The Booker Prize 2024 • Episode #166
The Book Club Review
Curious about the 2024 Booker Prize? Wondering if the shortlisted novels live up to the hype? In this latest episode Kate and Laura are joined by returning guests Phil, Sarah and Martin to dive deep into this year's shortlist bringing you their usual frank, honest opinions in true book-club style. This isn’t your typical review show — you get real, unfiltered thoughts from book lovers who tell it like it is. From literary brilliance to unexpected twists, find out which books wowed us, which ones left us wanting more, and whether this year’s Booker picks truly deserve the spotlight....
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Summer Reading Report 2024: Hits, misses and anticipations
The Book Club Review
Summer Reading Report: hits, misses, and anticipations We're back from the beach and reflecting on our summer reading in this bonus length bookshelf episode. On Kate's stack summer favourite GRETA AND VALDIN by Rebecca K. Reilly, Olivia Laing's memoir The Garden Against Time, the hotly tipped HEADSHOT by Rita Bullwinkel, TRUST by Hernan Diaz, Miranda July's new novel ALL FOURS and upcoming book club reads THE FRAUD by Zadie Smith and HUMANELY POSSIBLE by Sarah Bakewell. Meanwhile Laura talks about REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Kong, THE LAST UNICORN by Peter S. Beagle, THE LAST MURDER AT THE...
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Notebook Nirvana: Stationery and the Joys of Notetaking, with David Frostick
The Book Club Review
In this special episode, originally released for our Patreon subscribers, Kate celebrates the joys of the perfect notebook with fellow enthusiast and stationery shop owner David Frostick (Lift, Southwold). From the importance of flat-lay paper to the perfect pen we've got it all covered just in time for back-to-school season. And then we turn to the art of notetaking. Kate and Laura discuss how they take notes on the books they're discussing on the show, and then we find out how the professionals do it, with friends of the pod, journalist Phil Chaffee and literary critic Emily Rhodes. We also...
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Unpacking the best: The NYT's best books of the 21st century • #163
The Book Club Review
We love a list, and we love an excuse for a conversation about books, and so we couldn't have been more delighted when the New York Times released their list of the best books of the 21st century, so far. From 503 top tens submitted by authors and other literary world folk, and a bit of statistical magic, they boiled it down to their definitive top 100. And we had to hand it to them, it's a damn good list. Still, we might argue with a few of their choices, and of course have some thoughts of our own. And so in this episode you'll get our own Book Club Review top 20 books, some of which were on...
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Summer Bookshelf • Episode #162
The Book Club Review
Laura’s on a flying visit to London, and so of course we took the opportunity to get together and swap notes on our recent reading. Regular guest Phil Chaffee dialled in from New York to add his picks to the mix. Find out what we thought of summer it-book The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, we consider the auto fictional world of Deborah Levy, Kate reports back on Francis Spufford’s new novel – and podcast book club read – Cahokia Jazz and we round it off with art-world memoir All That Glitters by Orlando Whitfield – unputdownable in Kate’s opinion, find out why. It’s...
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Books that Make us Laugh • Episode 161
The Book Club Review
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 by Kurt Vonnegut and by Elif Batuman by Elif Batuman by Iraj Pezeshkzad by Kaveh...
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Talking Non-Fiction, with Tom Rowley of Backstory • Episode #160
The Book Club Review
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 releases. As Tom says, 'I just read. I want good stories, I don't care whether...
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Browsing the So Many Damn Books bookshelf, with Christopher Hermelin • #159
The Book Club Review
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 by Dave Eggers by Dave Eggers , including The by Julius Taranto by Julie Myerson by Asako Yuzuki (Polly Barton, trans.) by Mieko Kanai (Polly Barton, trans.) by Polly Barton by Jennifer Croft by Percival Everett, and we also mentioned and by Luca Debus and Francesco Mateuzzi NOTES Join the club and support us on Follow The Book Club Review on and Threads @bookclubreviewpodcast
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Book club: The New Life by Tom Crewe • Episode #158
The Book Club Review
Two marriages, two forbidden love affairs, and the passionate search for social and sexual freedom in late 19th-century London. Publishers Penguin call 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 Oyler and NORTH WOODS by Daniel Mason, as well as our recommendations for books inspired by Crewe's novel....
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Mild Vertigo and Japan lit • Episode 157
The Book Club Review
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, their current reads and our book recommendations for anyone wanting the inside track on great...
info_outlineIt’s always good to have things to look forward to in life, and the books we can see coming up on the horizon are no exception. In this episode we’ll be finding out the books that Chrissy Ryan and her team at Bookbar are excited about. Whether it’s new books from authors we here at the Book Club Review have loved in the past or exciting new debuts from authors we’ve never heard of, we’re primed and ready to get reading as soon as they drop. Plus we have a nerdy dive into what it takes to run a small independent bookshop, and why it’s so important to be reading ahead of the pack. Listen in and be prepared to add to your TBR.
Book list
Chrissy recommended
Rosewater by Liv Little (Dialogue books / Hachette)
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson (Penguin)
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin (Harpercollins)
Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery (Bloomsbury)
The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan (W&N)
Mrs S by K Patrick (Europa Editions)
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (Harper Collins)
The Guest, Emma Cline (Penguin)
Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks (Penguin)
Lucy recommended
Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater (Hachette)
In Memoriam by Alice Wynn (Penguin)
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Chandler and Frankie recommended
One Small Voice by Santanu Bhattacharya (Penguin)
Penance by Eliza Clark (Faber)
Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren (Pushkin)
Tomás Nevinson, Javier Marías (Penguin)
The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor (Penguin)
And Frankie also mentioned Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery (Bloomsbury)
In addition to bookselling Frankie is also author Francesca Reece and so you might also be interested to try her book Voyeur: 'Devastatingly witty, compulsively readable . . . like Sally Rooney meeting Martin Amis in Paris' writes Francine Toon, author of Pine.
To sign up to read and review proofs head to Netgalley UK or Netgalley.com
Notes
Check out the episode page on our website for full shownotes and a transcript, and do comment there anytime if you have thoughts on any of the books discussed in this show. You'll also find our archive of over one-hundred episodes to browse through, from our Booker Prize or Women’s Prize specials to regular book club chats and interviews with authors and other book industry folk. You can also sign up to our free newsletter for more book recommendations between shows, and find out the details for our Patreon account and how to support us there.
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