A books podcast made by readers
Welcome to The Book Club Review, the independent podcast about the books that get people talking, hosted by Kate and Laura. From literary prize shortlists to book club favourites we’re always on the hunt for those books that provoke conversations, the ones we can’t wait to share, the ones perfect for book club. With our cast of regular and special guests, we promise you honest opinions and lively debate. As featured in Vogue, Stylist, the iPaper, Waitrose Weekend and BBC Radio 5 Live. Listen via your favourite podcast player or browse our archive for back episodes full of book recommendations. If you want to find your way to some really good books, there’s no better place to start. Wondering if we’ve covered one of your favourites? Type the title into the search tab to find out.
Just out, listen to our most recent episode
Author and podcaster Miranda Keeling joins Kate and Laura to explore the art of slowing down and appreciating the magic of the everyday. Listen here or head to the episode page for full shownotes.
Join the Barnsbury Book Festival audience for the very first Book Club Review live and get to know author Bee Rowlatt and her work including her latest novel, One Woman Crime Wave, and why Mary Wollstonecraft and her writing has never been more relevant. Listen here or head to the episode page for full shownotes.
What makes a bestseller? Is it the quality of the writing, or just the right book at the right time? This week Kate is joined by co-host Laura Potter and returning guest Phil Chaffee to find out. Listen here or head to the episode page for full shownotes.
We’re celebrating the end of the year with a look back over our favourite reads of 2025. With Phil Chaffee and Sarah Oliver. Listen via the media player below or head to the episode page for the booklist and full shownotes.
Explore this year’s Booker Prize shortlist on episode #182 of the Book Club Review! Hosts Kate and Laura are joined by contributors Phil Chaffee and Martin Vovk to discuss and debate the six shortlisted novels, plus hear our live reaction to the winner’s announcement. Head to the episode page for the booklist and shownotes.
Keep up with the pod between episodes
Reviews, recommendations and more.
Loved recording with @mirandakeeling and hearing about her new book THE PLACE I’M IN. Hear the full conversation, dip into our reading piles and discover our fiction pick THE ANTHROPOLOGISTS by Aysegul Savas in episode #190, at the link in the bio or wherever you get your pods.#bookspodcast #everydaymoments #bookclubreads #mirandakeeling
Sunday night bookstack Part 2
Feat.
The Happy Reader
Memories of Distant Mountains by Orhan Pamuk
The Yellow Book by Amitava Kumar
This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Sunday night bookstack Part I
Feat.
No Such Thing as Monday by Sian Hughes @theindigopress @sophportas
The Director by Daniel Kehlman @riverrun_books @thebookerprizes
NEW EPISODE - a conversation that might change the way you see the world. Laura and I are joined by @mirandakeeling, who is one of those people who have a gift for finding the magic in life’s everyday moments and sharing them with others. For Miranda it’s not just about her own practice of ‘noticing’, she wants to help other people find ways to engage more deeply, to see the world around them with new eyes. And it’s a shared endeavour, connecting us with others. Plus in our usual podcast fashion we’re reviewing our recent reads (Jessica Simpson’s memoir, NO SUCH THING AS MONDAY by Sian Hughes, ASHES AND STONES by Alison Shaw) and diving into our libraries to bring out our favourite books that we think fit the theme of slowing down and taking notice. We’ve got Robert Seethaler’s gentle story of a Viennese cafe, @robertdouglasfairhurst’s gem of a book LOOK CLOSER and we’re taking inspiration from Nobel prize winner Orhan Panmuk and his illustrated journals, MEMORIES OF DISTANT MOUNTAINS, beautifully published by @aaknopf. Link in the bio to listen.
Don’t miss Miranda’s new book THE PLACE I’M IN published by @quartobooksuk
@theindigopress @sophieportas
NEW EPISODE • The Art of Noticing, with @mirandakeeling
What if the antidote to the noise isn’t switching off – it’s paying closer attention?
Miranda Keeling, actor, podcaster, and author of The Place I’m In, joins me and Laura to talk about the art of noticing the small, luminous moments hiding in everyday life.
Our book club read is the perfect complement, The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Şavas – a beautifully written novel about a couple hunting for an apartment in a foreign city, trying on different futures for size.
We’re also recommending some of our favourite books that encourage us to slow down, and engage with the world more deeply.
Listen at the link in the bio or search The Book Club Review wherever you get your pods.
A few April reads. Catch the latest episode with @beerowlatt at the @barnsburybookfestival at the link in the bio. Thanks to @faberbooks for sending me the Jess Kidd - I’ll be passing it on to Laura when she’s in London in a couple of months. To @notestothemoon and @sarahxify for joining me on a Thursday night to talk about not only George Saunders but also Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Illyich - let us not attempt to hang our own curtains. Episode coming soon. And to brilliant @wbgooderham and @skoobbookslondon for general fabulousness but in particular Wayne’s book collection, on sale now.
Such a pleasure to be involved with the first Barnsbury Book festival interviewing Rob Delaney, Bee Rowlatt and diving into the cultural powerhouse that is Thames & Hudson. Hear my interview with Bee in the latest episode of the Book Club Review, link in the bio.
The very first @barnsburybookfestival provided the perfect opportunity to record the very first Book Club Review live. I was delighted to chat to author and broadcaster @beerowlatt, whose books include the best-selling Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad, which went on to be dramatised by the BBC, and In Search of Mary inspired by Mary Wollstonecraft. Bee also runs the Wollstonecraft Society, a human rights charity. Her debut novel, One Woman Crime Wave, is a novel that explores the realities of wealth, influence, and inequality in present-day London and offers plenty of talking points for book club discussion and debate. Join our festival audience to hear more about Bee’s life and work and why Mary Wollstonecraft and her writing has never been more relevant.
Listen to the full conversation now wherever you get podcasts 🎧
#BarnsburyBookFestival #BookClubReview #BookPodcast #WhyWeRead #Bookstagram ReadersOfInstagram
More recent episodes
Kate and Laura swap notes on their Autumn reading, while gearing up to dive into the Booker Prize shortlist. Listen via the media player below or head to the episode page for full shownotes and a transcript.
Kate and Laura dive into two recent book club reads, Universality by Natasha Brown and Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O’Donnell. Did they make for good book club books? Plus recent reads and we hear from a book club with a brilliant twist. Listen via the media player below or head to the episode page for full shownotes and a transcript.
Kate and Joseph Dance discuss a favourite topic among literary aficionados, books that explore the world of books and reading. Listen via the media player below or head to the episode page for full shownotes and a transcript.
Kate and Laura talk books in Seattle, including recent reads and bookshop favourites. Also featured, literary cocktails. Listen via the media player below or head to the episode page for full shownotes and a transcript.
Join Kate in New York as she drinks cocktails and chats books with Christopher Hermelin of So Many Damn Books and Drew Broussard of The Lit Hub Podcast. Listen via the media player below or head to the episode page for full shownotes and a transcript.
Inspired by the recent Apple adaptation of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries, we’re diving in to all things book to TV and film. Find out our favourites, plus we hear from Philippa Donovan, literary scout, who gives us the inside track on what it takes for a book to succeed on the screen. Listen via the media player below or head to the episode page for full shownotes and a transcript.
Daisy Buchanan joins Kate to explore the healing power of books and reading to inspire, comfort and fortify – and generally bring us joy Listen here or head to the episode page for full show notes.
With New Year’s resolutions still in mind it’s the perfect time to step into a world of philosophical musings and practical wisdom with Oliver Burkeman. Meditations for Mortals is his latest book designed as a four-week mental retreat, promising to help readers lead a ‘saner, freer, and more enchantment-filled life’. He joins Kate to discuss it. Listen here or head to the episode page for full show notes.
Join Kate, Sarah, Phil and Laura as they consider the NYT’s Best Books of the 21st Century list, and come up with a Book Club Review Top 20 picking up on the ones they think were overlooked. Listen in to find out if they’ve picked any of your favourites. Listen here or head to the episode page for full show notes.
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Discussion, debate, even a little dispute
Every month we 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. An interview with a book club, bookshop or book lover. Or Bookshelf, an episode dedicated to the books we’re reading outside of book club – the ones we get to pick and choose.