The Book Club Review

Latest Episodes:

Matrix by Lauren Groff • 107 Nov 27, 2021

Show notes

Join us as we dive, in spoiler-free fashion, into Lauren Groff's latest novel, Matrix. It tells of Marie de France, a cast-off from Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine's court, exiled to be a prioress at a run-down Abbey inhabited by starving nuns. Devastated and grieving the young Marie thinks only of regaining the queen's favour and returning to court. Gradually, though, she comes to see that if she is to stay, she must change, and the Abbey with her. The book has been a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist but what did Laura's book club think? We're joined by pod-regulars Phillip Chaffee and Sarah Oliver to discuss it.

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The 2021 Booker Prize • #106 Nov 05, 2021

Show notes

Join us as we discuss the 2021 Booker shortlist in typical book club style, with journalist Phil Chaffee and Chrissy Ryan, owner of Bookbar. We livestream the Booker ceremony so you can catch our immediate reactions to the winner. Did we agree? Was there a book we loved more? Was there one we loathed? Whether we loved them or loathed them, as ever, you can be assured of good debate. We thoroughly recommend any and all of these books for a good read and good discussion.

Notes

The Paris Review article on Anuk Arudpragasam Phil mentions is here

Click here if you're wondering what a nudibranch looks like?

Check out our website for our episode archive and more. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Tell us what you're reading for book club right now – we love to hear from you.

If you've enjoyed this episode please leave us a quick online review, it helps other listeners find us :)

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Second Place by Rachel Cusk Oct 09, 2021

Show notes

It's our latest Book Club episode, and we're discussing Rachel Cusk's latest novel, Second Place. It was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, but didn't make the cut for the shortlist. Sally Rooney calls it 'masterful', saying it 'achieves a kind of formal perfection' while the Observer newspaper lauds it as 'A landmark in twenty-first-century English literature.' But what did Laura's book club make of it? And who would we rather have to dinner, Rachel Cusk or Deborah Levy? Listen in to find out.

Book recommendations

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

The Outline trilogy, by Rachel Cusk, read on audio by Kristen Scott Thomas

Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe

The audiobook of Second Place by Rachel Cusk is published by Faber & Faber and narrated by Kate Fleetwood. It's available for download now.

Listen to the Rachel Cusk interview Phil mentioned at the Edinburgh Literary Festival

Find our full episode archive and sign-up link for our newsletter at our The Book Club Review website. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. And if you're not already, why not subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what we do please help spread the word and tell a book-loving friend about our show.

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104. Bookshelf: Back-to-school reads Sep 27, 2021

Show notes

We've shaken the sand from our flip-flops and put our suitcases away. Now it's back to business as Kate and Laura catch up on their recent reads, everything from this year's Booker International Prize winner to a fantasy romp about teenage wizards.

Booklist

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop

Mud and Stars by travel writer Sara Wheeler

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Re-Educated by Lucy Kellaway

We also discuss the property website themodernhouse.com

if you'd like to see what we're up to between episodes check out the website at www.thebookclubreview.co.uk, find us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Drop us a line and tell us what you're reading, we always love to hear from you.

Next episode: Book club on Second Place by Rachel Cusk

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Close-up: Adam Ashton and Adam Jones Sep 18, 2021

Show notes

"Ashto" and "Jonesy" are two Australians who devour books on everything from self-improvement to business and marketing for their weekly podcast, What You Will Learn. They've recently launched their own book, The Sh*t They Never Taught You. They joined Kate to discuss what books have taught them, and provide her with some personal bibliotherapy to kick her out of her counter-productive ways. Listen in to find out what you can learn.

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Bookshelf: Summer Reading 2021 Aug 13, 2021

Show notes

It's our 2021 Summer Reading episode!

What are we looking for in our summer reading? We want books that are going to carry us away, books that are immersive and compelling, books that take us places and teach us things. Sometimes we want short reads to suit our mood, others we want long immersive books that will last us through the summer. And as ever, we want books we can discuss and debate. Embracing our usual tendency to veer away from the obvious we've compiled an eclectic list. We've got summer buzz books The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris and Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, but we're also delving into mental health with Meg Mason's hilarious and moving novel Sorrow & Bliss, considering the joys of the untethered life with Jhumpa Lahiri and learning about the Sackler family – architects, it turns out, of America's opioid crisis – with Patrick Radden-Keefe's Empire of Pain. Plus Laura throws in Michael Faber's beguiling fantasy novel D: A Tale of Two Worlds, a novel by First Nations author Richard Wagamese she wants everyone to read, and we briefly consider Erik Larson's gripping history of World War 2, The Splendid and the Vile and why really it's the perfect thing to have beside your deckchair. Wherever you are we wish you a brilliant summer and lots of happy reading.

Booklist

Sorrow & Bliss by Meg Mason

Hotel Silence by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden-Keefe

D (a Tale of Two Worlds) by Michael Faber

The Book of Hidden Things by Francesco Dimitri

Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalia Harris

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

You can also find full details plus a few extras on our website, thebookclubreview.co.uk. And if you're so inclined you can also sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter there. It has reviews and recommendations and is full of reading inspiration to tide you over until our next episode.

Follow us between episodes on Instagram @bookclubreviewpodcast, on twitter and facebook @bookclubrvwpod or email us at thebookclubreview@gmail.com – do drop us a line and tell us what you're reading, we always love to hear from you.

Special thanks to Mason Dietrich, our new Production assistant.

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Like a Sword Wound by Ahmet Altan Jul 30, 2021

Show notes

Looking for something a little off the beaten path for your reading pile? Join us as we discuss Like A Sword Wound by renowned Turkish writer Ahmet Altan. It's the first volume in a quartet and traces not only the social currents of the final years of the Ottoman Empire but also the erotic and emotional lives of its characters. Like A Sword Wound has been described as the Turkish War & Peace. Did Laura's book club agree? We're joined by journalist Philippe Chaffee to discuss it.

Like A Sword Wound is translated by Brendan Freely and Yelda Türedi

Book recommendations

The Passenger magazine on Turkey

Beyond the Walls by Nazim Hikmet

My Name is Red and The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk

Laurence in Arabia by Scott Anderson

Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

We also mentioned authors Elif Batuman and Elif Shafak.

For full show notes go to www.thebookclubreview.co.uk where you can also sign up to our bi-weekly newsletter, which has reviews, links and plenty of bookish inspiration to keep you going between episodes.

Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or drop us a line at thebookclubreview@gmail.com.

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100: Kate and Laura answer your questions Jul 17, 2021

Show notes

In celebration of our 100th episode we turn the spotlight on ourselves a little more than usual to answer listeners' questions. From our favourite childhood reads to the books that shaped us as adults, from books which kept us up all night to books we disagree on (with a shocking mid-show revelation from Laura that threatens to derail the whole discussion), listen in to learn more about us as readers and how we came to make the podcast.

Find our full show notes for this episode plus archive of all our past shows on our website, follow us on Instagram and Facebook @bookclubreviewpodcast or Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or drop us an email at thebookclubreview@gmail.com and tell us about a book you love.

Booklist

Childhood reads

The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

The Chalet School books by Elinor M. Brent Dyer

The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and Little Plum by Rumer Godden

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien

Dark Canyon by Louis L'Amour

A Devil to Ride by Patricia Leitch

Cobbler's Dream by Monica Dickens

Howl's Moving Castle and other books by Diana Wynne Jones

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

White Boots, Ballet Shoes, Theatre Shoes, Hollywood Shoes by Noel Streatfield

Transition books

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

General books

Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Prophets of Eternal Fjord by Kim Leine

Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden

Normal People by Sally Rooney

The Moth and the Mountain by Ed Caesar

The Time-Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenneger

Watership Down by Douglas Adams

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W. E. Bowman

Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin

The Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

Parisian Lives by Deidre Bair

The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross

West With the Night by Beryl Markham

Travels by Michael Crichton

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The Women's Prize 2021 episode Jun 19, 2021

Show notes

It's here. After weeks of reading, tons of post-it notes and a WhatsApp group busy with thoughts flying back and forth we proudly present our 2021 Women's Prize episode. We're joined by returning podcast guests Elizabeth Morris and Sarah Oliver to review all six shortlisted titles. This is book club so expect the full range of opinions, find out what we loved, and what we didn't, but we've also worked hard to keep the spoilers away so you can enjoy the show and still enjoy the books. Which are your favourites? Listen in and see if you agree with us as we attempt to pick a winner.

Booklist

Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

How the One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

No-One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Don't miss Crib Notes, the newsletter by Elizabeth Morris for new and busy mothers – an essential monthly run-down of the very best books from the practical to the poetic. She includes just the right information about each, and offers different suggestions according to whether you want something to sink into, or you only have time to scroll.

Follow us between episodes on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Were you jumping up and down with thoughts on any of the books we discussed today? Drop us a line and let us know, we always love to hear from you. And don't miss our website, thebookclubreview.co.uk for our full archive of shows and to sign up to our weekly newsletter. It comes out on Sundays and is full of reading inspiration for the week ahead.

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98. The Happy Reader Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

A magazine that has always been dear to our hearts is Penguin's Happy Reader, an occasional publication that takes inspiration from the idea of a book club. In the early days of the podcast we were delighted to interview its editor Seb Emina. To celebrate the launch of The Happy Reader's latest edition we're releasing that interview again. From the thinking that goes into every issue, from treasure hunts to the perfect way to drink your tea, from book recommendations to unusual ideas for book club meet ups, this episode has it all.

Booklist

So many books are mentioned in passing in this episode, but in particular Seb talks about

The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (and listen in to episode 9 of the pod for our full book club discussion on that one)

Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard

You can find out more about The Happy Reader, buy the latest issue or subscribe at their website thehappyreader.com. You can also sign up to their newsletter, Happy Readings, where once a month you'll get a little dose of Happy Readerness in your inbox. Seb is on Instagram and Twitter @sebemina

If you'd like to see what we're up to between episodes follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. Don't miss our website, thebookclubreview.co.uk, where you can find our archive of almost 100 shows to browse through and sign up for our weekly newsletter. It comes out on Sundays, and it full of reading inspiration for your week ahead.

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