We believe reading is better when we do it together. That’s why we founded our book clubs and why we founded The Book Club Review podcast – to turn the solitary act of reading into a shared experience.
Loved the book? Loathed it? So much the better. We’re all about big opinions. We live for the great debate, the heated discussion, the ‘I see what you’re saying, but here’s why you’re wrong’ rant. With good humour. With respect. But with commitment too. Because the world has forgotten that disagreement is good for us. That it’s the friction of debate that sparks off new ideas, new perspectives – just like a good book. Bring the two together and there’s really nothing better.
So, listen in. We promise lively and frank reviews and recommendations, both from us and from members of our book clubs, plus interviews with book clubs, book shops and book lovers of all stripes. Just be warned, your TBR pile is about to grow exponentially.
Three types of episodes
Book Club
We report back on the book read most recently by one of our book clubs. What did they make of it? Did it spark debate? And whether they loved it or loathed it, the big question is always was it a good book club book?
Interviews
We interview book clubs and book lovers of all stripes. From Emily’s Walking Book Club to the Proust Book Club of Paris. From Francesca Wilkins of the Margate Bookshop to illustrious Renaissance man Simon Schama.
Bookshelf
What do we read when we’re not reading book club books? We report in on the books we get to choose and whether or not they might make for good book club books after all. You’ll be surprised where our reading takes us.
Meet your hosts
Laura Potter
Laura started her career in book publishing, with a stint as the editorial assistant at the academic journal Canadian Literature. A move to London from her native Vancouver followed, where she worked as an editor at V&A Publishing and Thames & Hudson. She then left authors behind – except in the pages of a book – to work for the award-winning creative agency Reed Words. She’s now back in Vancouver reading as much as ever and recording remotely.
Kate Slotover
Kate started out in editorial before moving into book design at Thames & Hudson. You may well have one of her beautifully designed books on your shelves. Highlights include A Year in the Life of Facehunter, Reuters Our World Now series, The Advertising Concept Book, and a large-format 25th anniversary edition of New York graffiti-classic Subway Art.
2 Comments
Hello Laura and Kate.
How much I love your podcast. I listen while I’m lifting weights in the morning, getting ready for work or, like today, washing the car!
I’m ready to join a book club and wondered if you knew of any online that have space for a member?
I enjoy books all across the board. That’s why I enjoy your podcast so much!
Take care, Renee
Dear Renee,
I somehow missed this on the website dashboard and because I don’t ever have much of a reason to look at the ‘about us’ page (because I know all about us) I didn’t see your comment until just now. Did you find a good book club to join? I do hope so. A couple of suggestions if not – are you in the UK? If so, my local bookshop and bar, Bookbar has a brilliant online bookclub with a fantastic author line-up. You receive the book, have time to read it and send in the questions and then get to enjoy the discussion with authors like Brit Bennett and Curtis Sittenfeld. Have a look at https://www.bookbaruk.com/events
Further afield, and maybe this is a bit wishful in terms of costs – I do think it would be amazing though, if you become a Friend of the famous bookshop Shakespeare & Co in Paris (250 euros p/a) you get membership to their quarterly book club: https://friendsofshakespeareandcompany.com
Online and for free I rather like The Duchess of Cornwall’s reading room. Every few weeks they highlight a particular book she loves, if you follow them on Instagram you can read along and you get snippets of interviews with authors.
Another free one to try, the Sykes and Savidge book club – if you google it you will find Simon’s YouTube channel where he explains how it works. They read a book a month, it’s a great selection and they have good sparky discussions.
Thanks so much for your comment, we’re so happy you’re enjoying the show.
Kate