The Book Club Review

It's our biggest recommendations show yet, with over 50 books loved by us, our book clubs, and our three special guests. But what were our most loved reads of 2020? Listen in for our top threes and our absolute favourites. There were some obvious contenders such as Maggie O'Farrell's Hamlet and Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain, but we've tried to steer clear of the main current to pick out some slightly more eclectic choices that we think will delight you as much as us. We also hear from three special guests, Seb Emina, editor of Penguin's Happy Reader magazine, Simon Thomas of the Tea or Books podcast, and Claire Handscombe of the Brit Lit podcast. They let us know their favourite reads of 2020, and books they're looking forward to in 2021. And last but by no means least we hear from our book clubs, who told us the books that stood out for them in 2020. And so start off your New Year's reading resolutions in style, with a stack of books that have been tried and tested, so we know they will be good. Check our website thebookclubreview.co.uk for full show notes including a booklist for this episode and links to buy on Bookshop.org. 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. 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 do take a moment to rate and review the show, and help other listeners find us. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feeling quizzical? Missing your favourite festive pub quiz? Compete along with us as Gary Wigglesworth, author of 'The Book Lover's Quiz Book', puts us through our literary paces in another seasonal special. Will you beat us? For detailed show notes and links to all the podcasts we've mentioned today, visit our website thebookclubreview.co.uk. In the UK and Australia, you can order a copy of The Book Lover's Quiz Book online from your favourite local bookshop, or on bookshop.org. And it's currently available in Canada and the US as an e-book. You can find out more about Gary and his quizzes at gpwigglesworth.co.uk, including his ready-made answer sheet to print out and use. And you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @gpwigglesworth. 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. 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 do take a moment to rate and review the show, we hugely appreciate it and it helps other listeners find us. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We look back over the ten books we read for bookclub in 2020. From Taffy Brodesser-Akner's snappy take on contemporary relationships with Fleishman is in Trouble, to The Memory Police, Yoko Ogawa's carefully considered look at memory and the objects that bring meaning to our lives, we read and discussed a wide range of books that we're delighted to go back and revisit – like seeing old friends. But which will be our book club book of the year? On the shortlist: Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang That Glimpse of Truth, 100 of the Finest Short Stories Ever Written The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa Lanny by Max Porter Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan 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. Do share the show link with your bookish friends, we love to find new listeners. And if you're not already, do subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts, and never miss an episode. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What's it like to set up your own publishing business? What does it take to succeed? And how do you find the right books? We talk to Kate Macdonald of Handheld Press, who gives us some behind-the-scenes insights into running a small, independent publishers, and her mission to seek out forgotten fiction and authors who need to be rediscovered. Business as Usual by Jane Oliver and Anne Stafford Save Me The Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald The Exile Waiting by Vonda N. McIntyre Women's Weird, Melissa Edmundson (ed.) British Weird, James Machin (ed.) Kingdoms of Elfin by Silvia Townsend Warner After the Death Of Ellen Keldberg by Eddie Thomas Petersen The Caravaners, by Elizabeth von Arnim www.handheldpress.co.uk For more detailed show notes and our archive of over 80 episodes go to thebookclubreview.co.uk. 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. 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 do take a moment to rate and review the show, it helps other listeners find us. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We discuss The Memory Police, a haunting dystopian novel that explores questions of power, trauma and state surveillance written by Yoko Ogawa, one of Japan's leading contemporary novelists. Set on an unnamed island, the narrator of The Memory Police describes how every so often something in the inhabitants' lives will disappear. Birds, roses, books, one by one these things vanish overnight and the next day people wake up to find they have lost the memory of them. The Memory Police then arrive to enforce the disappearance, rounding up and destroying all evidence of the disappeared thing. They are also on the hunt for those few members of the population who have the ability to retain their memories, something hard to disguise. These people too must disappear, but what happens to them? The narrator tries to save her friend, R, by hiding him in a concealed room. But as more and more things disappear it starts to become unclear what she is saving him for. An uncomfortable read that provoked mixed feelings among Laura's book group, but which, on reflection, we think could have been one of the best book club books we have ever done. Listen in to hear more, why Yoko Ogawa is the Georgette Heyer of Japan, and how Laura is about to become a disappeared thing herself. Plus our recommendations for your next book club read. Books mentioned on the show: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Never Let Me Go and The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin and The Happy Reader magazine. Find full show notes, plus our archive of over 80 episodes, book reviews and articles on our new website: thebookclubreview.co.ukSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondering which of the Booker shortlisted novels to read? Look no further, we've got the rundown of all of them in our Booker Prize special. We're joined by previous podcast guests Phil Chaffee and Sarah Oliver to discuss the six titles. Due to Covid we weren't able to be in the same room, but that didn't hold us back. It's book club, so whether we loved them or loathed them, you'll get to hear what we really thought. Plus we play a game of 'Snog, Marry, Avoid' with Booker books, and offer up our favourite reads from past years. • Find full show notes including extra links on our website www.thebookclubreview.co.uk See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The perfect solution when your book club wants to read a classic, but no-one quite has the energy for the 19th-century greats, Bonjour Tristesse clocks in at just over 100 pages and was written by Françoise Sagan when she was only a teenager. It became an instant bestseller in France, and subsequently around the world, and has remained a hugely popular read ever since. What did Kate's book club make of it? Did they find it fabulous or frivolous? Listen in to find out. We also have some book recommendations for your next read or book club discussion. Check out our new website for extended show notes including some extra links: www.thebookclubreview.co.uk Book recommendations Cheri and Claudine at School by Colette Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald Au Revoir, Tristesse by Viv Groskop See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our bookshelf episodes are the ones where we get to let our hair down and talk about the things we're reading outside of our book clubs, the books that we get to pick and choose. So listen in as Kate is bewitched by the new Susanna Clarke novel Piranesi, charmed by Shirley Jackson's memoir of raising her children in Life Among the Savages, and has a guilty confession to make about To Calais in Ordinary Time by James Meek. In Laura's stack are supernatural thriller Himself by Jess Kidd, Midnight in Sicily by Peter Robb and The Observations by Jane Harris. Not to mention some guilty pleasure reading of Georgette Heyer and Alison Croggon's fantasy series of Pellinor novels. It's a packed episode, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it. For detailed notes on this episode, and over 70 other episodes of book club discussions, interviews and features you can find us at our new website: www.thebookclubreview.co.uk. Drop us a line there and say hello, we'd love to hear from you. Tell us what books are keeping you turning the pages right now?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Identical twin sisters Stella and Desiree Vignes grow up together in a small, southern black community where the inhabitants have noteably light skin. When they run away at the age sixteen they make very different choices. One will marry and then return to her hometown, the other will live her life passing for white, knowing she can never go back. What will happen, though, when the next generation of their families connects? Race, identity, family, love, belonging, all thoughtfully woven through a compulsive page-turner that had both Laura and Kate's book clubs talking... We may just have found the perfect book club book. Did we have anything bad to say about it? Listen in to find out. Booklist: A Drop of Patience by William Melvin Kelley, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo and Passing by Nella Larsen Upcoming shows will be on Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan and The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa. Why not read along with us. Drop us a line and let us know what you think, and we can weave your comments into the show. 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. If you like what we do please do take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to us on iTunes, it helps other listeners find us and means you'll never miss an episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More than ever as we gradually emerge from lockdown we find ourselves appreciating the natural world and the joys of walking. The perfect time then to revisit our interview with Emily's Walking Book Club to hear about the inherent pleasures of walking and talking about books. And picking up on the theme we have some handpicked recommendations for you, perfect for topping up your TBR pile. From past-podcast favourites such as Peter Matthiessen's Snow Leopard to new release The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith, we found walking and the natural world an easy fit when it came to recommendations. Laura has a theory that all readers like walking, and walkers like reading. But is she right? Or maybe like Kate you try to do both at the same time. Listen in to hear all about it. For more information about Emily's walking book club including what's coming up and how to book tickets, check out Emily's website emilyrhodeswriter.com Books mentioned by Emily: The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson, West with the Night by Beryl Markham, Westwood by Stella Gibbons, All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West, The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee, Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple, Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig, and Brodeck's Report by Philippe Claudel. Kate and Laura's recommendations: The Salt Path by Raynor Wynn, The Gift by Alison Croggon, The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane, Flâneuse: Women Walk the City by Lauren Elkin, and The Well-Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or drop us a line at thebookclubreview@gmail.com. And if you're not already, do subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.