Table for Two is a story told in vignettes - Evelyn Ross drifts betwen cities, going from New York City to Chicago, then to Los Angeles. With every step she takes closer to home, she treads farther away away and finds herself in a constantly spiraling dialogue betwen her past, present, and future. 

Exposited in seven points of view, the chain of storeis highlights the wit and dynamic penmanship of Amor Towles to craft the multi-faceted inner dialogue that goes on within people who are drifting and hoping to arrive into themselves. 

We enjoyed this read and we hope you'll enjoy this episode! 

Cheers booknerds!

Hello booknerds! 

It's been 2 weeks since the Aēsop Women's Library and we had some time to gather our thoughts about it. 

We got some special guests on board for this epsiode and we asked their thoughts on the Aēsop Women's Library 2024 that took place from 14-16 June at the Aēsop stores at The Exchange TRX and IOI City Mall, Putrajaya.

We have Shi Han, who is behind the fabulous Instagram account @human_edition.
Shi Han was brought on by Aēsop Malaysia to document and highlight the event and this is her first time at the Aēsop Women's Library! You can watch her videos over on her Instagram account and support her work! 

We also invited some of our listeners over to the preview on the 13th of June at Aēsop TRX and you'll hear from Sook Kwan (@bookknots), Aishah (@aishah.reads), Mahirah (@bymahirah), and Xueh Wei (@readlahwei) on their thoughts and what they picked up from the Aēsop Women's Library!

We like to thank the man of the hour, Remy Wong, the Assistant Marketing Manager of Aēsop Malaysia, for the opportunity to partner with Aēsop for a second year. This has been an amazing journey and we cherish the memories and connections made. 

If you missed the Aēsop Women's Library, we highly recommend that you listen to our first epsiode where we tell you about the books and head on over to a bookshop to pick the books up! There are so many amazing local women writers and your support goes a long way. 

Thank you again to everyone who listened to our episodes and made this event a successful one! 

Hello everyone! 

In this second special Aēsop episode, we're talking to some special guests that are no strangers to the literary scene in Kuala Lumpur. 

We have Sharon Bakar who is the Managing Director of Word Works SDN BHD. Sharon runs creative writing courses, helps edit and publish writer’s works, and hosts literary events like readings at Seksan Gallery, Bangsar, KL. 

We also have Amir Muhammad who is an independent filmmaker, writer and founder of publication companies Matahari Books and Buku Fixi. 

We have Sharifah Osman with us too. Sharifah is a senior lecturer at the Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at University Malaya Kuala Lumpur. 

And we have Tutu Dutta who is an international nomad who has lived in far flung cities around the world, past decade she has authored 10 books including Timeless Tales of Malaysia and The Blood Prince of Langkasuka. 

We got to pick their brains and it was lovely talking to all of them. We learned a lot and we hope you'll enjoy this episode!

Remember to visit the Aēsop Women's Library next week (14-16 June 2024) at the Aēsop store at The Exchange TRX and IOI City Mall, Putrajaya!

Introducing the Aēsop Women's Library 2024, Malaysia Edition!

We are beyond excited to partner up with Aēsop Malaysia again to bring you another year of the Aēsop Women's Library! This year's theme is voices unbound and you'd be spoilt for choice as there will be 27 titles to choose from this year! Do visit the selected Aēsop stores and you are allowed to choose one complimentary book, no purchase required.

During this time, the shelves of Aēsop stores at The Exchange TRX and IOI City Mall Putrajaya will be cleared of products to make way for significant works of literature by Malayisan women writers. The selection is sprawling in genre and spirit: from emerging voices to seasoned authors, and short stories to novels and poetry. To find out more, listen to this episode and Part 1, if you're not caught up.

Mark your calendars and plan your journey!

When: 14 - 16 June 2024
Where: Aēsop The Exchange TRX, KL, and Aesop IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

—

Books in this episode: 

• Deplorable Conversations with Cats and Other Distractions by Yeoh Jo-Ann
• 洞 (Hole) by 蔡曉玲 (Cai Xiao Ling)
• The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
• 三滴米酒 (Three Drops of Rice Wine) by Wendi Sia, Wendy Teo, Wei Ling Hung 
• The Cats We Meet Along the Way by Nadia Mikail
•  声声慢 (Slow Voice) by Huang Huiru
• Tentang Pilihan by Dr. Nur Aisyah Zainorin
• Generation of Fragile by Germaine Thai
• Bergaji dan Pokai by Suraya Zainuddin
• 傷痛的祝福——大體捐贈者家屬的自述 (The Blessing of Pain - A Self Narration of an Anatomical Body Donor's Family) by 賴昭宏 (Lai Zhao Hong)
• Daylight Dialogues by Charissa Ong TY
• 余生：黎紫書微型小說自選集 (The Rest of Life) by 黎紫書 (Li Zi Shu)
• Senyum yang Tersembunyi by Melni
• 春天是一個晴天的早上 (Spring is the Morning of A Sunny Day) by 馬尼尼為 (Ma Ni Ni Wei)
• Duet Me Not by Lilian Li

Introducing the Aēsop Women's Library 2024, Malaysia Edition!

We are beyond excited to partner up with Aēsop Malaysia again to bring you another year of the Aēsop Women's Library! This year's theme is voices unbound and you'd be spoilt for choice as there will be 27 titles to choose from this year! Do visit the selected Aēsop stores and you are allowed to choose one complimentary book, no purchase required.

During this time, the shelves of Aēsop stores at The Exchange TRX and IOI City Mall Putrajaya will be cleared of products to make way for significant works of literature by Malayisan women writers. The selection is sprawling in genre and spirit: from emerging voices to seasoned authors, and short stories to novels and poetry. To find out more, listen to this episode and Part 2!

Mark your calendars and plan your journey!

When: 14 - 16 June 2024
Where: Aēsop The Exchange TRX, KL, and Aesop IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

—

Books in this episode: 

• As Equals: the Oei Women of Java by Daryl Yeap
• L的棱角 (The Edges and Corners of L) by 郭詩玲 (Guo Shi Ling)
• The Food That Makes Us by Foong Li Mei and Szetoo Weiwen
• My Mother Pattu by Saras Manickam
• King of the Sea by Dina Zaman
• The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
• Principal Girl Redux, edited by Sharifah Osman and Tutu Dutta
• How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart by Florentyna Leow
• Mengejar Mimpi Sempura by Auni Zainal
• 趁早出發 (Leave Early) by 旅人小魚 (Traveler Xiao Yu)
• Fried Rice by Erica Eng
• 哪有什麼勇敢 不過就是沒死 (I'm Not Brave, Just Not Dead) by 背包旅神 (Backpacker God)

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!

We know it's rather late in the day to release this episode but we've came across some titles that are just too good not to share.

The promt for our August #tbntbookchallenge2023 is to read a book set in an ancient city or about an ancient civilisation. Eventhough these are some recommendations for our August challenge, we do hope some of these titles have piqued your interest and that you'll pick it up in your own time.

We had so much fun researching and recording this episode and of course, our own TBR pile just got bigger. Cheers!

Hello booknerds!

We got to talk to award-winning short story writer Saras Manickam back on 15 July 2023 live at our favourite indie bookshop Lit Books, PJ. We get into her short story collection My Mother Pattu and it was such a lovely conversation.

Saras writes with much empathy and understanding of human complexities, tackling difficult issues like racism, mistreatment of migrant workers, and domestic abuse. Her short story collection is filled with violence, tenderness, and hope.

We hope you enjoy this episode and do pick up My Mother Pattu!

Cheers!

“We're here to make magic with words”
― R.F. Kuang, Babel: An Arcane History

Step into the world of dark academia with us in this book chaser episode. We talk about Babel by R.F. Kuang and I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai; both set in institutions of learning and all the dark stuff that happens behind the scenes.

Murder, colonism, dark secrets, word nerdery: all the good stuff can be found in these books and of course, we did our best to not spoil anything for you.

Cheers!

Hello booknerds!

We took a short break after all the Aesop Women's Library excitement and we're back!

We got to speak to THE Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree, about her latest book, A Day of Fallen Night.

A Day of Fallen Night is the prequel to Priory and it’s set just shy of five centuries before Priory and covers the period known as the Great Sorrow, or Grief of Ages. We had such a great time talking to Samantha and we feel that it has come full circle. In case you didn't know, we actually have a podcast episode on Priory in Season 2 so you can check that out of you have not heard that episode.

We really geeked out talking to Samantha cause we're both huge fans of fantasy books (especially Diana) and we hope that you enjoy this chat.

Cheers!

This is the third special episode brought to you by Aesop Malaysia in conjunction with the Aesop Women's Library: Malaysia Edition.

In this episode, we got Hanna Alkaf, Viji Krishnamoorthy, Alina Rastam, Qurratul ‘Ain, and 梁靖芬 Leong Ching Foon aboard to talk to us about being a woman writer in Malaysia. It is such an illuminating episode and we think we can confidently say that our women writers are forces to be reckoned with.


—


The Aesop Women's Library: Malaysia Edition is happening on the 26th till 28th May 2023 at Aesop Pavilion KL and Aesop The Gardens Mall, and 2nd till 4th June 2023 at Aesop Gurney Plaza, Penang.

Read more about the Aesop Women's Library: Malaysia Edition

Check out the full lineup of complimentary books that will be available!

Cheers booknerds!

This is the second episode of our Aesop Women's Library special. In this episode, Honey and Diana will be talking about some of their picks for the fiction and poetry collections that will be availble at the selected Aesop stores soon.

You will be spoilt for choice and we're here to help highlight some titles that might interest you.

Enjoy!

—

Over the course of three days, the shelves of Aesop Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Aesop The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur and Aesop Gurney Plaza will be cleared of products to make way for significant works of literature detailing the experiences of women-identifying authors and allies from around the region. The selection of over 20 titles—composed of recommendations from six collaborating publishing houses who champion local literary voices—is sprawling in genre and spirit: from emerging voices to seasoned authors, and short stories to novels and poetry. The featured writers include Viji Krishnamoorthy, 梁靖芬, Hanna Alkaf and Alina Rastam. As a way of supporting local independent publishers and booksellers in Malaysia, Aesop has purchased over 6,000 volumes from Lit Books, Clarity Publishing, Cite Book Garden, Gerak Budaya, Penwings Publishing and Buku Fixi.

Introducing The Aesop Women's Library!

During this time, the shelves of Aesop Pavilion, Aesop Gardens, and Aesop Gurney Plaza will be cleared of products to make way for significant works of literature by Malayisan women authors. The selection is sprawling in genre and spirit: from emerging voices to seasoned authors, and short stories to novels and poetry. To find out more, listen to this episode!

You'd be spoilt for choice as there will be 25 titles to choose from. Do visit the selected Aesop stores and these books will be complimentary, no purchase required.

Save these dates:
26-28 May 2023 (Aesop Pavilion, KL and Aesop The Gardens Mall)
2-4 June 2023 (Aesop Gurney Plaza, Penang)

Cheers booknerds!

Who knows you better than your best friend? Who knows your secrets, your fears, your desires, your strange imperfect self?

Get ready to be all in your feels with We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman.
Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years, and when Edi is diagnosed with terminal cancer and put into hospice care, Ash's life is reshaped.

Catherine Newman has managed to write a book that is both sad and funny, and we highly recommend this read. Buddy read with your best friend and make sure to have a good cry and hug after.

On a happier note, do stay till the end of the episode for a very exciting announcement! You don't want to miss it ;)

Cheers!

We're talking to Malaysian author Shivani Sivagurunathan on her book, What Has Happened to Harry Pillai? in this episode.

Shivani Sivagurunathan has been writing and publishing fiction and poetry for twenty years. She is an English professor at the University of Nottingham Malaysia and fun fact, she was Diana's professor when she was persuing her Masters!

What Has Happened to Harry Pillai? consists of two novellas and we got the opportunity to talk to Shivani about the two stories and all the juicy details.

If you'd like to hear Shivani live, Lit Books is having an author event with her on the 25th of March 2023 at 8pm and you can get your tickets here: Shivani Sivagurunathan Author Event at Lit Books

Enjoy the episode!