’t stop his music career however - he moved on to found Citizen Band, worked for Mushroom and Sony records, APRA and founded Play it Strange.
A beautiful hardback book full of endearing yarns about Otahuhu in the 1960’s, the love of music, the NZ music industry and mental health.
We finished the review by playing Late Last Night from Split Enz’s second album, Second Thoughts.
Listen to Jenna, Rachel & Tess chat below:
95bFM's Loose Reads: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak /
Kiran reviewed Booker Prize shortlisted novel 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak. The publication of this brave novel has seen Shafak come under investigation by the Turkish government for her unflinching but compassionate look at violence against women in her homeland. This is a profound story of friendship, love and Turkish history, told through the eyes of its marginalised people.
95bFM's Loose Reads: Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino /
On 95bFM’s Loose Reads, Kiran reviewed New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino’s piercing collection of essays Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion. It dives deep into the evolution of the internet, the effects of late capitalism, the definitive scams of the millennial era, and the diminishing gap between personal and political delusion. These perfectly pitched essays also come with an endorsement from Rebecca Solnit so what more could you ask for?
95bFM's Loose Reads: On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein /
On 95bFM’s Loose Reads Suri spoke about On Fire by Naomi Klein where we find essays on varying stages of ecological crisis to current calls for policy reform, in hope of saving our planet. A necessary read.
95bFM's Loose Reads: Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith /
Jenna is a huge Patti Smith fan and was very happy to step back into her comforting words with Year of the Monkey. Set in the year of 2016 - this is a poetic musing on grief, solitude, dreams & travel. Year of the Monkey is Smith’s third memoir after Just Kids (2010) & M Train (2015).
Today we played The Go-Go’s We Got the Beat after the chapter, Why Belinda Carlisle Matters.
Listen below:
95bFM's Loose Reads: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood /
The most highly anticipated release of 2019 is finally here! Jenna reviewed Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale , on this morning’s 95bFM Loose Reads.
Listen to the spoiler free review below!
95bFM's Loose Reads: The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy /
On 95bFM’s Loose Reads Kiran reviewed our Book of the Month The Man Who Saw Everything by one of her favourite writers Deborah Levy. An intriguing and expertly plotted novel abut politics, history, surveillance, beauty and envy, this book shows Levy is a clever writer of immense control and clarity.
95bFM's Loose Reads: Lanny by Max Porter /
On her latest Loose Reads review and in anticipation of the Booker shortlist being announced, Jenna reviewed the longlisted Lanny by Max Porter. This book is an expertly crafted exploration in narrative form and dialogue.
Another longlist title that Jenna mentions is The Testaments by Margaret Atwood - Booker judges can only say that it’s ‘terrifying and exhilarating’. This is out on September 10th!
The shortlist is announced at 9pm (NZ time) on September 3rd.
Listen to the review below:
