Conversations about the books that get people talking
Conversations about the books that get people talking
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 suggestions and add in a few of our own. Find out the author we can’t […]
Inspired by the recent New York Times article ‘22 of the funniest novels since Catch 22’, join Kate, Phil and Laura for their favourite funny reads.
Listen in to our non-fiction book recommendations as we explore literary worlds outside of the fiction shelves. Join Kate as she heads to South London to visit Backstory, a distinctive 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 […]
Exploring literary worlds beyond fiction: a dive into non-fiction with Tom Rowley of indie bookshop Backstory
So Many Damn Books podcast creator and host Christopher Hermelin joins Kate to swap book recommendations and discuss the magic of book club, recent book discoveries, bookish pet peeves and more… Listen via the media player above, or your preferred podcast player with this Podfollow link. Book list The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave […]
So Many Damn Books podcast creator and host Christopher Hermelin joins Kate to swap book recommendations and discuss the magic of book club, recent book discoveries, bookish pet peeves and more...
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, […]
Two marriages, two forbidden love affairs, and the passionate search for social and sexual freedom in late 19th-century London, but what did our book club think? Kate and Phil report back.
What did our podcast book club make of Mild Vertigo, Japanese author Mieko Kanai’s 1997 novel, recently translated into English by Polly Barton and published by Fitzcarraldo. 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 […]
We explore Mild Vertigo, modernist Japanese masterpiece by Mieko Kanai, newly translated into English by Polly Barton. But did it make for a good book club read? Kate's joined by two special guests to discuss it.
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 […]
From the literary London of Charles Dickens to 21st century Romantasy with sex and dragons, listen in to our recent reads
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 […]
The books to look out for in 2024, with Bookbar's Chrissy Ryan, plus some tips for avoiding feeling overwhelmed by your TBR
What were the best books of 2023? Listen in to our review of the year to find out our absolute favourites. Join me (Kate), Laura and Phil as we look back over a year of reading – over 300 books between us, from new releases to backlist gems. Find out our overall book of the […]
What were the best books of 2023? Listen in to our review of the year to find out our absolute favourites. Join Kate, Laura and Phil for a look back over a year of reading – over 300 books between them, from new releases to backlist gems, and over 50 recommendations.
The Booker Prize 2023: We read all six shortlisted books. Join us as we evaluate them and try to second-guess the Booker judges, before finding out the winner, and so keep listening for our hot take. ‘A novel is a mirror carried along a high road’ says Chair of the Booker judges Esi Edyugan, quoting […]
The Booker Prize 2023: We read all six shortlisted books. Join us as we evaluate them and try to second-guess the Booker judges, before finding out the winner, and so keep listening for our hot take.
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 […]
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'. What did Laura's book club make of it? Listen in for the discussion and our other book recommendations.
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 Toíbín ‘Claire Keegan makes her moments real – and then she makes […]
What did our podcast book club think of So Late in the Day, the short story from Booker shortlisted author (and Irish national treasure) Claire Keegan? We also catch up on our recent reading, listen in to find out our hits and misses.
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, […]
We're feeling philosophical this back-to-school season, with Jonny Thomson, author of Mini Philosophy and Mini Big Ideas. Listen in as we discuss Tolstoy's morbid novella The Death of Ivan Illyich, Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov and international bestseller Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Late summer reading – the best kind of reading? 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 […]
Late summer reading – the best kind of reading? 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. We compare notes with Bookbar's Chrissy Ryan and find out the books not to miss for late summer and early Autumn.
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 […]
Find out what our book clubs thought of The Years by Annie Ernaux, and Super-Infinite by Katherine Rundell (both winners of more prizes than you can shake a stick at) plus the hits and misses from our recent reads.
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 […]
Come book-shopping with us to 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.
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 […]
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).
The Women’s Prize 2023, one of our favourite episodes to read for and discuss. We’re joined by old friend Sarah Oliver and new to the pod Nina Davies: listen in as we share our thoughts this year’s list. As ever, you’ll hear our frank opinions about the books, but we won’t spoil the plots for […]
The Women's Prize 2023 episode is here. Listen in for full and frank opinions on the shortlist, but no plot spoilers. Find out our picks to win and the best book club reads. With Sarah Oliver and Nina Davies.
Summer reading is in the air. 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. […]
We're feeling the summer feels in this latest Bookshelf episode and reaching for feel good reads. Listen in to hear some of our recent favourites.
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, […]
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. Kate catches up with host Christopher Hermelin to discuss crafting the perfect cocktail, all-time favourite reads and how to stay on top of the TBR.
Victory City by Salman Rushdie is the subject of this book club episode. Victory City has been hailed by fellow author Hari Kunzru as ‘Salman Rushdie at his most virtuosic, a wondrous tale of medieval India which is also, as ever, a fable about the triumph of life – in all its joyous messy excellence – […]
We discuss Victory City by Salman Rushdie, hailed by critics as a masterpiece, but what did Laura's book club think of it? We're joined by Philip Chaffee and Charlie Chichester to find out. Listen in for full and frank discussion of the book, plus our recommendations for follow-on reads and the books we're currently reading.
