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.Β As featured in Vogue, Stylist,Β the iPaper, Waitrose Weekend and BBC Radio 5 Live. Listen via your favourite podcast playerΒ 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
Kate and Laura dive into Kelly Linkβs The Book of Love and Elaine Dundyβs The Dud Avocado, with sharply divided book club verdicts. Plus Project Hail Mary and other recent reads.
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.
New Year, new intentions. Find the right book with Bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud. Listen via the media player below or head to the episode page for the booklist and 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.
NEW EPISODE β’ If youβve been waiting a while Iβm delighted to report there is a new episode of The Book Club Review ready and waiting for you at the link in the bio. Weβre diving into Lauraβs book clubβs pick, THE BOOK OF LOVE by Kelly Link - known for her superb short stories but her novel meet high expectations? And effervescent classic THE DUD AVOCADO by Elaine Dundy, a novel about a young American woman having a riotous time in 1950s Paris. But did it leave us with a sense of joie de vivre?
Weβre also following up on a bit of listener feedback on Project Hail Mary and catching up on a few recent reads.
Booklist
π Slow Days Fast Company by Eve Babitz
π Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik
π Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
π The Book of Love by Kelly Link
π American Gods by Neil Gaiman
π What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
π The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
π Bonjour Tristesse by FranΓ§oise Sagan
Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett
Paper marbling bliss thanks to @marmorpaperie. If you, like me, can spend hours watching paper marbling videos on Instagram, imagine my delight at getting to go and try it out for myself thanks to a Christmas present from my mum of the Marmor Paperie half-day course. It was a delight from start to finish. I was fascinated to learn about the history of marbling as a technique, which dates back to 11th-century Japan. We learned how to prepare our paper and our size (the liquid the paint floats on, which is thickened with a seaweed extract called Carrageen or Irish Moss). Under Lucyβs expert instruction we made seven marbled papers learning traditional patterns and techniques, but also the joy of experimenting and seeing what the water and paint wants to do. We also learned that paper marbling is an endangered craft with only thirty professional marbelers working in the UK. Iβm not sure I quite have the patience to be the 31st - thereβs a certainty finickityness you need in cleaning the water between pulls that I think might undo me - but I absolutely loved giving it a go, and have Lucyβs kit so that I can try and do some more at home. If youβve ever wanted to give it a try I canβt recommend Lucyβs course highly enough.
#papermarbling #bookbinding #papercraft #marmorpaperie
A weekend of books, ideas, conversation β right here in Islington. Iβm so excited to be involved. Iβm doing events with Rob Delaney (canβt wait to hear about his latest film and screenwriting projects plus heβs a prolific reader and always has a good book on the go), @beerowlatt (exploring the life and legacy of the first celebrity feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft - who is buried just down the road at St Pancras church) and @heidiriceauthor (diving deep into the romance genre from cosy rom-com to erotic fiction). I canβt wait - click through for how to book and to explore all the other brilliant things on offer. Itβs all to raise money to support St Andrewβs Church, where my children went to nursery and a place at the heart of the local community. In this reel you can see the gorgeous little free library, made by a local dad and painted by yours truly, that sits on the church gates offering free books to anyone passing by.
17β19 April
Tickets now live.
#BarnsburyBookFestival #LondonCulture #BookFestival #ThingsToDoLondon
@barnsburybookfestival
So lucky to have the genius @peterhaslamfox artist and picture hanger extraordinaire who worked quiet magic with all the pictures that have been waiting, waiting, waiting to be on walls for months and in some cases years. Iβm now not getting much done as I just want to stand in rooms admiring it all β€οΈ And the equally brilliant @frame_emporium_london who did such a great job with the frames and mounts.
Bookshops are full of tiny book clubs.
In this subscriber episode of The Book Club Review, Matthew Hein β co-owner of Hey Books! in San Diego β shares his secret:
When someone asks for a recommendation, he gets another customer to suggest one.
He gets his customers talking to each other and creates tiny little book clubs.
Listen to the full episode on Patreon. Listen to it last thing before sleep β the whole episode is like a warm bedtime hug. οΏ½Link in the bio
@heybooksorelse
#bookpodcast #bookstagram
#indiebookshop #bookshoplife #bookclub
February - not a great month, but on the plus side I did read some exceptional books:
π PROJECT HAIL MARY Loved the audiobook (may have legacy crush on Ray Porter who reads it) Good old fashioned storytelling at its finest, canβt wait for the film
π A PSALM FOR THE WILD BUILT Warm, gentle, post-apocalyptic coziness, which was unexpected to say the least
π ALL MY PRECIOUS MADNESS The pod book club book this month - catch my interview with Mark over on YouTube
π THE BLUE BOOK by Amitava Kumar A delight for anyone interested in exploring a creative practice
π UTZ by Bruce Chatwin Short, intriguing, donβt write βem like they used to
π THEORY AND PRACTICE Enjoyed it the first time, found it transformational the second
π THE MOTHER IS RESTLESS AND SHE DOESNT KNOW WHY Turns out Nietzsche might have more to offer you than you think. Loved this one - out here in May
π JOYRIDE by Susan Orlean If you love her writing trust me you will love this memoir, which is basically a masterclass in book form. Captivating.
@mark.a.bowles, author of ALL MY PRECIOUS MADNESS, our Patreon book club pick this month, joined me to talk about the quiet power of fiction. Watch the full interview on YouTube - link in the bio
@galley_beggar_press @spiraclehq
#literaryfiction #authorinterview #bookstagram #contemporaryfiction #indiepress
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 β 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.Β An interview with a book club, bookshop or book lover.Β Or Bookshelf, an episode dedicated to the books weβre reading outside of book club β the ones we get to pick and choose.