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PODCAST

The Book Club Review

The Book Club Review

Discussion, debate, even a little dispute – expect it all on The Book Club Review. Every month hosts Kate and Laura bring you a new episode. That could be Book Club where we chat about the book read most recently by one of our book clubs. It could be Bookshelf, an episode dedicated to the books we"re reading outside of book club – the ones we get to pick and choose. Or it could be an interview with a book club, bookshop or book lover. Whatever the topic, every episode features lively and frank

arts books

All Episodes

57:30

Books that Make us Laugh • Episode 161

The Book Club Review ·

2024/06/06

Inspired by the folk at the New York Times article ‘22 of the funniest novels since Catch 22’, join me (Kate), Phil and Laura as we consider the books that make us laugh. Listen in as we explore the NYT's suggestions and add in a few of our own. Find out the author we can’t believe they missed, and the book that reliably makes Laura – a tough customer when it comes to funny books – laugh every time. Books mentioned The New York Times article ‘22 of the funniest novels since Catch 22’

en

46:49

Talking Non-Fiction, with Tom Rowley of Backstory •...

The Book Club Review ·

2024/05/05

Exploring literary worlds beyond fiction: a dive into non-fiction Join Kate, as she ventures to South London to visit Backstory, a unique indie bookstore founded by former journalist Tom Rowley. Rowley shares his journey from journalism to opening a bookshop, the challenges and joys of running a bookstore, the importance of community engagement, and launching the second issue of the Backstory Magazine. We then turn our attention to non-fiction, pulling out some favourites, both backlist and new

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47:58

Browsing the So Many Damn Books bookshelf, with...

The Book Club Review ·

2024/04/29

So Many Damn Books podcast creator and host Christoper Hermelin joins Kate to swap book recommendations and discuss the magic of book club, recent book discoveries and bookish pet peeves. EPISODE BOOK LIST The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave Eggers A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers McSweeney’s magazine, including The Panorama issue How I Won A Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto Non-Fiction by Julie Myerson Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Polly Barton, trans.) Mild Vertigo by Mieko

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41:22

Book club: The New Life by Tom Crewe • Episode #158

The Book Club Review ·

2024/04/10

Two marriages, two forbidden love affairs, and the passionate search for social and sexual freedom in late 19th-century London. Publishers Penguin call The New Life by Tom Crewe ‘A brilliant and captivating debut, in the tradition of Alan Hollinghurst and Colm Tóibín' but what did our book club make of it? Kate is reporting back, with regular guest Philip Chaffee joining from New York. We'll be catching up on the discussion as well as bringing you our take on recent reads FAKE ACCOUNTS by Lauren

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56:15

Mild Vertigo and Japan lit • Episode 157

The Book Club Review ·

2024/03/13

What did our podcast book club make of Mild Vertigo, Japanese author Mieko Kanai's 1997 novel, recently translated into English by Polly Barton. A 'modernist masterpiece' written in sentences that go on for pages with hardly any paragraph breaks might not seem like an obvious book club winner; listen in to find out if we were won over. To discuss it Kate is joined by Yuki Tejima, also known as @booknerdtokyo, and Shawn Mooney, aka Shawn the Book Maniac. Listen in for their thoughts on Mild Vertigo,

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39:24

Early Spring Bookshelf • Episode #156

The Book Club Review ·

2024/02/06

Join me (Kate) and Laura as we go through our bookstacks and discuss our recent reads. Find out what why Laura can’t put down The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Meanwhile I’ve discovered Mrs Miniver, a comfort read from the 1930s that still has a message for us today, Laura’s made a discovery of her own – that there’s more to Anita Brookner than Hotel du Lac, with her 1988 novel The Latecomers. We go from one good book club read to another with The Fraud by Zadie Smith, and Laura reports in from

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40:05

Future Reads 2024, with Chrissy Ryan • Episode #155

The Book Club Review ·

2024/01/23

We’ve put our 2023 reading lists behind us, and now it's time to look ahead to 2024. Who better to guide us through all the new titles coming our way than Chrissy Ryan, owner of North London’s buzziest bookshop and social space, Bookbar. New books by favourite authors, a non-fiction page-turner that will have you hooked, a high-concept potential blockbuster and a follow-up novel from the author of a debut that got people talking, we’ve got something for everyone. Not to mention our tips and

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01:07:35

Best Books of 2023 • Episode #154

The Book Club Review ·

2023/12/29

It's our 2023 review of the year. Join me (Kate), Laura and Phil as we look back over our favourites, from new releases to backlist gems. Find out our overall book of the year, plus the books we're looking forward to in 2024. If you're wondering what to read next, this is the show for you, with over fifty tried and tested recommendations. Support the show, get our weekly newsletter or join our monthly book club via Patreon. Follow us on Instagram or Threads Find full shownotes and a transcript on

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01:11:59

The Booker Prize 2023 • Episode 153

The Book Club Review ·

2023/12/11

We read all six Booker shortlisted books, now join us as we evaluate them and try to second-guess the Booker judges, before finding out the winner - don't miss our hot take. 'A novel is a mirror carried along a high road' says Chair of the Booker judges Esi Edyugan, quoting Stendhal. ‘Year after year’, she continues, ‘the Booker Prize encourages us to take sight of ourselves in the lives of others, to slip for the length of a story into different skins, to grapple with unfamiliar worlds that allow

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54:00

Lonesome Dove, and other reads • Episode #152

The Book Club Review ·

2023/10/29

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry has sold over 2 and a half million copies worldwide since publication in 1985, and won a Pulitzer Prize. With prose as ‘as smooth as worn saddle-leather', USA today writes 'If you read only one Western novel in your life, read this one . . . no other has ever approached the accomplishment of Lonesome Dove'. More interesting to us, Lonesome Dove is one of those 'if-you-know-you-know' books, passed from reader to reader, once read, never forgotten. And yet not everyone

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47:48

So Late in the Day and other reads • Episode #151

The Book Club Review ·

2023/10/14

Irish author Claire Keegan is generally considered to be one of the finest writers working today. ‘Every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving’ said Hilary Mantel, of her work, while for Colm Toiíbín ‘Claire Keegan makes her moments real – and then she makes them matter.’ Praise indeed, but what did our brand new podcast book club make of So Late in the Day, her most recently published short story? We’ll be reporting back. And we’re also rounding up

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45:22

Fiction and Philosophy, with Jonny Thomson • Episode...

The Book Club Review ·

2023/09/09

Is there any point in doing a nice thing if you can’t flaunt it on social media? Can we ever know what it’s like to be a bat? If we know Cinderella isn’t real, why do we care about whether or not she marries the prince? In this episode Kate is joined by Jonny Thomson, the man behind the popular Instagram account @philosophyminis, and a bestselling book of the same name. With a new title out, Mini Big Ideas, it seemed the perfect time to catch up with him and consider the philosophical ideas that lie

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53:00

Late-Summer Reading, with Bookbar • Episode #149

The Book Club Review ·

2023/08/21

Whether you're after fly-through-them page-turners or immersive long-reads, or perhaps you're after a challenge, or the perfect discussion book, we've got the list for you. Find out our expert picks from indie-bookshop Bookbar's Chrissy Ryan, a woman at the centre of a hub of reading recommendations from authors, customers and booksellers alike. Kate is swapping notes and sharing her own summer reading pile. Plus just to pack in even more book tips we've got a few extra recommendations from

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51:20

The Years by Annie Ernaux, Super-Infinite by...

The Book Club Review ·

2023/08/09

If you've been wondering whether or not to tackle the work of Nobel-prizewinner Annie Ernaux, and in partiular The Years, generally considered to be definitive, listen in and find out what Laura's book club thought (you might be surprised). We're also generally delighted by how interesting the life of 17th-century poet John Donne is in the hands of Katherine Rundell, and her Baillie-Gifford prizewinner Super-Infinite. But were Kate's book club unanimous in their praise? Discover more great reads as

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26:29

Bookshopaholics • Books on the Hill • #147

The Book Club Review ·

2023/08/01

Join Kate in the historic market town of St. Albans, home to a cathedral, some impressive Roman ruins and one of Kate's favourite independent bookshops. Books on the Hill is owned and run by a mother and daughter duo who launched it just before the pandemic. Listen in and find out what makes it so special, their book club recommendations and discover Kate and Antonia's choices as they each pick three books from the shelves, from new releases to classic gems. Books mentioned: The Wild Places by

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41:25

Fiction Prescriptions with Ella Berthoud • #146

The Book Club Review ·

2023/07/08

Join us as professional book-recommender and Bibliotherapy queen Ella Berthoud helps us figure out how to overcome life’s essential problems (if you’re a reader, that is), namely how to cope with all the books there are in the world, what to do when you feel stuck in a reading rut, and the ultimate question, if you’ve started a book you’re not enjoying, should you finish it? We’re also diving into Ella’s latest project, Fiction Prescriptions, a pack of cards with reading recommendations to soothe

en

01:25:26

The Women's Prize 2023 • Episode #145

The Book Club Review ·

2023/06/11

Six books, four readers and, as always, plenty of opinions. Join Kate, Laura and guests Sarah Oliver and Nina Davies as they dive into the 2023 Women's Prize shortlist. But will they be able to second-guess the judges? As ever, we talk about these books in some detail but we won't spoil the plots for you, so listen in if you want to hear more and find out all the reasons why these are six books you won't want to miss. UPDATE: Keep listening at the end for our reaction after hearing the winner's

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49:24

Bookshelf: Summer vibes • Episode #144

The Book Club Review ·

2023/06/08

Our bookshelf shows are the ones where we get to cut loose and follow our own preferences, so listen in as Kate and Laura swap feel-good early summer reads. Much to their relief after Rodham, the sex in Curtis Sittenfeld's latest novel ROMANTIC COMEDY turns out to be as good as the rest of it. Meanwhile Kate is surprised and entertained by Monica Heisey's REALLY GOOD, ACTUALLY. Via the discerning edit of the books aisle in her upmarket grocery store, Laura discovers PINEAPPLE STREET, and enjoys it

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43:23

So Many Damn Books • Episode #143

The Book Club Review ·

2023/05/31

So Many Damn Books is a show that aims to celebrate reading in all its forms, and to do so with a cocktail in hand. For over 200 episodes now Christoper Hermelin has been chatting to authors and crafting them bespoke drinks. From George Saunders and Ruth Ozeki to lesser-known but no less interesting authors, every episode in his archive is a delight. And it was no less of a delight to welcome him onto the Book Club Review podcast. So sit back and enjoy this very special episode, where you'll find

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42:31

Book Club: Victory City • #142

The Book Club Review ·

2023/05/21

Salman Rushdie's most recent novel Victory City was published in February 2023 to much critical acclaim but, as ever here at the Book Club Review, we’re interested in what Laura’s book club made of it. Our friend and pod regular, journalist Philip Chaffee is here to report back, along with first-time guest, avid reader and keen book clubber Charlie Chichester. Listen in for our full and frank discussion, plus our recommendations for follow on reads, and the books we've currently got on the go. Book

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