Two Book Nerds Talking Renegade Radio

We're talking about Butter by Asako Yuzuki (translated by Polly Barton) in this episode. Whew! There's a lot to unpack in this book, from delectable desciptions of food, to possible murders, the power struggle between the characters... this book is so much more than it seems. 

Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, "The Konkatsu Killer", the books is about gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back. What happens after this is a real roller coaster of a read. 

We hope you enjoy this episode and if you've read Butter, let us knwo what you think!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCMENT: The Aesop Women's Library is back this year! Stay tuned for our special epsiodes in collaboration with Aesop Malaysia to find out the book selections this year, author interviews, and more! 

Live, laugh, love, and read well. 

Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Hello booknerds! 

We're so excited to share our interview with the fabulous Yangsze Choo on her new book The Fox Wife! It has a bit of everything; spirits, mystery, vengence, longing, all the good stuff! 

We really enjoyed this book and we got to talk to Yangsze (thank you Definitely Books) about it. Listen on about a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection.

Cheers!

Hello book nerds!

We're back with a whole new season and we're kicking it off with our anticipated reads for the first quarter of 2024!

It's an eclectic list filled with family drama, witches, crime, tea, and all sorts. It's going to be an interesting reading year and we hope you'll join us.

Books mentioned:
- You Only Call Me When You're In Trouble by Stephen McCauley
- You Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro Enrique, translated by Natasha Wimmer
- Good Material by Dolly Alderton
- Illium by Lea Carpenter
- The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
- The Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
- Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
- Butter by Asako Yuzuki
- The Book of Love by Kelly Link
- Until August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
- Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
- The Searcher by Tana French
- Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland

Hello booknerds!

It has been some time but we're back from the ether to bring you our last episode of the year.

Publishers usually hold out till the end of the year to release the good stuff and in this episode, we're talking about some anticipated reads that came out during the autumn season and year end.

We would like to take this time to thank all our listeners for sticking with us and for all the support and love we have received. We appreciate you and we will be back in 2024 with all new bookish episodes and content.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from ours to yours!

Spooky greeting booknerds.

We know we're late but better late than never right? In this episode, we got to talk to the mysterious Kopi Soh, author of Looking After the Ashes. The book is a semi-biographical fiction of Kopi Soh’s childhood stories from growing up in a Peranakan family filled with "wisdom".

We talked about strange taboos (pantang larang), spirits, ghosts, and everything in between. We definitely learnt some new ones and relived some taboos we heard growing up.

We hope you enjoy this episode and do pick up Kopi's book! Cheers!

Hello booknerds!

We're talking to Tokyo-based Malaysian writer Florentyna Leow in this episode about her debut book How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart. The book is tender time capsule of her time working as a tour guide in Kyoto and the heartbreak that followed the end of a friendship.

We absolutely loved reading her book and we obviously had to talk to her about it. She's a kindred spirit and we hope you'll enjoy this episode (and pick up her book!).

Cheers!