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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow Marina on a spectacular tour of some of her favourite books set in the Middle East. She discusses classics like the works of Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk, which touch on identity and history, to looking into what it’ll take to dismantle the patriarchy through the eyes of social commentator and journalist Mona Eltahawy. Mentioned this episode: Orhan Pamuk - Other Colors Elif Shafak - The Forty Rules of Love, The Bastard of Istanbul, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, The Island of Missing Trees Jokha Alharthi - Celestial Bodies Naguib Mahfouz - Palace of Desire Nawal El Saadawi - Woman at Point Zero  Mona Eltahawy - Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls Elias Khoury - As Though She Were Sleeping Leila Aboulela - Lyrics Alley

One of the must-dos for many travellers is to try local foods in whatever country we visit. Food represents so much of a country from its environment which dictates its ingredients to its culture and traditions. Since we can’t physically travel right now, one way of visiting different countries is by reading cookbooks. Not just recipes but the cookbooks that tell you a bit more about the country or region that the recipes come from. This episode, Marina speaks to a special guest, Asma Khan of Darjeeling Express restaurant in London, who you may have seen on that wonderful Netflix series, Chef’s Table, about her book, the culture and tradition of Indian food preparation, and the uncelebrated women behind the recipes. Mentioned this episode: Asma Khan - Asma's Indian Kitchen; Ammu: Food To Nourish Your Soul, From A Life Of Cooking (to be released in 2022) Durkhanai Ayubi - Parwana: Recipes and Stories from an Afghan Kitchen Sami Tamimi, Tara Wigley - Falastin: A Cookbook Caroline Eden - Red Sands: Dispatches and Recipes from Unsung Cities and Open Steppe More information available at zafigo.com/busy-reading-books

In a continent as culturally and ethnically diverse as Africa, it's no surprise that the literature that has come out from it be equally diverse and multifaceted. Dealing with a range of social and cultural issues, from human rights and feminism to post-war and post-colonial identity, here are Marina's suggestions on some books worth diving your nose into from some of Africa's best and upcoming writers. Mentioned this episode: Nadine Gordimer - Burger's Daughter Alan Paton - Cry, the Beloved Country Donald Woods - Biko Enid Blyton Wilbur Smith Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible Abraham Verghese - Cutting for Stone Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah, Purple Hibiscus Chinua Achebe Ben Okri Wole Soyinka - Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth Akwaeke Emezi - The Death of Vivek Oji Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi - A Girl Is a Body of Water Nanjala Nyabola - Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move Yaa Gyasi - Transcendent Kingdom, Homegoing Trevor Noah - Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood More information available at zafigo.com/busy-reading-books

We’ve talked to and about authors in many neighbouring countries but have yet to speak to writers from Singapore. Not that the island state is short of writers - there’s Catherine Lim, Philip Jayaretnam, Stella Kon, and Alfian Saat to name a few. But the one that has had Marina most excited recently is Sharlene Teo. Sharlene's debut novel, Ponti released in 2018 and is now working on her follow-up. She chats with Marina about her first book and gives us the low-down on which Singaporean authors are hot right now. Mentioned this episode: Amit Chaudary - Friend of My Youth Akhil Sharma - Family Life Sonny Liew Jeremy Tiang Jing-Jing Lee Daryl Qilin Yam Rachel Heng Balli Kaur Jaswal Theophilus Kwek Toni Morrison - Jazz Colleen Hubbard - Housebreaking (to be released) Anna Metcalfe - Weird Museum (to be released) Carson McCullers - The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Duanwad Pimwana - Arid Dreams: Stories Donatella Di Pietrantonio - A Girl Returned Elena Ferrante Chen Chen - When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities