The Book Club Review

It’s the end of summer, so Kate and Laura are looking back over their holiday reading, the books they loved, the ones that disappointed them, and the unexpected discoveries that made their reading lists longer rather than shorter. We talk about Alex E. Harrow’s huge fantasy novel The Everlasting , and why it turned out to be a surprisingly divisive read. Kate reports back on her pick from the Booker longlist, The Palm House by Gwendolyn Riley. She's also recently completed The Power Broker , Robert Caro's iconic book on New York master-builder Robert Moses, but was it worth the read? She's also discussing The Silver Book , Olivia Laing's most recent work of fiction. In Pankaj Mishra’s The Romantics , Laura found an interesting book club choice, while Kate's flagging up Vladimir by Julia May Jonas, and while on the campus novel theme she also read Joanna Miller’s The Eights, set in 1920s Oxford. Laura wraps things up with the wonderfully atmospheric The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo. But there’s more as pod-regular Phil Chaffee joins us with two of his favourite summer reads, Sue Prideaux’s Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin and Bret Easton Ellis’s The Shards . As summer comes to an end, we’re also looking ahead to Booker season, with the shortlist just around the corner and plenty more reading on the horizon. Patreon Come and find the pod on Patreon at patreon.com/thebookclubreview Keep up with the pod between shows on Instagram @bookclubreviewpodcast For all other information and our episode archive find The Book Club Review online at thebookclubreview.co.uk Complete booklist The Power Broker by Robert Caro Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir The Everlasting by Alex E. Harrow The Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle Starling House by Alex E. Harrow Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke The Palm House by Gwendolyn Riley Famesick by Lena Dunham My Phantoms by Gwendolyn Riley The Silver Book by Olivia Laing The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing Crudo by Olivia Laing The Romantic s by Pankaj Mishra The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon Fathers & Sons by Ivan Turgenev The Heart of the Nhaga by Lee Young-do (Anton Hur) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnerman Land by Maggie O’Farrell The Chair (Netflix) Monsters by Claire Dederer Vladimir by Julia May Jonas The Eights by Joanna Miller The Night Tiger and The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo The Digital Critic: Literary Culture Online (Houman Barekat, Robert Barry and David Winters, eds.) When We Talk About Love by Carl Wilson Timecodes for the time-poor 00:00 — Welcome & summer reading 02:00 — What did we actually read this summer? Holiday reading plans, library books and the perennial problem of taking too many books away with you. 04:00 — The Everlasting by Alex E. Harrow Time loops, quests and a very divided reaction. 15:30 — The End of the Power Broker by Robert Caro Kate tackles another Booker longlist book and asks: why is this on the longlist? 20:00 — The Booker longlist pick A frank discussion of Gwendolyn Riley's The Palm House and the pleasures (and pains) of reading for the Booker. 22:20 — The Silver Book by Olivia Laing A surprise for Kate after her mixed reaction to Laing’s Crudo . 27:30 — An accidental book-club adventure Laura's brilliant idea: abandon the overheated book-club meeting and send everyone into Foyles to choose books. 28:40 — The Romantics by Pankaj Mishra A chance discovery — and a Hilary Mantel endorsement that seals the deal. 35:50 — Vladimir by Julia May Jonas Sex, power, academia and the deliciously murky moral territory of a campus novel. 40:00 — The Eights by Joanna Miller Women in academia, 1920s Oxford and coming-of-age just after World War I 42:40 — The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo Mystery, folklore, tigers and colonial Malaysia, Laura's perfect summer read 50:45 — Phil’s summer reading Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin by Sue Prideaux and The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis 54:20 — Booker season begins The shortlist is coming, and summer reading gives way to required reading. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Looking for the perfect summer read? Kate is joined by Laura Potter and returning guest Phil Chaffee to compare recent reads before putting this year's biggest summer books to the test. Inspired by reading lists from The New York Times , The Times , Lit Hub and The Booker Prize , they decide which books are beach reads, suitcase books, and which they'd happily leave behind at the airport. Plus, they reveal the books they're packing for their own holidays. Books discussed Recently read The Golden Mean — Annabel Lyon Plato and the Tyrant — James Romm Glorious Exploits — Ferdia Lennon The Game of Kings — Dorothy Dunnett The House of Niccolò series — Dorothy Dunnett We Are Green and Trembling — Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (trans. Robin Myers) Evaluating the picks from the summer reading lists Hot Milk — Deborah Levy The Eighth Life — Nino Haratischwili A Month in the Country — J. L. Carr Whistler — Ann Patchett The Things We Never Say — Elizabeth Strout Land — Maggie O'Farrell Instructions for a Heatwave — Maggie O'Farrell John of John — Douglas Stuart I Want You to Be Happy — Jem Calder The Director — Daniel Kehlmann Villa Coco — Andrew Sean Greer Our holiday recommendations The Feast — Margaret Kennedy Free Food for Millionaires — Min Jin Lee Famesick — Lena Dunham Swimming Home — Deborah Levy Radiant Star — Ann Leckie The Balkan Trilogy — Olivia Manning Wait for Me — Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire The Pursuit of Love — Nancy Mitford Also mentioned Pachinko — Min Jin Lee Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo — Douglas Stuart Less — Andrew Sean Greer Transcription — Ben Lerner Reading Lolita in Tehran — Azar Nafisi Timecodes 00:00 Welcome 02:44 Phil on The Golden Mean 07:39 Laura on Dorothy Dunnett 11:55 Kate on Green and Trembling 16:54 Beach read game rules 18:20 Booker picks: Hot Milk 19:40 Doorstop epic The Eighth Life 21:46 Classic: A Month Country 23:07 NYT Beach Reads, Whistler by Ann. Patchett 25:33 Elizabeth Strout and American vibes 28:22 Switching to the (UK) Times list 28:29 Times list features 29:03 Maggie O'Farrell debate 30:51 Douglas Stuart pick John of John 33:05 New paperback picks 35:03 Kehlmann masterpiece The Director 38:28 The LitHub list of lists 38:55 Villa Coco verdict 41:44 Get more from the pod on Patreon 43:26 Our personal holiday reads 44:03 Phil recommends The Feast 46:01 Min Jin Lee deep dive 48:18 Lena Dunham Famesick 51:44 Laura's summer stack 53:56 Mitfords and Tana French 01:02:20 Final wrap and farewell See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

What makes secondhand books so irresistible? Kate and Laura celebrate the joy of used bookshops, their favourite places to shop, literary finds and the thrill of unexpected discoveries. There's also an interview with W. B. Gooderham, author of Dedicated To , a book that explores the touching, funny and sometimes heartbreaking messages that can be found in the handwritten dedications tucked inside secondhand books. Whether you're a devoted secondhand book hunter or simply love hearing readers talk about books, this episode is a celebration of literary serendipity, book collecting, and the enduring pleasure of finding exactly the right book when you least expect it. Book list and links Bookshopaholics: The Paperhound • Episode #139 ‘Owner of Vancouver's eclectic MacLeod’s Books marks 50 years of serving bibliophiles’, John Mackie for the Vancouver Sun The Second Shelf bookshop (now in online form) Aphrodisiacs in your Garden by Charles Connell The Transitive Vampire by Karen Elizabeth Gordon The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby Things I Learned on the 6.28 by Stig Abell Griffin Bay Bookstore , San Juan island Episode #51: Barnabees Bookshop Skoob books Dedicated to , compiled by W.G. Gooderham The Diary of a Nobody by George and Wheedon Grossmith The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole and The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend Wise Children by Angela Carter Arabella by Georgette Heyer House of Niccolo and Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett Judd Books , Bloomsbury Timecodes 00:00 Welcome and a pod milestone 00:48 Secondhand book-hunting 03:01 Browsing vs. buying 07:58 Secondhand treasures 11:52 Kate's love of books about books 16:23 Dream bookshops 17:18 Our favourite places to buy secondhand 20:42 Patreon Break 21:50 Kate meets W.B. Gooderham 23:43 Skoob books and inscribed editions 27:22 How Wayne's collecting began 28:41 Dedicated To: The forgotten friendships hidden stories and lost loves found in secondhand books 30:50 Releasing Books Back 32:09 To inscribe or not to inscribe 33:07 Diary Of A Nobody by George and Wheedon Grossmith 37:32 Adrian Mole Editions 38:39 Wise Children 39:51 Pnin – a collection that took Wayne years to assemble 41:28 Bookshelves and Umberto Eco's library 44:04 Laura shares some of her favourite used-book haunts 47:54 Why secondhand books matter 49:08 Episode wrap See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

When the Guardian drops a list of the 100 Greatest Novels in English it's time to drop everything to talk about it. Luckily pod-regular guest, journalist Phil Chaffee and Joseph Dance, host of the Curious Readers podcast , also had views, and were willing to get together on a Sunday evening to share them. You'll hear our hits, our misses, how many we’ve read, whether we should have read more and much musing on whether a list like this is the way to get people excited about reading. We explore the joys of the sub-lists – the contributor lists – all squirrelled away on a sub-section of the Guardian's website, that arguably provide more excitement and inspiration than the fairly canonical top 100. Which is the best Brontë? Which is the best Austen? Do we age into certain books? If you've read all seven volumes of Proust shouldn't that count for more than one entry? All this and much, much more. Enjoy – this was an absolute delight to make and I hope it makes you smile as much as it did me. Have your say: get in touch on Instagram @bookclubreviewpodcast or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com, or head to our website for full shownotes. What would be in your top-10? Check out the Patreon for all kinds of extras, from our monthly book club to extra shows and Kate's reading diaries. Find it at patreon.com/thebookclubreview The Guardian’s List of the 100 Greatest Novels published in English , copied below for ease of reference. *underlined – the ones Kate has read Middlemarch Beloved Ulysses To the Lighthouse In Search of Lost Time Anna Karenina War and Peace Jane Eyre Pride and Prejudice Madame Bovary The Great Gatsby Bleak House Emma Mrs Dalloway Moby-Dick Nineteen Eighty-Four One Hundred Years of Solitude Persuasion The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman Wuthering Heights The Portrait of a Lady Things Fall Apart Midnight’s Children The Remains of the Day Lolita Don Quixote The Trial The Brothers Karamazov Pale Fire Frankenstein The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie The God of Small Things David Copperfield Wolf Hall Great Expectations The Handmaid’s Tale Invisible Man The Age of Innocence Their Eyes Were Watching God Song of Solomon Heart of Darkness The Magic Mountain Housekeeping Giovanni’s Room The Golden Notebook The Leopard Vanity Fair The Metamorphosis A Fine Balance Wide Sargasso Sea My Brilliant Friend The Golden Bowl The Transit of Venus Orlando The Waves Mansfield Park The Sound and the Fury Disgrace Never Let Me Go Howards End The Rings of Saturn Half of a Yellow Sun White Teeth The Good Soldier The Color Purple The Master and Margarita The Man Without Qualities Blood Meridian Crime and Punishment Jude the Obscure Kindred Our Mutual Friend Austerlitz Nervous Conditions The Bluest Eye Dracula The Rainbow A House for Mr Biswas Go Tell It on the Mountain Rebecca Buddenbrooks The End of the Affair A Farewell to Arms The Talented Mr Ripley The Vegetarian The Turn of the Screw The Line of Beauty Ragtime The Left Hand of Darkness Jacob’s Room Life and Fate Sentimental Education Invisible Cities The Known World The Return of the Native Pedro Páramo Catch-22 The Road The Go-Between My Ántonia Particular books we touch on in the show Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Ulysses by James Joyce In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Villette by Charlotte Brontë Orlando , The Waves and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez Middlemarch by George Eliot Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa Nervous Conditions , The Book of Not and This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt A Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih The Princess of Clèves by Madame de Lafayette The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz The Makioka Sisters by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki The Trial and Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley Moby-Dick by Herman Melville A House for Mr Biswas by V. S. Naipaul The New Life by Tom Crewe Miss Marjoribanks by Mrs Oliphant The Palliser novels by Anthony Trollope The Warden by Anthony Trollope The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil The Known World by Edward P. Jones See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

George Saunders is back with Vigil , his first novel since Lincoln in the Bardo . In this episode, Kate is joined by fellow book podcasters Jenny King and Sarah Kemp from The Bookcast Club to discuss it Given his back catalogue, does Vigil live up to the high expectations we have Saunders, one of America's most admired contemporary writers? Why is he so fond of writing about ghosts? Do death, redemption, capitalism and climate change make for an enjoyable read? Do we want novels to be enjoyable? Or do we want them to make a point? We're also exploring Leo Tolstoy's classic novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich , cited by Saunders as a key influence on Vigil , and asks what both books reveal about how we live, how we die, and whether it's ever too late to change. Along the way, Kate, Jenny and Sarah share recent reads, their love of a Kobo e-reader, and recommend books (and one film) following on from our book club read. Books discussed Vigil by George Saunders The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy Transcription by Ben Lerner Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino North Woods by Daniel Mason Storyland by Catherine McKinnon Plus a recommendation for the film Palm Springs . Patreon Access extra episodes, join the pod book club and support the show at Patreon.com/bookclubreview Follow on Instagram @bookclubreviewpodcast email thebookclubreview@gmail.com Timestamps 1:26 Recent Reads & Kobos – Bookshelf chat, Kobo e-reader enthusiasm, and current reads including Ben Lerner's Transcription and Kiran Millwood Hargrave's Almost Life . 11:54 About The Bookcast Club 14:41 Patreon Break 16:17 What Is Vigil ? – Spiritual guide Jill escorts a remorseless fossil fuel tycoon toward death. Audiobook excerpt included. 22:16 Discussing Jill 28:22 Climate & KJ Boon 31:21 A Christmas Carol Parallels 34:16 Broader Reflections – Kate wonders if great writers can no longer make moral judgments in today's climate; Transcription raises similar questions. 35:54 Verdict on Vigil 38:30 The Death of Ivan Ilyich – Tolstoy's novella discussed as Saunders' cited influence. 43:00 Tolstoy the Man 48:36 Recommendations 52:42 Wrap-up See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In this episode Kate is joined by Amanda Moulson, co-host of Curious Readers, to consider the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist. Ahead of the prize ceremony next week, which one do we think will win? Perhaps like Amanda you have read them all, but if, like Kate, you're going to struggle to get to all six, which ones should you focus on? Which are the standout reads? Which are the books most likely to delight, surprise, and stay with you long after you've turned the final page? We're covering all six books, and you’ll also find out what Amanda has on her TBR, the books she most loves recommending, and how a busy book podcaster organises her bookshelves. Timestamps for the time-poor 00:00 Welcome and Prize Preview 01:31 Meet Amanda Molson 01:44 Quickfire Reading Habits 03:18 Bookshelf Organization 04:06 Favorite Recs and Current Reads 06:20 Kate’s Power Broker Detour 08:54 Patreon Readalong and Book Club 10:12 Women’s Prize Context and History 15:09 Shortlist Book 1 Flashlight 20:51 Shortlist Book 2 Dominion 25:23 Shortlist Book 3 The Correspondent 26:31 Sybil’s Dark Past 27:07 Audiobook Clip Letters 29:15 Cozy Yet Dark 30:22 Famous Author Replies 31:14 Sybil Effect Debate 32:49 Craft and Book Clubs 33:28 The Mercy Step Setup 34:40 Mercy Step Clip 36:35 Child Narrator Power 37:12 Small Press Spotlight 38:01 Kingfisher Obsessive Love 38:50 Kingfisher Clip Warning 40:40 Kingfisher Reactions 41:35 Heart the Lover Clip 44:07 Two Halves Romance 45:36 Illness and Mortality 47:33 Marketing and Triggers 49:04 Winner Predictions 51:23 Wrap Up and Patreon 52:25 Kate’s Recent Reads and Outro Books mentioned Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate Open Book by Jessica Simpson A Long Game by Elizabeth McCracken The Power Broker by Robert Caro We Are Green and Trembling Gabriela Cabezón Cámara Feminist History for Every Day of the Year by Kate Mosse The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Flashlight by Susan Choi Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick Dominion by Addie E. Citchens The Correspondent by Virginia Evans The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly Heart the Lover by Lily King Writers & Lovers by Lily King A Bookshop of One’s Own by Jane Cholmeley Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel The Director by Daniel Kehlman The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin You'll find all the titles we mentioned in our Bookshop.org list. Buying books there helps support independent bookshops, and also supports The Book Club Review. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

What if the antidote to our increasingly frantic world isn't a grand gesture, but simply the act of paying attention? This week, Kate and Laura are joined by actor, podcaster, and author Miranda Keeling – returning to the pod to talk about her wonderful new book, The Place I'm In , a collection of the small, luminous moments she's gathered from daily life. After her debut The Year I Stopped to Notice , Miranda is back with more of her 'noticings': fragments from parks, supermarket queues, and streets that remind us how much magic is hiding in the everyday. Their book club read is the perfect complement: The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Şavas – a soulful, quietly funny novel following Asya and Manu as they hunt for an apartment, trying on different futures for size in a city far from home. Asya, a documentary filmmaker, spends her days in the park gathering footage – an anthropologist of the ordinary – and her project rhymes beautifully with Miranda's own. Plus recommendations inspired by the art of the everyday. You can find out more about Miranda and her work at mirandakeeling.com , and her podcast Stopping to Notice – over 200 five-minute episodes of binaural location recording – is the perfect companion listen. Find all the books mentioned at our bookshop.org shop . And if you'd like to join Kate's monthly book club and reading community, head to patreon.com/thebookclubreview . Booklist Ashes and Stones by Alison Shaw – a journey through Scotland in search of the women killed in the witch trials Open Book by Jessica Simpson – Laura takes a nostalgic trip back through her twenties No Such Thing as Monday by Sîan Hughes – a brilliantly written novel from the author of Pearl ; up there with Eimear McBride ( A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing ) and Maggie O'Farrell The Anthropologists by Aysgul Savas The Imperfectionist , Oliver Burkeman's newsletter Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan Flesh by David Szalay The Café With No Name by Robert Seethaler Memories of Distant Mountains (illustrated notebooks) by Orhan Pamuk A Nobel Laureate's journals offer much colour but little drama , by Dwight Garner for the NYT (gift link) Look Closer: How to Get More Out of Reading by Robert Douglas Fairhurst The Place I'm In by Miranda Keeling See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

A new local literary festival provided the perfect opportunity to record the very first Book Club Review live. Kate is joined by author and broadcaster Bee Rowlatt, 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. Books mentioned Find all the titles below in The Book Club Review's bookshop on Bookshop.org Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad: The True Story of an Unlikely Friendship by Bee Rowlatt The Correspondent by Virginia Evans In Search of Mary by Bee Rowlatt Letters Written in Sweden, Norway and Denmark by Mary Wollstonecraft One Woman Crime Wave by Bee Rowlatt An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestly Uprising by Tahmima Anam Feminism for a World on Fire by Natasha Walter Notes Find out more about The Mary Wollstonecraft memorial sculpture (The Guardian) Follow the Barnsbury Book Festival for news and updates Patreon Discover what's on offer over on The Book Club Review Patreon. In becoming a member you'll get extra shows and become part of a warm community swapping book recommendations and connecting over our shared love of books and reading. At the book club tier you can join our monthly book club and come and talk books with Kate in person every month. And as a paying member you're supporting Kate in making this independent podcast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

The Book of Love vs The Dud Avocado: Fantasy, Paris & Book Club Verdicts In this episode of The Book Club Review , we return to our book club roots with two wildly different novels: The Book of Love by Kelly Link and The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy. The Book of Love is the first novel from acclaimed American short story virtuoso and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link. In a seemingly ordinary coastal town three teenagers become pawns in a supernatural power struggle. Vulture magazine named it ‘the escapist masterpiece of the year’ but what did Laura’s book club think? Our second book-club pick is Elaine Dundy's The Dud Avocado – a fizzing, exuberant novel from 1958 about a young American woman let loose in Paris, determined to live life on her own terms. It gained instant cult status on first publication and remains a timeless portrait of a woman hellbent on living, a book that feels bracingly modern despite being nearly seventy years old. But did it make for a good book club read? We've also got some listener feedback on Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, we're catching up on recent reads, and the books we’re excited about next. Get more from the pod on Patreon Come behind the scenes and enjoy extra episodes, book club membership, community chat threads, readalongs, Kate's reading diaries and more, head to patreon.com/thebookclubreview Booklist You'll find all the books mentioned in the pod's Bookshop.org bookshop Bookshop.org list Slow Days Fast Company by Eve Babitz Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir The Book of Love by Kelly Link American Gods by Neil Gaiman What We Can Know by Ian McEwan The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett Other links of note One Grand Books Frances Ambler's substack See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Valentine’s-ish Literary Romance: Lucas Oakley on Nearly Departed, Boys Book Club & love stories that stay with you long after reading Join Kate and Lucas Oakeley for this Valentine's-ish episode of The Book Club Review, recorded at Housmans Bookshop in King's Cross. We're exploring literary fiction where love takes centre stage, but the reward is complexity rather than a guaranteed happy ending. Nearly Departed manages to combine the enjoyable tropes of Rom Com with the thoughtful exploration through writing that we associate with literary fiction. We explore how Lucas’s real-life experiences—witnessing a fatal cycling accident and his father's first wife dying young—shaped the book's exploration of love, loss, and second chances, and the art of balancing humour with heartbreak while playing with rom-com tropes. Of course, we’ve got plenty of recommendations for love stories with emotional depth, including Lily King's Writers & Lovers , Andrew Kaufman's All My Friends Are Superheroes , Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day , David Nicholls' Sweet Sorrow , Douglas Stuart's John of John , and hot-book-of-the-moment Wuthering Heights . We’re also discussing Boys Book Club, the organization Lucas has co-founded to encourage men to read and talk about books. What makes a great book club pick for an all-male book club? We’re going to be finding out. We’ve even got Valentine's recipe – rigatoni with a long-simmered ‘Sunday sauce’ – and a couple of cocktail ideas. All in all, the perfect ingredients for a literary Valentine’s weekend. Become a member of The Book Club Review community Join The Book Club Review community on Patreon for ad-free listening, extra episodes, Kate’s weekly reading diaries, the opportunity to connect with other listeners in the chat groups, and at the higher tier to talk books in-person with Kate at the monthly book club. Find all the details and how to sign up at patreon.com/thebookclubreview . Booklist You can find all the titles mentioned in this episode in the Book Club Review bookshop on bookshop.org Nearly Departed by Lucas Oakeley Heart The Lover by Lily King All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls John of John by Douglas Stuart Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Comfort MOB: Food that Makes You Feel Good Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser All My Precious Madness by Mark Bowles The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger Links Follow Lucas on Instagram and Tik Tok @lucasoakeley, and you can find out all the details for the Boy’s Book Club at theboysbookclub.co.uk Housmans bookshop, the longest continuous-running radical bookshop in Britain, established in 1945 and based in London’s Kings Cross since 1959 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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. Between us we've tackled six of the biggest bestsellers out there – Dan Brown's The Secret of Secrets , Freida McFadden's The Housemaid , Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary , Matt Dinnerman's Dungeon Crawler Carl , SenLinYu's Alchemised , and Sarah Adams' In Your Dreams – and we have some opinions. We're sharing our honest experiences of each one: what worked, what didn't, and whether these books truly earned their place on the bestseller lists. But this isn't just a round of verdicts. We're also pooling our recommendations for the bestsellers we genuinely think are worth your time, like The Correspondant by Virginia Evans – because there are some real gems out there among the hype. And as always, we round off with our current and upcoming reads. Press play to find out which bestsellers passed the test – and which ones didn't. Support the pod on Patreon Explore all the benefits of membership. Kate's weekly reading diary is available to free members. Paid tiers include ad-free episodes, extra shows, chat group access and our monthly book club at Patreon.com/thebookclubreview . Booklist You can also find all the books mentioned in The Book Club Review bookshop on Bookshop.org, the online bookstore that supports independent bookshops. The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams Alchemized by SenLinYu Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir The Martian by Andy Weir Nobody's Fool by Harlen Cobden The Correspondant by Virginia Evans The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Robin Buss) Rivals by Jilly Cooper The novels of Stephen King The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger The Smiley books by John Le Carre T he Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin Ice by Jacek Dukaj (Author) , Ursula Phillips (Translator) The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt I'll Take The Fire by Leïla Slimani (also The Country of Others and Watch US Dance ) Lullaby / The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani Nearly Departed by Lucas Oakeley Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

New year, new intentions – but if you're in the northern hemisphere, January can feel less like renewal and more like the darkest, coldest stretch of endless winter. Maybe what you need isn't another resolution. Maybe you just need the right book. Ella Berthoud is an writer and an artist, but most importantly from our point of view a bibliotherapist. She has been prescribing fiction for life's ailments for over a decade. She co-wrote The Novel Cure , a brilliant guide that matches books to every psychological state and is packed with sound recommendations. Who better then to give me some great suggestions for avoiding the January blues. Join Kate and Ella as they talk about the questions that vex every reader: how do we find more time for reading? How do we escape reading slumps? And how can we read more deeply without it feeling like homework? Plus of course we're swapping lots of great book recommendations for January and the year ahead. Listen in for a shot of literary inspiration that might be just what you need. Booklist The Novel Cure by Ella Berthoud Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reed Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale Metamorphoses by Ovid Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell The Golden Ass by Apuleius A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter (Jane Degras) Dálvi by Laura Galloway The Artist by Lucy Steeds The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis Call Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Guo Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico Things: A Story of the Sixties by Georges Perec Sky Daddy by Kate Folk The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Robin Buss) Find out more about Ella at ellaberthoud.com Find all the books mentioned in this episode in the Book Club Review Bookshop , on Bookshop UK, the online retailer that supports independent bookshops. Patreon Head to Patreon.com/thebookclubreview to join The Book Club Review community for book recommendations, readalongs, book club and, new for 2026, Kate’s Reading Diaries. You can also buy someone gift membership at https://www.patreon.com/thebookclubreview/gift Serious Readers Take advantage of the Serious Readers offer. Head to seriousreaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout for £150 off any HD light. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

We're celebrating the end of the year with a look back over our favourite reads of 2025, from new releases to backlist gems, best book club books, best non-fiction, best comfort reads and more. Between us we read over 350 books in 2025. Listen in to hear the ones we loved best. We've also got a radical new idea for a book club involving cold-water swimming and the works of Robert B. Parker, and how to embrace DNFing without guilt. Join us for recommendations to see you through the festive season and set your new reading year off in style. With Phil Chaffee and Sarah Oliver Serious Readers Take advantage of Serious Readers offer. Head to seriousreaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout for £150 off any HD light. Patreon Head to Patreon.com/thebookclubreview for all the benefits of membership and how to sign up. You can also buy someone gift membership at https://www.patreon.com/thebookclubreview/gift Booklist Mother Mary Come to Me by Arundhati Roy The Silver Book by Olivia Laing Crudo by Olivia Laing Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngoze Adiche The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai Heart the Lover by Lily King Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard Pet Sematary by Stephen King You Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro Enrigue Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart Lake Shore by Gary Shteyngart Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon A Waiter in Paris by Edward Chisholm The First Man by Albert Camus Robert B. Parker novels Question 7 by Richard Flanagan The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Muybridge by Guy Delisle The Sense & Sensibility Diaries by Emma Thompson The Lockwood & Co novels by Jonathan Stroud The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower Shattered Lands by Sam Dalrymple Maurice and Marilyn , or A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhurst Agent Zo by Clare Mulley The Devil Two Step by Jamie Quattro Train Dreams by Denis Johnston Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnston The Director by Daniel Kelman We Do Not Part by Han Kang How to End a Story by Helen Garner (3 volume diaries collection) The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner This House of Grief by Helen Garner Eucalyptus by Murray Bail Wild Thing by Sue Prideaux Nonesuch by Francis Spufford Pet Sematary 1983 cover See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

'I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train' wrote Oscar Wilde, in the Importance of Being Ernest. In this episode Kate is joined by critic, editor and podcaster Lucy Scholes and regular pod guest Phil Chaffee to explore the intimate world of diaries. Can immersing ourselves in the details of other people's lives offer us valuable insight into how to fully appreciate the passing moments of our own? From gossipy self-mythologising Samuel Pepys right up to the present with the experimentation of Sheila Heti's Alphabetical Diaries , and the beauty and hard-won insight of Helen Garner's Baillie Gifford prize-winning diaries. Also not to be missed, living it up Vanity Fair style through the glitz and glamour of 80s New York, with Tina Brown. And if you enjoy this conversation don't miss Part II, over on the Patreon , where we swap notes on our favourite fictional diaries, consider the diaries we'd love to read if they had only been published and share some thoughts on our own diary keeping. You'll find that episode plus lots of benefits including ad-free listening, extra episodes, our community of readers and the pod book club over at patreon.com/thebookclubreview . And to take advantage of that Serious Readers offer of £150 off any HD light head to serious readers.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout. Book list The Private Life of the Diary by Sally Bayley The Paris Review They by Kay Dick Lord Jim at Home by Dinah Brooke Love Life of a Cheltenham Lady by Dinah Brooke Part of the Story by Margaret Busby Woman Alive by Susan Ertz Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista Look Closer by Robert Douglas Fairhurst The Correspondent by Virginia Evans The Diary of Samuel Pepys , Robert Latham (ed) The Diaries of Virginia Woolf How To End a Story by Helen Garner Henry Chips Channon: The Diaries The James Lees Milne diaries Writing Home by Alan Bennett There and Back: 1999–2009 by Michael Palin The Vanity Fair Diaries 1983–1992 by Tina Brown End of a Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer War in Val D'Orcia by Iris Origo Russian Journal by Andrea Lee Beloved Son Felix: Coming of Age in the Renaissance by Felix Platter Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati Modern Nature by Derek Jarman Pharmacopeia by Derek Jarman Went to London, Took the Dog by Nina Stibbe Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Explore this year's Booker Prize shortlist on the latest episode of the Book Club Review! Hosts Kate and Laura and contributors Phil Chaffee and Martin Vovk discuss and debate the six shortlisted novels. Listen in to hear our predictions, and then find out our reaction to the winner as we listen in to the live Booker Prize ceremony. We won't spoil the plots for you, just whet your appetite to read some or all of the books, all of which make for brilliant discussion. Booklist Paddy Clark, Ha, H, Ha by Roddy Doyle Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Flesh by David Szalay All That Man Is by David Szalay Starling House by Alex E. Harrow Any Human Heart by William Boyd The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markowits Carmageddon by Daniel Knowles You Don't Have To Live Like This by Ben Markowits Oh William by Elizabeth Strout All Fours by Miranda July The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai Audition by Katie Kitamura Orbital by Samantha Harvey Flashlight by Susan Choi Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick Pachinko by Min Jin Lee The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Prophet Song by Paul Lynch Seascraper by Benjamin Wood Booker Longlist episode Episode 181 of The Book Club Review Links A Good Read: Colm Toibin and Zadie Smith discuss Flesh Martin's Eyes On the Prize blog Browse Martin's archive and discover his extensive reviews (including The Women's Prize) here . Patreon Head to www.patreon.com/thebookclubreview for all the benefits (extra shows, readalongs, book club and more) and how to sign up. Serious Readers To take advantage of the special offer code for any Serious Readers HD Essential Reading Light head to SeriousReaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout Instagram Follow Kate for updates between shows @bookclubreviewpodcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In which Kate is joined by pod regular, journalist Phil Chaffee and Professor Elizabeth Eva Leach. Both read over 200 books a year, and their reading stacks this year have included the Booker longlist. And so who better to consider the books that didn't make the final cut – but which are, notwithstanding, the 'best' books selected from over 150 submitted titles. As we know, really great books can get overlooked for the shortlist. Consider Trust by Hernan Diaz, longlisted but not shortlisted, or, going further back Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and before that Penelope Fitzgerald's miraculous novel The Blue Flower . The fallibility of the judging process thus proven let's leave no stone unturned in considering this year's selection. Did the judges overlook a new favourite read? The Booker Prize is announced on 10th November and we'll be recording an episode on the shortlist on the night. Coming soon! Booklist Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga Seascraper by Benjamin Wood Endling by Maria Reva One Boat by Jonathan Buckley The Outline Trilogy by Rachel Cusk The Rough Guide to Venice and the Veneto Universality by Natasha Brown The South by Tash Aw Love Forms by Claire Adam Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai Patreon Head to www.patreon.com/thebookclubreview for all the benefits (extra shows, readalongs, book club and more) and how to sign up, and know that you'll be supporting a show that takes a lot of time and love to make. Serious Readers To take advantage of the special offer code for any Serious Readers HD Essential Reading Light head to SeriousReaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout Instagram Follow Kate for updates between shows @bookclubreviewpodcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In this episode: Kate and Laura are catching up on their pre-Booker season reading. Did You Are Here by David Nicholls make Laura want to lace up her walking boots? How did Kate get on with A Waiter in Paris by Edward Chisholm, a page-turning account that explores a side of the city that tourists never see. We're also reporting back on book club reads Mouthing by Orla Mackey and The Pretender by Jo Harkin. Mix in the enjoyment of Curtis Sittenfeld's latest collection of short stories, and the all-too relevant classic Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and that's our Autumn bookshelf. Books mentioned You Are Here and One Day by David Nicholls The Wedding People by Alison Espach A Waiter in Paris by Edward Chisholm Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky Your Life and Other Stories and Exhalations by Ted Chiang The Left-Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Mouthing by Orla Mackey Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Every One Still Here by Liadan ní Chuinn The Pretender by Jo Harkin The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller Sky Daddy by Kate Folk The Rest of Our Lives by Benjamin Markovitz You Don't Have To Live Like This by Benjamin Markovitz Serious Readers Book Club Review listeners get £150 off any HD Essential Reading Light, plus free UK delivery. Go to SeriousReaders.com/bcr and use the code BCR at checkout. It's completely risk-free with a 30-day home trial. If you don't feel the difference, they'll collect it for free and fully refund you. Patreon Support the show on Patreon and get ad-free episodes, extra shows, chat groups, book clubs and readalongs. Head to patreon.com/thebookclubreview to find out all the benefits and how to sign up. Instagram @bookclubreviewpodcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Book Club: Universality by Natasha Brown & Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O'Donnell Welcome to The Book Club Review! In this episode, Laura joins Kate to dive into two book club picks: Natasha Brown's much-anticipated second novel, Universality , and the debut Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O'Donnell. In this episode: Kate and Laura catch up on their current reads, including Sky Daddy by Kate Folk and A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett, before diving into a discussion of Universality. How did it compare to Brown's acclaimed debut Assembly , and did the satirical style, bold narrative choices, and themes of media, class, and culture wars work for our book club. We then move on to Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O'Donnell, an historical tale of alchemy set across 18th-century London and Ireland. We're exploring the vivid sense of place and real-life inspirations behind the story, but did the many different characters and story arcs knit together? We're also meeting Kristina Ambrosia, who offers a creative twist on book club with her "Graffiti Book Club," where members are encouraged to write, doodle, and annotate in their books before passing them around. All that plus our current reads and community updates on how to join the Book Club Review Patreon, participate in chat groups, and readalongs. Books mentioned: Universality by Natasha Brown Assembly by Natasha Brown Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O'Donnell Sky Daddy by Kate Folk A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett Katabasis by R. F. Kuang Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal The Women by Kristin Hannah Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer Just Kids by Patti Smith All Fours by Miranda July Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser And more! Links & Extras: Special offer for Serious Readers HD Essential Reading Lights: visit seriousreaderscom/bcr and use code BCR at checkout. Join the Book Club Review community on Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus content, and monthly book club meetings: patreon.com/thebookclubreview Follow on Instagram @bookclubreviewpodcast or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com If you enjoyed the show, please share it with friends or leave a review – your support helps us reach more book lovers! Happy reading! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Something a little different this episode as I invite you to head down the rabbit hole with me into the world of books about books. Accompanying us into this particular wonderland is Joseph Dance, host of the Curious Readers podcast. From meta-fictional narratives to booksellers with shadowy agendas, we're flagging up some of our favourites both for behind-the-scenes insights into the literary world, and for the way they allow us to discover yet more books we might want to read. From Alberto Manguel's library of 35,000 titles, to Alejandro Zambra's essay collection On Not Reading, we're considering a broad spectrum of perspectives that help us reflect on and enrich our reading lives. And so listen in to hear what happens when two book podcasters get together to talk about their favourite topic. Booklist The Library Book by Susan Orlean The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Possession by A.S. Byatt Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald Packing my Library by Alberto Manguel The Book Forger by Joseph Hone Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller by Nadia Wassef A Bookshop of One's Own by Jane Cholmeley In Search of Lost Books by Giorgio van Straten Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati Further reading / listening Alberto Manguel's library And here's Manguel sharing his favourite bookstores and libraries with Biblio-file podcast host Nigel Beale Umberto Eco's library on Youtube Kate's Moleskine reading journal Read this wonderful review of Shelf Life from Australian critic Beejay Silcox, who lived for two years in Cairo and knew the Diwan bookstore well. Patreon Head to patreon.com/thebookclubreview for full membership details and how to join See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Seattle, forever linked with books and reading thanks to Sleepless in Seattle . Also Maria Semple's Where d'you Go Bernadette , tho' to be clear, Bernadette was not a fan of the rainy city. Londoners, though, umbrella always at hand, feel right at home. A recent family holiday offered a rare chance for an in-person bookish catchup. Listen in for our thoughts on our latest reads including the new novel from Lily King and some purchases from the inimitable Elliot Bay bookshop. Embracing the holiday spirit we're also getting into our bookish cocktails. Luckily Margaret C. Beeler, author of literary cocktail book Tropetails , is on hand to help us out. She shares one of her favourites, scroll down for the recipe, and if you like the sound of the book and want to get yourself a copy, US listeners, if you use the code TROPECLUBREVIEW at checkout you'll get free shipping. Don't forget to check out The Book Club Review on Patreon to support Kate in making the show. In return you'll get extra episodes, chat group access with Kate and Laura, starting and at the higher tier you can join the monthly book club. This month we're reading On The Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, in September it's Mouthing , the bestselling Irish debut from Orla Mackey. We meet on the last Sunday of the month over Zoom, with a catch-up episode posted for anyone unable to make the live session. Books mentioned Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum (Shanna Tan) Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (Eric Ozawa) The Bookshop Woman by Nanako Hanada (Cat Anderson) Heart the Lover by Lily King Writers & Lovers by Lily King Euphoria by Lily King State of Wonder by Ann Patchett Five Ways to Forgiveness by Ursula K. LeGuin Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell Audition by Katie Kitamura The Odd Woman and the City by Vivan Gornick The Transitive Vampire by Karen Elizabeth Gordon The Cafe with No Name by Robert Seethaler (Katy Derbyshire) Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto (Jesse Kirkwood) Margaret's Cocktail Give me Your Brains into shaker with ice: 2 oz / 60 ml bourbon 1 oz / 30 ml aquafaba 1 oz / 30 ml fresh lemon juice 1 oz / 30 ml blackcurrant (juice or syrup) shake + pour into a coupe garnish with dehydrated lemon See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .