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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 APRIL 2021 6 CULTURE Vincent Piccinino Horizons, 2020 It goes without saying that Vincent Piccinino has a way of narrating a story. This book is a proof of this, with his 21 new stories. 21 stories to pass our time. There is a story for every day for three whole weeks. 21 stories, the majority of which end with an unexpected twist. 21 stories with various themes, varying from those narrations termed as familiar (sometimes even semi-autobi- ographic) to those about var- ious well-known characters, from Valletta or other parts of Malta. 21 stories that venture from the profane to the sacred; from being ridiculous to being sublime; from mockery to the metaphysical; from the mun- dane to the divine. 21 stories which are proof that the author can be at times seri- ous and at others sarcastic; he knows how to make you laugh and at the same time knows how to make you cry. But above all, 21 stories that in them, independently from the theme, the author is always capable of eliciting that touch of humor, characteristic of his own style. L-Appuntament mad- Destin u stejjer oħra Book review L-Appuntament mad-Destin u stejjer ohra can be purchased from the publishing house Horizons A newly revamped format for Taħt il-Qoxra THE National Book Council (KNK) is pleased to announce that the weekly radio program, Taħt il-Qoxra presented by Ra- chelle Deguara, will be taking on a new revamped format. Taħt il-Qoxra is currently in its fourth year. During this time the programme has intro- duced audiences to dozens of local writers to whom we asked questions that shed light on their works and various liter- ary aspects, themes and genres of writing. All the programmes we have made so far provide a wealth of useful informa- tion for book lovers, students, and also scholars, and remain available on the National Book Council website. In a revamped format, airing from Sunday, April 11, the pre- senter Rachelle Deguara, will lead discussions with more than one guest stemming from the world of literature and beyond, in an open-ended ex- change of ideas. Locally published books re- main the point of departure, but the conversations will be touching upon broader ques- tions. Given that the object of books and literature are the vari- ous aspects of life, writers of all kinds will be sharing their thoughts in discussions with peers and guests from relat- ed social domains and profes- sions. Our objective with these exchanges is to keep providing a centre stage for Maltese pub- lications and stimulate con- versations that address these works and the noteworthy con- tributions of their writers from a range of different angles and perspectives. The new programmes will be broadcast on Radju Malta on Sundays at 7.30pm, and also in video format on National Book Council's Facebook page on Sunday at 7.30pm, and on the National Book Council website. New episodes will also be post- ed on National Book Council YouTube and Soundcloud ac- counts, where one can also find all previous programmes.