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Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland

Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland • #121

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June 11, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Join us as we venture into the far north in the company of Tété-Michel Kpomassie, or Michel the Giant, whose life was changed as a boy in the 1950s when he came across a book about Greenland in a bookshop in his hometown in Togo, West Africa. Realising that this was a country where it […]

Join us as we venture to the frozen north in the company of Tété-Michel Kpomassie, an adventurer from Togo, West Africa who became transfixed by the idea of living in a country so different to his own. We discuss his travel-memoir and find out what Laura's book club make of it, plus recommend more books on a polar theme.'

The Year I Stopped to Notice by Miranda Keeling

The Year I Stopped to Notice, with Miranda Keeling • #120

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May 31, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

We fly through books pretty fast here at The Book Club Review. And so we were delighted to be joined by Miranda Keeling, whose book The Year I Stopped to Notice showed us the delights of slowing down and noticing the little things happening all around us. She joined us in the shed to talk […]

We fly through books pretty fast here at The Book Club Review. And so we were delighted to be joined by Miranda Keeling, whose book The Year I Stopped to Notice showed us the delights of slowing down and noticing the little things happening all around us. We've also got some fabulous related book recommendations so listen in and let us help you choose your next read.

Bookshelf podcast episode book covers

Bookshelf: From a page-turning literary thriller to a guilty pleasure fantasy read • #119

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May 14, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Join us as we catch up on our recent reads outside of book club, the books we’re picking and choosing for ourselves. Laura enjoys The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting, declaring it ‘unputdownable’, and  a good antidote to the brilliant but rather more serious novel The Sympathiser by Viet Thanh Nguyen (her Vancouver book […]

Join us as we catch up on our recent reads outside of book club, the books we're picking and choosing for ourselves, from historical thriller The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting to the fantasy writer Kate currently can't put down, V.E. Schwab.

the country of others by Leïla Slimani podcast episode

The Country of Others by Leïla Slimani • #118

May 1, 2022/Posted by: Kate

Join us as we deep-dive into Ferrante-esque family saga The Country of Others by Leïla Slimani. Critics and fellow authors have been impressed: Salman Rushdie called it ‘an exceptional novel’ while Claire Messud ‘didn’t want it to end’ but what did Laura’s book club make of The Country of Others (translated into English by Sam Taylor), […]

Join us as we discuss bestselling author and Prix Goncourt winner Leïla Slimani's latest novel, The Country of Others (translated by Sam Taylor), the first in a planned trilogy. Captivating family drama or 'tedious misery lit'? Listen in to find out what Laura's book club thought of it, plus we're joined by a special guest for a Moroccan reader's perspective.

book club podcast episode

Bookshelf: The books we’re reading outside of book club • #117

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April 27, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Our bookshelf shows are the ones where we get to cut loose and follow our own preferences, so listen in as Kate tries to figure out the best way to show up for her life after reading Oliver Burkeman’s 4,000 Hours. Meanwhile Laura is drawn into ’A dark world of desire and fantasy’ with French prizewinner […]

Join us as we discuss the books we've been reading recently outside of book club, from Sunday Times bestsellers to a philosophical French page-turner.

Motherhood podcast ident

Motherhood • With Claire Lynch • #116

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March 27, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

It’s Mother’s Day here in the UK and as there’s nothing Kate loves more than a special episode we’ve put together a show on the theme of motherhood. We’re joined by Claire Lynch, author of Small: On Motherhoods, her literary memoir of her own unusual journey into motherhood. Elizabeth Morris of Crib Notes book club […]

Join us as we explore the theme of motherhood with Claire Lynch, author of Small: On Motherhoods, and Elizabeth Morris of Crib Notes book club – who better to help us pull together our essential reads on the topic. Listen in to discover our favourites.

What to read and when podcast episode

What to read and when, with Francesca Beauman • #115

March 23, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Book recommendations galore from author Francesca Beauman, who is also publisher and bookshop proprietor of Persephone Books. In her latest book, The Literaray Almanac, Francesca aims to guide readers in choosing books that chime with moments in the year – from hopeful books to read in March to school-curriculum classics not-nearly-as-boring-as-you-remember them in September. We […]

Join us as we learn how to pick the right book at the right time, with Francesca Beauman, author of The Literary Almanac and publisher and bookseller at Persephone Books.

Book cover montage

Bookshelf: from prizewinning literature to beachy bestsellers • #114

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March 7, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Join us as we discuss Benjamín Labatut’s Booker International Prize shortlisted novel When We Cease to Understand the World, 2021 Baillie Gifford prizewinner One, Two, Three, Four: The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown and 2021 Costa Biography prizewinner Fall: A Life of Robert Maxwell by John Preston, The Outlander by Gil Adams, The Invisible Life of […]

Let us help you find your next great read as we catch up on the stand-out books from our reading piles. We might not always agree, but we guarantee you'll hear our honest responses. So listen in for everything from literary prizewinners to bestselling thrillers.

Long books podcast episode

Long reads • #113

February 27, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

  We’ve all felt the lure of the short, sweet read, one of those slim books you can finish in a few hours, maybe over a hot cup of tea. But what about the books that may take weeks, even months, to read? The door stoppers, the heavy weights, the long reads. Think Dickens, Tolstoy, […]

Join us as we discuss The Magic Mountain, and recommend our favourite doorstop books from Proust to Olga Tocarczuk's Books of Jacob. We're joined by Phil Chaffee and Toby Brothers of the London Literary Salon.

Books in 2022

Upcoming reads: books to get excited about in 2022 • #112

February 26, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Wondering what books 2022 has in store for you? What will be your next great read? We’re joined by friends of the pod and bookworld insiders Chrissy Ryan of bookshop and bar Bookbar, and Elizabeth Morris of Crib Notes to talk what’s hot and what to look forward to. We’re looking months ahead to new […]

Wondering what books 2022 has in store for you? What will be your next great read? We're joined by friends of the pod and bookworld insiders Chrissy Ryan of bookshop and bar Bookbar, and Elizabeth Morris of Crib Notes to talk what's hot and what to look forward to.

The Promise podcast episode

The Promise by Damon Galgut: a quietly powerful family epic • Episode #111

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February 3, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Join us for our latest book club episode on The Promise by Damon Galgut. Dazzling, original, heartfelt and exhilarating, or bleak, depressing, incoherent and unrealistic? What did Kate’s book club make of The Promise, Damon Galgut’s Booker-prize-winning novel, which tells the story of one white South-African family, and the promise made to their black servant, […]

Dazzling, original, heartfelt and exhilarating, or bleak, depressing, incoherent and unrealistic? What did Kate's book club make of The Promise, Damon Galgut's Booker-prize-winning novel. As ever we also have some great follow-on book recommendations.

Lolly Willowes and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter book covers

Lolly Willowes and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter • #110

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January 24, 2022/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Charmingly eccentric tale with a sharply feminist point of view or a ‘hot mess’ – what did Laura’s book club make of Lolly Willowes by Silvia Townsend Warner? Meanwhile in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers explores loneliness, the human need for understanding and the search for love. What did Kate’s book club […]

Charmingly eccentric tale with a sharply feminist point of view or a 'hot mess' – what did Laura's book club make of Lolly Willowes by Silvia Townsend Warner? Meanwhile The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers explores loneliness, the human need for understanding and the search for love. What did Kate's book club think?

Kate and Laura best books of 2021

Best Books of 2021 • Episode #109 Part 2

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December 28, 2021/Posted by: The Book Club Review

It’s time for our best books of 2021. In Part 2 of our special end-of-year double-episode we’re looking back over the books we’ve read outside of book club this year. The ones we got to pick and choose for ourselves. The ones that didn’t feel like homework (although don’t get us wrong, we love our book […]

It's time for our best books of 2021. In Part 2 of our special end-of-year double-episode we're looking back over the books we’ve read outside of book club this year. Listen in for over 70 book recommendations from us, our book clubs and our special guests.

Best book club books of 2021

Best Book Club Books of 2021 • Episode #109 Part 1

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December 27, 2021/Posted by: The Book Club Review

It’s time for our best book club books of 2021. In Part 1 of our two-part end-of-year special we look back over our book club reads. Which ones have stayed with us? Which ones sparked debate? And which will we crown our book club book of the year? We also hear from Gary Wigglesworth, author […]

In Part 1 of our end-of-year special episode we look back over the book club books we've read this year. Which have stayed with us? Which were our favourites? And which is our book club book of the year?

Kate Sawyer author

The Stranding with Kate Sawyer • #108

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December 14, 2021/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Join us as we talk all things books, whales and the 2021 Costa Prize shortlist with Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding. It’s a novel about a woman who survives the end-of-the-world by hiding inside the belly of a whale. Listen via the media player above or your favourite podcast app. ‘Ruth lives in the […]

Kate Sawyer, joins us, author of the Costa shortlisted novel The Stranding, in which a woman survives the end of the world by hiding inside a beached whale. We also consider the broader canon of apocalypse novels, we've got three brilliant book-club recommendations from Kate (see below) plus follow-on reads from us, and we get a sneak peak into Kate's reading pile as she lets us in on some of her recent favourites.

Matrix by Lauren Groff book cover

Matrix by Lauren Groff • #107

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November 30, 2021/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Join us as we dive into Lauren Groff’s latest novel, Matrix. This short, unusual novel is a fictional account of the life of 12-century poet Marie de France, a cast-off from Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine’s court, exiled to be Prioress at a run-down abbey inhabited by starving nuns. Devastated and grieving the young Marie thinks […]

Join us as we dive into Lauren Groff's latest novel, Matrix, a fictional account of the life of 12-century poet Marie de France. It's a bold vision of female love, devotion and desire and has been a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist and a hit with fellow authors like Brit Bennett and Madeleine Miller. But did it make for a good book club read? Listen in as we're joined by Phil Chaffee and Sarah Oliver to discuss it.

booker prize 2021 books

The 2021 Booker Prize episode • #106

November 6, 2021/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Join us as we discuss the 2021 Booker shortlist in typical book club style, with returning guest, journalist Phil Chaffee, and new-to-the-pod Chrissy Ryan, owner of Bookbar, our favourite bookshop / bar. We livestream the Booker ceremony so you can catch our immediate reactions as winner Damon Galgut is announced. Did we agree? Was there […]

Join us as we watch the livestream of the 2021 Booker Prize ceremony and discuss all the books on the shortlist. Listen in to find out if we loved them or loathed them. And if you haven't dived into the shortlist yet, we've kept it spoiler free.

Second Place by Rachel Cusk book cover

Second Place by Rachel Cusk • #105

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October 18, 2021/Posted by: The Book Club Review

It’s our latest Book Club episode, and we’re discussing Rachel Cusk’s latest novel, Second Place. A woman invites a famous artist to use her guesthouse in the remote coastal landscape where she lives with her family. Powerfully drawn to his paintings, she believes his vision might penetrate the mystery at the center of her life. […]

Laura's book club tackles Second Place, the new novel by Rachel Cusk. It was longlisted but not shortlisted for the 2021 Booker – did they miss a classic? Sally Rooney has called it ‘masterful’, saying it ‘achieves a kind of formal perfection’, but did Laura's group agree? We also have four follow-on book recommendations for your next book club read.

Book cover montage

Bookshelf: back-to-school reads • #104

September 29, 2021/Posted by: The Book Club Review

Here in the UK we’ve got a petrol crisis, the days are getting noticeably shorter and the last two weeks of unbroken autumn sunshine seem to have come to an end. Things feel a little gloomy – but happily we have a new episode out to distract us. We’ve got heavy hitters, like David Diop’s […]

Listen in as we catch up with our latest reads, everything from this year's Booker International Prize winner to a fantasy romp about teenage wizards. Listen in and let us help you decide what to read next, whether for yourself or for book club.

Adam Ashton and Adam Jones

‘What You Will Learn’ with Adam Ashton and Adam Jones • #103

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September 18, 2021/Posted by: The Book Club Review

We love book discussion here at The Book Club Review, the more books the better, so we were interested in two Australians who devour books on everything from self-improvement to business and marketing for their weekly podcast What You Will Learn. Adam Ashton and Adam Jones have recently launched their own book, The Sh*t They […]

Listen in to find out the books that can help you improve your life from Adam Ashton and Adam Jones, two Australians who have turned reading improving books into an art form with their weekly podcast What You Will Learn.

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