Busy Reading Books Zafigo Travel
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- Arts
A new podcast by Zafigo.com where we explore the world through words!
Join Marina Mahathir weekly as she talks about the books she loves, share insights about them, and sometimes, chat with other interesting book lovers.
Whether you have interest in the lives of historical figures, or want to learn about French cooking, join us as we flip through books based on the many genres and themes – proving that there truly is a book for everyone!
More information available at zafigo.com/busy-reading-books
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S01E24 | Should I? Will I? Must I?: All the Books I've Yet to Read
In our last episode for the season, we're doing things a little differently. Instead of talking you through books she's read, Marina explores a list of titles and authors she's yet to peruse -- some that she may add to her reading list in the future and some she may not despite how popular they are.
Mentioned this episode:
Harold Robbins - The Carpetbaggers, The Adventurers
Mario Puzo - The Godfather
William Peter Blatty - The Exorcist
Charlotte Brontë
Emily Brontë
Anne Brontë
William Shakespeare
George Orwell - Animal Farm
Augustine of Hippo
Lytton Strachey
Simone de Beauvoir - The Second Sex
Germaine Greer - The Female Eunuch
Betty Friedan - The Feminine Mystique
Amina Wadud - Qur'an and Woman, Inside the Gender Jihad
Kecia Ali - Sexual Ethics and Islam
Fatema Mernissi
Riffat Hassan
Asma Lamrabet
Mona Eltahawy
Seema Yasmin - Muslim Women Are Everything
Susanna Clarke - Piranesi
Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet
Bernardine Evaristo - Girl, Woman, Other
Hilary Mantel
Margaret Atwood
Keggie Carew - Dadland
For more information about us, visit zafigo.com/busy-reading-books -
S01E23 | What Our Family Stories Mean to Malaysia with Viji Krishnamoorthy
As we near Malaysia Day on September 16, our thoughts turn to the history of our country, now 64 years old. Or rather, to the many histories, of families who were born and bred here, or who came from elsewhere and made a life for themselves here, of families disrupted by war or brought together by other circumstances. Some of these stories have made their way into books as Malaysian authors mine their own personal histories to tell stories that not only resonate with Malaysians but those around the world. Tan Twan Eng, Tash Aw and Preta Samarasen are just three of them but there are certainly as many authors as there are stories. In this episode, Marina talks to Viji Krishnamoorthy about Malaysian family stories and what they can teach us about our nation today.
Mentioned this epsiode:
R. K. Narayan - Malgudi Days
Elif Shafak - The Island of Missing Trees
Catherine Menon - Fragile Monsters
Mohsin Hamid
Khaled Hosseini
Rohinton Mistry
John Steinbeck
Négar Djavadi - Disoriental
Elena Ferrante
Additional suggestions from Viji:
Sarah Moss - The Tidal Zone; Signs for Lost Children
Matt Haig - How To Stop Time; The Midnight Library
Max Porter - Grief is the Thing with Feathers; Lanny
For more information about us, visit zafigo.com/busy-reading-books -
S01E22 | The Case for Narrative Non-fiction
Not a fan of non-fiction reads? In this episode, Marina talks about some of her most-loved narrative non-fiction books and makes a pitch for why you should give the genre a go. These unique books interweave various literary techniques into true stories and create gripping accounts of a person, event, or issue, and often leaves its readers feeling as though they were reading works of fiction. Warning: these books can be compulsively readable.
Mentioned this episode:
Rebecca Skloot - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Jared Diamond - Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse; The World Until Yesterday
Steven Pinker - The Better Angels of Our Nature
Peter Pomerantsev - This Is Not Propaganda; Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible
Adam M. Grant - Think Again
Sherry Turkle - Reclaiming Conversation
For more information about us visit zafigo.com/busy-reading-books -
S01E21 | Is Small Beautiful? A Chat with Indie Publishers Amir Muhammad & Rosalind Chua
Has the book publishing industry been hit by the Covid pandemic? On the one hand, people forced into lockdown have more time to read which should be good news for publishers. On the other hand, with less footfall, bookstores are closing down for lack of customers. The big publishers may have the cushion of previous successes to survive with. But what about small publishing houses? How are they coping? Marina speaks to the founders of two independent Malaysian publishing houses, Amir Muhammad from Buku Fixi and Rosalind Chua from Clarity Publishing, to learn their views on what the future holds for their industry.
Mentioned this episode:
Viji Krishnamoorthy - 912 Batu Road
Boonsiri Somchit - When the Chicken Dies, Everyone Cries
Muhammad Fatrim - Asrama
Nadia Khan - Gantung
Tunku Halim
Ernest Zacharevic - Streetart George Town
Teme Abdullah
Neil Gaiman
Randy Pausch - The Last Lecture
Sally Rooney
Brit Bennett - The Vanishing Half
Lawrence Block - The Sins of the Fathers
Ryszard Kapuściński - The Shadow of the Sun
Haruki Murakami
Donna Tartt - The Goldfinch
Lionel Shriver
Lat
Matt Haig - Notes on a Nervous Planet
Sherry Turkle - Reclaiming Conversation
Eugene Lim
Lydia Davies -
S01E20 | Adaptations: Is the Book Really Better Than the Film?
You’ve probably heard this question being asked a thousand times before: Is the book is better than the movie/series? Granted, reading allows you to get creative while interpreting the story to your liking. On the other hand, the great thing about films is their ability to show. Not forgetting, there's the overall experience of watching a novel you love come to life.
But can we really compare both mediums? In this episode, Marina tackles the ol' page vs screen argument while exploring some favourite and popular titles and their feature film or TV show adaptations.
Mentioned this episode:
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Louisa May Alcott - Little Women
Arthur Golden - Memoirs of a Geisha
Elizabeth Gilbert - Eat, Pray, Love
Truman Capote - In Cold Blood
Yann Martell - Life of Pi
Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis
Alice Walker - The Color Purple
André Aciman - Call Me By Your Name
Liane Moriarty - Big Little Lies
Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl
Delia Owens - Where the Crawdads Sing
Elena Ferrante - My Brilliant Friend
Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet
Britt Bennett - The Vanishing Half
Joshua Kam - How The Man in Green Saved Pahang, and Possibly the World
More information available at zafigo.com/busy-reading-books -
S01E19 | A Crash Course on Graphic Novels with Ineza Roussille
This week, Marina ventures into the world of graphic novels with her daughter, Ineza Roussille. Ineza, a documentary filmmaker and visual storytelling enthusiast, has loved reading graphic novels ever since discovering Joe Sacco's works. In this episode, she doesn't just give us a breakdown of the popular categories within the genre, but also shares who her favourite authors and illustrators are.
Mentioned this episode:
Tetsu Kariya - Sake
Joe Sacco - Palestine
Alan Moore - Watchmen
Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis, Embroideries
Lorina Mapa - Duran Duran, Imelda Marcos, and Me
Alison Bechdel - Fun Home; Are you My Mother
George Takei - They Call Us Enemy
José-Louis Bocquet - Kiki de Montparnasse; Joséphine Baker
Tiziana Lo Porto - Superzelda
Guy Delisle - Jerusalem; Pyongyang; Burma Chronicles
Apostolos Doxiadis - Logicomix
Sean Michael Wilson - Parecomic
Jeffrey Wilson - The Instinct for Cooperation
Noelle Stevenson - Nimona
Aminder Dhaliwal - Woman World
Art Spiegelman - Maus
Malik Sajad - Munnu
Susie Hopkins - What to Do When I'm Gone
Reimena Yee - The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya
Erica Eng - Fried Rice
Sonny Liew - The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
Whit Taylor (Kazimir Lee as contributor) - Harriet Tubman: Toward Freedom
Bong Joon-ho - Parasite: A Graphic Novel in Storyboards
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Julie Maroh - Body Music
Mira Jacob - Good Talk
More information available at zafigo.com/busy-reading-books